What an excellent evening in Santoña!
We found quite a few other pilgrims in the youth hostel, and after all our respective end of day tasks, four of us set off into town in search of food. Not just any old food mind you - anchovies! Roland wanted to sample the anchovies here, which the region is apparently well known for. The young chap at reception had been kind enough to ask one of the passing guests (a local) where one might find a decent bar - not too expensive - and we were given directions to the centre of town.
So off we went, four of us, in search of anchovies and the restaurant that served the "pilgrim menu". I'll have to add the photo later (it's not on my camera) but we certainly had a great recommendation for our first stop. A very traditional Spanish bar :0)
After an excellent value meal (9 euros for three courses, wine included) we headed back to the hostel.
Morning came and after a basic breakfast we headed out - myself and Roland. Early light on the fishing harbour cast a silverly haze:
Over the bridge and a left turn took us out through the canning factories around the port:
Seeing the more industrial side of fish production did give me pause. Not sure quite how keen I am for frozen fish after noticing all the forklift trucks and industrial machinery:
The next steps brought us more good luck. Just as we were about to cross the road to follow the yellow arrows a local lady approached us (she happened to be out walking) and advised us against following the signs. She told us that the immediate route ahead simply went up and over a large hill and then desposited us just 500 metres further ahead than our present location. While I'm in no hurry and am happy to follow the camino, this did seem particularly fastidious, so we took her advice and instead followed her out past the enormous old prison (that houses just 600 prisoners, 30 of whom are enrolled in a local program to help with the camino - painting waymarkers etc). We passed some local newly built housing, which I thought was of a fairly high quality:
We then parted at the end of Playa de Berria and began a climb up over another hill, giving us great views out over the beach and beyond.
This was another lovely morning's walking - alongside the sea, weather good (and not too hot). We strolled past the early morning surfers and walkers, noticing the rocks showing at low tide:
Our next village lay before us: Noya.
We stopped for a coffee and after a while Toni (Antonio) hove into view. We finished our coffees and left together, now three pilgrims on the road together :0)
Our morning and early afternoon took us along local asphalt roads and into and out of small towns.
Easy walking and pleasant countryside. Like much of this area, villages are often not marked so I'm not currently able to easily identify exactly where many of these churches and views lie, except in the most general location. We stopped around midday for a quick bite to eat. I wondered how appropriate was the neighbouring building. We thought of stopping to find out, but decided to press on ;0)
This wasn't a particularly long stage and we were soon approaching Güemes. Soft rolling hills and green pastures lay around the valley. The ever present churches looking quite severe in style and appearing to have a defensive function in many places.
The traditional style of house in this area is again different:
The albergue was out of town and required a further walk of around 20 minutes but, as many guides and word of mouth had indicated, it was indeed well worth making the effort! This albergue - often referred to as Padre Ernesto's - is a place saturated with the history and spirit of the camino, about which I shall write more tomorrow. I have opted to stop here a further day to rest and allow my leg to fully recover before I move on to Santander and onward to Santiago. It's not a huge problem at all but I prefer to be fully fit for the remainder of the walk.
We found quite a few other pilgrims in the youth hostel, and after all our respective end of day tasks, four of us set off into town in search of food. Not just any old food mind you - anchovies! Roland wanted to sample the anchovies here, which the region is apparently well known for. The young chap at reception had been kind enough to ask one of the passing guests (a local) where one might find a decent bar - not too expensive - and we were given directions to the centre of town.
So off we went, four of us, in search of anchovies and the restaurant that served the "pilgrim menu". I'll have to add the photo later (it's not on my camera) but we certainly had a great recommendation for our first stop. A very traditional Spanish bar :0)
After an excellent value meal (9 euros for three courses, wine included) we headed back to the hostel.
Seeing the more industrial side of fish production did give me pause. Not sure quite how keen I am for frozen fish after noticing all the forklift trucks and industrial machinery:
The next steps brought us more good luck. Just as we were about to cross the road to follow the yellow arrows a local lady approached us (she happened to be out walking) and advised us against following the signs. She told us that the immediate route ahead simply went up and over a large hill and then desposited us just 500 metres further ahead than our present location. While I'm in no hurry and am happy to follow the camino, this did seem particularly fastidious, so we took her advice and instead followed her out past the enormous old prison (that houses just 600 prisoners, 30 of whom are enrolled in a local program to help with the camino - painting waymarkers etc). We passed some local newly built housing, which I thought was of a fairly high quality:
We then parted at the end of Playa de Berria and began a climb up over another hill, giving us great views out over the beach and beyond.
This was another lovely morning's walking - alongside the sea, weather good (and not too hot). We strolled past the early morning surfers and walkers, noticing the rocks showing at low tide:
Our next village lay before us: Noya.
We stopped for a coffee and after a while Toni (Antonio) hove into view. We finished our coffees and left together, now three pilgrims on the road together :0)
Our morning and early afternoon took us along local asphalt roads and into and out of small towns.
Easy walking and pleasant countryside. Like much of this area, villages are often not marked so I'm not currently able to easily identify exactly where many of these churches and views lie, except in the most general location. We stopped around midday for a quick bite to eat. I wondered how appropriate was the neighbouring building. We thought of stopping to find out, but decided to press on ;0)
This wasn't a particularly long stage and we were soon approaching Güemes. Soft rolling hills and green pastures lay around the valley. The ever present churches looking quite severe in style and appearing to have a defensive function in many places.
The traditional style of house in this area is again different:
The albergue was out of town and required a further walk of around 20 minutes but, as many guides and word of mouth had indicated, it was indeed well worth making the effort! This albergue - often referred to as Padre Ernesto's - is a place saturated with the history and spirit of the camino, about which I shall write more tomorrow. I have opted to stop here a further day to rest and allow my leg to fully recover before I move on to Santander and onward to Santiago. It's not a huge problem at all but I prefer to be fully fit for the remainder of the walk.
Wise choice
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