Supper with Pierre, speaking excellent English in an Irish accent, thanks to many years working in Dublin and Limerick ... he takes a plateful of ham, followed by cod with salad ... the salada mixta is excellent, the large plate of patatas brava last saw a potato in a factory ... such is the lazy cheffery all too common ... never mind, we finished them between us ... calories for the next 30 km stage, back to the sea, out of Basque country, on to Cantabria ...
The way out of town is well marked in the dark, then a veritable motorway of cycling and walking infrastructure lifts the route over junctions and motorway ... two lanes for bikes, one for walkers. ..lycra lads soon out in force ....a more rugged alternative for purists ... suspecting upping and downing, take the simpler option ... saving thinking about mundane questions of which way to go, where are the tripping hazards and so on ... keeping the mind clear for other things ... 12 km covered in two hours ... the sea appears along with coffee and chocolate pastry ... and a rest for the legs ... right thigh numbing again ... happened last time and nothing serious ...
Across the beach at Arena and soon upping on steps ... rewarded with a long, level, cliffside path, Castro, today's destination in the distance ... and after the pleasure, the penance, as heavy industry and motorway usurp the Way ... putting pilgrims on the old road, above the Santander autovia ... few cars, but still unsafe ... hairpin bends, boy racers cornering a little fast for oncoming pilgrims ... including the German group from the albergue, who took the bus to the coast and moving slowly ... equipped with shells on the pack, the extra weight of which is a badge too far for this part-time peregrino ... finally to the second coffee plus pinxos ...
... and soon in the beautiful seaside town of Castro ... a small municipal albergue for 5 euros ... hotels busy with weekenders at ten times the price, though they do get their own room for that.
Latest pilgrims, a French couple in their late 60s walking home to Poitiers, having already walked to Santiago from home ...inspirational ...
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