Flippety gibbets what a day.

We stayed in a BnB last night so I made sure that I used the shower for longer than any human being ever should.

The usual late start had been ticked off the list of things to do so I knew I had that in the bag for the day. The rest of the list consisted of washing and drying clothes and making it to Deba before dark. “That’s not a very difficult list Jack” you might be thinking and I would agree with you. Normally.

Whilst the washing machine was doing battle with our clothing we drank thimble sized, syrup like coffee and ate delicious pastries. I’ve always been a big fan of the food over here and I intend to eat as much of it as physically possible.

As the buzzer buzzed to tell us the washing had dried the clock ticked past a very reasonable 11:30. Bear in mind that most people start walking at 7. But I’m new so I’m allowed to be crap.

For a fun game we worked out a percentage of the clothes we had destroyed in the dryer. I lost some socks and Micheal lost one of his favourite hats. About 5%. I’d call that a success.

We proceeded towards Itziar and saw some really unique land formations. Apparently this is a geological hotspot due to the way the land has formed. Really really interesting stuff if you’re a geek like me.

The next step was an 8km jaunt towards Deba. Micheal and beth wanted to go and look at some other rocky things so I decided to do this section of the journey myself.

It was one of the hardest sections I’ve done and Bronson was really making his presence known. The pay off was quite spectacular though.

I’ve always thought the coast was beautiful but today was the day I saw the real beauty of the undulating Spainish valleys and mountains. A rich green spattered with groups of livestock munching away without a care in the world. It was a very lovely spot to take five, breath everything in and let my aching muscles relax while I choked down some crap, cold vegan gumf that I had accidentally bought.

I continued on my way over rolling tracks through vineyards and small farms. As I crested a hill I saw a path down to a campervan site with a small drinks stand located on it. I sat down on a bench in the shade and savoured an ice cold lemonade.

We then had two options. One was a coastal route which had warnings everywhere and one was the original Camino that took us more inland. I decided that as fun as the coastal route would be, maybe I would try it one day without Bronson on my back. This turned out to be a better choice than I had thought.

Picture painting time.

After I had walked a few kilometers the sky started to darken and the wind started to pick up slightly. I knew there was some rain coming in but I was not prepared for what happened next. 

The rain was lightly hitting the trees but as I walked I could hear the drum like sounds of the leaves getting more frequent and louder. We were in the middle of a route so there was no shelter for about 6km. We put on our rain gear and continued as the wind picked up and the sky started turning black.

Before I knew it I could only see 30ft in front of me and the rain was almost horizontal as it swept in from the sea. I was immediately saturated and starting to get a bit anxious. Thunder and lightning didn’t help with this. It seemed like the sky was alight more than it wasn’t and the sound of the thunder was deafening. A huge bolt of lightning struck the top of the ridge next to us and within milliseconds the sound hit us. It was so loud it felt like it rattled my teeth.

We were power walking up a stone/mud path that had turned into a gushing river. With ankle deep water rushing over out feet we grit our teeth and let the adrenaline that had been dumped in to our systems do its work. I got up that steep hill faster than I walk on flat surfaces. 

Finally, just as we reached the summit, the rain started easing and the thunder and lightning started making its way inland and away from us two very soggy backpacker’s. 

With puddles in my boots, wet clothes and a saturated Bronson we started the journey to Deba. 

We arrived in the dark. Soaked, hungry and a bit fed up. It was an incredible experience but I don’t think I will appreciate that for a few days

Anyway. Every single accomodation was full in Deba so we ended up having to get a taxi 5km further down the route just to get a bed! Don’t worry, a taxi will be taken back and I will walk it. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I’d done a Camino except for a tiny 5km section!!! Right, I’m off to dry my stuff.

BUEN CAMINO