Camino Pilgrim

First week on the Norte done. I managed to pull off a 198.8km hike this week. I am very proud of this achievement.

On average, close to a 1000 meters up and down elevation changes daily. This would make the opening week a way greater achievement than any previous Camino that I have done.

Now the daily elevation differences moving forward are becoming at least twice as easy, so pushing longer daily distances will be very manageable.

Yesterday, the albergue I was in had absolutely no one I had seen before. I assume that everyone had started at least a day earlier than I did. I was so tired from the long day of hiking that after dinner I went straight to sleep.

Today I started off a bit later than usual because there was no time pressure and the road had become so much easier. It was pretty much all on asphalt. There the going was fast too. No more rock and mud challenges. Maybe some challenges will come later on the trail.

After hiking a few kilometers, I came across two Irish guys who had just met in the albergue the day before. We started chatting about everything and nothing about life while moving forward. Kilometers kept passing while barely noticing time flew by. Ideally, we will continue in the same small group tomorrow.

I did have a bit of inflammation issues on the achilles that was completely fine for a week. Thankfully, one of the Irish guys, Cian, had plasters and cold gel I could use to improve the situation. The Camino provides!

It was really lovely to see the ocean again. The main route did turn away heavily inland for a few kilometers, but it seems that most of the pilgrims chose the dangerous highway shortcut into Castro Urdiales (5km vs 17km). This makes me assume that in the next few days I will be catching up with several familiar faces that used the shortcut.

Choosing the main walking route inland was a really good idea. The villages here are super lovely and remind me of the French route. I spent two hours just chatting about life with people in Otañes village cafe/bar/shop. Things are very easy going when off the busy roads.

Prices for everything have been dropping even further. The albergue I am staying at is also very modern and full of perks. This makes me have very high expectations for other future towns and villages that are between the main stops.