Today was pendulum-like, both in that there was no shortage of hills and in that I found my mood swinging dramatically with the weather. Despite leaving in dreadful constant rain – Peter the Englishman and I were soon soaked to the bone – I was pleased that my DIY field triage on my ankle seemed to be working. It was nowhere near as sore as the previous few days. After a couple of hours in the rain, though, we started to get a little chilly and morale dropped.

Abandoned car being reclaimed by nature

Misty vista

Initial plans to walk the entire 30km to Bilbao were abruptly altered by constant rain, dropping morale and a particularly convenient albergue about 15km in. What’s more, it was opened in 2016 and looked invitingly clean and dry. The interior lived up to expectations, with a good, hot shower and comfy beds. Peter and I ran into two Australians from Noosa, Ian and Bronwyn, who we’d met a few days earlier, and so decided to get the menu del dia together.

‘Secreto de iberico con queso’ – always a good choice

Ian and Brownwyn were ‘properly’ on holiday – in that they were staying in three- and four-star places, usually with ‘Chalet’ in the name, and taxiing to and from their daily route. Whatever floats your boat. [And the more I walk, the more I envy them, to be honest… – Me on day 11]

I’ve noticed that despite being constantly damp and seemingly always walking in the rain, I end almost every day slightly sunburnt. There’s hardly even enough sun to dry us off, and yet I still turn pink… no wonder most people mistake me for English.

Albergue engineering

Speaking of albergue characters, there was one trio walking who attracted everyone’s attention: a German couple with a six-month-old baby. Quite a lovely sight, but mind-boggling to think about doing all those hills with a baby strapped to your chest – as was the mode of transport. Just a short one today, both post- and walk-wise. We spent the rest of the day hanging around the albergue, napping, drinking the odd beer. We headed out one last time at 9:30pm for a quick dinner pintxo, then went straight to sleep.

‘Til next time,

Alex