Camino Pilgrim

It was raining non-stop from yesterday evening until this morning. Luckily, you do not need to check-out of hostels at 8am like in the albergues. This gave me a chance to continue sleeping until the sky was clear.

Getting out of San Sebastian was very easy. Wind came from the ocean so I could easily guess how far rainclouds are from me. I was pretty much always walking behind the rain clouds. The trail was always muddy and wet in front of me.

The elevation challenge was the same as yesterday, but because of 8km of walking through mud I was an hour slower than yesterday.

Some places had huge rocks mixed into the trail of mud. It was great for keeping my shoes clean and my feet dry, but I also sprained an ankle. I will need to do some mobility exercises and stretches to recover from today.

Physically, it was not that difficult. I have plenty of strength to keep going. Apparently, peanut M&Ms are a great trail snack. They have a ton of calories (mostly from sugar). You can take a handful every hour and keep going without the need for breaks.

Just before arriving in Orio, there was a massive rain shower. Had to change into waterproof socks at a bar. Took only time to finish a Coke and then kept going. Did not want rain clouds to catch me. My ankles did not like it, but after a while of slowly walking, they started to feel a bit better.

From Orio to Zarazutz and then to Getaria, I was already choosing trail alternatives that did not go into the mud anymore. There was a lot of forest walking that I skipped in favor of asphalt and concrete.

The tourist promenade walk from Zarazutz to Getaria was amazing. Right next to the ocean, with plenty of fresh water sources and benches around. I was glad I did not take the original route that went into mountains full of mud.

Lots of faces started to repeat. Norte does not have that frequent accommodation options and people keep walking very similar distances.

Some new people appeared that had planned to walk only for a week, from San Sebastian to Bilbao and then finishing. After Bilbao, the walking will become quite easy since the mountains will be gone. That is when I plan to start walking longer distances.