Day 84 – Castro-Urdiales to Laredo (34,1 km) – Friday 22.09.2023
I left the hotel around 8am. I walked through the city again to a viewing platform next to the castle. I then followed the path through the city for a few kilometers before finally leaving it over a small hill.
I had barely left the first few houses behind me when it started to rain today. I quickly put on my rain jacket, but it didn’t really do much good. After just a few minutes my pants were completely soaked and my shoes also felt wet. So I walked soaked through the rain for a while.
When I finally got back to the sea and it had just stopped raining for a few minutes, I took advantage of the brief sunshine to take my breakfast break. I sat down on a rock and quickly made a cup of coffee. Since the dry phase actually lasted for a few minutes, I was able to really enjoy my breakfast by the sea while my clothes slowly dried again.
As soon as I set off again, it started to rain again and my clothes were immediately wet again. I walked along a street for a while in the pouring rain. Since neither the weather nor the route was pleasant, I kept running without any major breaks and therefore quickly covered a few kilometers. In the meantime I was traveling in mountainous landscapes again and instead of running along the sea, I went through forests and meadows. First it was uphill and then downhill again for a long time. The heavy, continuous rain had stopped after a few hours, but it continued to rain for a short time. Most of the time my pants were just dry when it started raining again and I was out and about with wet clothes again. It wasn’t really pleasant.
When I passed a small town with a restaurant after almost 26 km, I took my late lunch break there at around 2 p.m. I ordered some food and rested for a bit.
As I continued walking again, the weather gradually improved. The path led me back to the sea. There I had to climb another small mountain and from the top I had a great view of the surrounding area. Unfortunately, the path wasn’t quite as nice, because due to all the rain, the small paths were full of mud and made walking a slippery affair. I made very slow progress on the actually not very demanding path and had to keep being careful not to end up in one of the large puddles.
There was a final descent on the other side of the mountain and then I reached today’s destination. Right at the entrance to the city I stopped at a pilgrims’ accommodation in a monastery.
After I took a warm shower there, I walked around the city, where a small medieval festival was taking place. In contrast to the Peter and Paul Festival in Bretten, the whole thing seemed very small and so I didn’t stay here for long. I later returned to the monastery and attended a pilgrimage mass. Afterwards I ate something and then soon went to sleep.
Day 85 – Laredo to Galizano (35,8 km) – Saturday 23.09.2023
Today I left the accommodation again around 8 a.m. and started walking. I quickly reached the city beach. In contrast to many other pilgrims, I decided against the actual path, which led along a road next to the beach. Instead, I walked almost 5km across the sand along the water while listening to the waves crashing next to me. Running next to the water was very pleasant and relaxing. The sound of the waves almost seemed a bit meditative and I was able to walk easily on the still wet sand, despite wearing hiking boots.
At the end of the beach I use a small boat to cross to the other side. While I was waiting for the boat, I chatted with some other pilgrims who I knew from the previous days and who were also waiting for the crossing.
When I arrived over there, I sat down on a bench by the water and made myself a small breakfast. Since I had nothing left to eat afterwards, I went straight to a supermarket to buy something for the next few days. Since I wanted to spend the night in the tent again today, I bought my dinner straight away.
With my pockets full I set off again. There was a short passage along a road before the path turned to another beach and led up a small mountain. The climb was quite pleasant to walk and I had a good view back from the top. Unfortunately, the descent was once again a complete slide. Most other pilgrims lean on their sticks most of the time to avoid sitting directly in the dirt. Since I didn’t have any poles with me, I had to slide around a bit. At least I made it to the bottom without slipping.
There I was once again welcomed by a beautiful sandy beach, which I was then allowed to follow for a few kilometers. At the end of the sand I reached a small town which was full of tourists. At first I thought about whether I should have lunch here, but then decided to eat a small bread with salami and then continue walking.
After the city we continued for a few kilometers through hilly landscapes. I overtook some pilgrims who had not set off from the monastery this morning, but further up the town. After about 25 km I met Mr. Orange, a pilgrim who I have known for a few weeks and who got his name from his orange shirts. As we ran together, we talked about the stages of the last few days.
After a while he turned away from my path to spend the night in a nearby accommodation. At first I thought about spending the night in the accommodation, but then decided against it and continued walking towards the sea. From a distance I spotted a small grassy hill that would be suitable as a possible place to sleep. Unfortunately, when I got there, there were cows in the beautiful meadow and so I couldn’t set up my tent there. Since I couldn’t find anywhere else to sleep, I walked a few kilometers further to the coast.
When I got there I found a place where I wanted to set up my tent. However, since this place was right next to a small beach, there were still a lot of people walking around. I decided to wait here and set up my tent in a somewhat hidden place after sunrise. In the meantime, I cooked dinner and enjoyed the last hours of sunshine in the evening.
When the sun went down, I quickly set up my tent in the bushes and then went straight to sleep.
Day 86 – Galizano to Santander (16,5 km) – Sunday 24.09.2023
Although the sea was louder than expected and it was only 11 degrees in the morning, I slept quite well. At 7 a.m. my alarm went off. I took down my tent in the dark to avoid being discovered by anyone walking.
With my things in my backpack, I walked about a kilometer to another cliff to watch the sunrise from there. I quickly made myself a coffee and then marveled at the beautiful sunrise right by the sea.
Since I only had a short stage today and I liked the place so much, I took a long breakfast break, which lasted over an hour.
The path then initially led along small paths along the coast.
Later I switched back to a large beach. Today I again walked a few kilometers along the sandy beach and watched the surfers as they tried to ride the waves. While most people were either in their Sunday clothes or in bathing suits, many of the few pilgrims with their backpacks and hiking boots were always right on the beach and were a funny sight. Even today, various bathers kept wishing me a “Buen Camino!”.
After the long time on the sand, I turned my back on the beach and walked briefly to a harbor. There I use a boat again to complete my almost 20-minute crossing to Santander. I arrived at today’s destination in Santander shortly after 11.
Normally I wouldn’t call it a day at this time and would just keep walking. Since my shoes show some signs of wear after more than 2300 km and the nearest larger city of Oviedo is still almost 250 km away, I wanted to use the city to buy new shoes. I could then run this in flat areas in the next few days before heading into the mountainous landscapes.
Unfortunately my planning was suboptimal. Because today is Sunday again and so all shops are closed. So I decided to take a quick day and get new shoes tomorrow. I strolled around the city a bit and looked at some of the sights. First I looked at Santander Cathedral.
Afterwards I continued walking through the city and looked at squares and other special features.
When I had enough, I booked a room in a cheap hotel. There I washed my clothes and took a nap. Afterwards I wrote on my blog and did a bit of research on where I could best look for shoes tomorrow. In the evening, I went out to eat and later fell asleep in my bed.
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