If you fall seven times, get up eight – Si te caes siete veces, levántate ocho (seems apt for today)!

Date: 15th July, 2022

Section: Castro-Urdiales to Santoña

Region: Cantabria

Staying: Santoña

Hospedaje La Tortuga – Small hotel, double room €50 per night

Recommend, yes ✔️comfy bed, clean, well located and a bath.

Instagram: Link to extra photos and daily caption.

Today:

After days of seeing no one, finally, today I met some pilgrims. Actually, right from at the beginning of the day! Within the first 10 minutes of setting out I met Kate, an American teaching English in Madrid. We met at the imposing Iglesia de Santa María del Puerto. Oh Spain just so much history and architectural wonder for this little Aussie. I haven’t chatted with anyone since arriving so I might of, probably, (definitely) was a motor mouth/chatty Cathy! I think I may have scared Kate off a little because she was quick to go and find some breakfast and not get caught walking with me. As you can see by the above photo the sun was already shining, ready to roast those of us who were out walking today.

Today had a lot of everything! Forest, villages, cliffside, the dreaded roadside walking but also some toes in the sand walking. Dang it was so hot. Heatwave hot. I even carried cans of Aquarius, the Spanish electrolyte drink with me. I am hiking ok but I hurt a lot and for the first time ever I feel out of shape. In chatting with my husband, the greatest supporter of my camino’ing he said ‘it’s ok … think of this as getting yourself back to your fitness base’. Ok, that sounds solid and like an idea I can work with, I’ll do that. This is me walking myself back into my base fitness. Keep breathing!

So you can see the contrast, this is what the trails looked like today. Most camino photos are so pretty, we’re showing you the awe inspiring brilliance of this mighty walk but the reality is also road walking. It is never joyful and in the middle of a European heatwave it’s bloody brutal. I might have to rethink my obsession with waterproof hiking shoes, or as they shall now be known fecking feet furnaces!

A nicer thing to chat about. Let me tell you about Alex a friendly Spaniard camino walker. Just before the above beach shot I met Kate at a cafe/bar and we stopped for some lunch. Alex, in chatting with the barman learnt of a ‘shortcut’. We could walk across this beach and in doing so we could cut out 3kms of highway walking. Kate, who through her time in Madrid has learnt Spanish got the low down from Alex, who in turn didn’t speak much English. OMG how is this for the camino providing the right set of coincidences in the absolute right moment!

Kate and I set off along the beach. Gladly it seems I didn’t scare her that much after all. But just in case I reigned in my ‘I haven’t talked to anyone in days excitement’. Lucky for Kate I was knackered anyhow. We were assured by the barman (via Alex) that the tide was out so there would be no problem in us taking this shortcut. Of course, if you know me this could sound a bit like a recipe for disaster. I could get myself lost because it’s not written in any of the guide books, there’s no map! But the 3km we could shave from the day and the highway walking – there was no question, we were doing it. So barefoot walking on the sand we went. Which is always good, soul kinda good but on this day my feet also appreciated the massage.

After the beach along some more highway I lost Kate. I did what I rarely do when I’m hiking, I put headphones in and I sung. The highway walking really has no joy, it’s hard yakka, especially in this heat. Perhaps it’s a good test of grit or maybe it’s just flat out crazy. Probably it’s just like plodding through some of the tasks in normal life, boring, challenging, but necessary. Music always helps me shift energy when I’m feeling like things aren’t rosy. And this long day wasn’t feeling so rosy, so whatever gets you through!

As I was nearing the point where I needed to take the ferry over to Santoña my end point for the day I’m not gonna lie, I toyed with the idea of hitching the last 500 metres to the ferry. It all hurt. But I was a sweaty mess so not sure anyone would appreciate me in their car. And I’m kind of a stickler for walking all the steps (for me, everyone else of course can do them, natch). And truthfully I wouldn’t ever hitch hike again, I don’t need that kind of fear. 🙂

Mostly today the food wasn’t great, I never feel good these days if I eat eggs and bread. Thankfully, dinner (above) was a treat, crisp and fresh. Again, I am in my own room so I enjoyed getting my feet up to rest. I need the rest because tomorrow I am back at it and another truth – no matter the hurt I do love it here. What choice is there when you love it but to walk onward. Tomorrow is an interesting day I will stay at the infamous Albergue La Cabaña del Abuelo Peuto. More on that tomorrow … for now dear ones, goodnight.

Highlight:

Of course it was starting to meet some camino characters. I’ve walked enough caminos to know my friends that this is the beginning of something.

Ho hum:

Tell me, am I crazy?