5/19/17 – 29.2km/18.2mi from Pobeña to Islares, with mostly flat walking save for a few hills.
In all the ways that yesterday was miserable, today was wonderful. We had mostly sunny skies and phenomenal views at every turn. Each day so far, I’ve felt that our photos don’t do this magnificent trip enough justice. The day started with the “stairs of doom” out of Pobeña, which brought us to a stunning cliffside walk that continued for a few miles. We stopped for lunch and to check out the lovely 13th century church and lighthouse/castle in the beautiful city of Castro-Urdiales after a local gentleman met us along the way and kindly guided us in on the “good path” into town. I love how welcoming people are of us peregrinos, even in bigger towns and cities.
We then continued about another two hours through some very beautiful farms, until we reached Islares, where we stayed at a campground for the night. Campgrounds in Spain appear to be large complexes with great facilities! While we stayed in tents, they were plenty warm, and the showers were hot. After a short meditation session and a (frigid) swim on a secluded beach nearby, our group had some wine, played ping-pong (I told you, these campgrounds are great!), and we celebrated well!
