You’d think that we would have this Camino thing down. After all, we’ve walked three Caminos before, more than 100 days and over 2,000 kilometers (Ed will verify the statistics at some point.) But today we were surprised twice (so far), which I believe is one of the many lessons of the Camino: don’t get complacent. Don’t get over confident. Be humble.

The most dramatic ocean views of our Camino were earned today at the expense of the hardest climb. It was like rock climbing — hands and feet on what felt like vertical knobs of slippery white, polished stone. Totally unexpected: the guidebook we have, which we had already decided was pretty useless, said “a climb up a hill.” Not a white knuckle scramble for life and limb… The guide book rated the day as a 2 on a 5 point scale. I think it was a 6 on the same 5 point scale. It was 45° slope with some sections around 60°+ both up and down.

Of course, it was a great feeling to finally reach the beach on the other side of the mountain, but less than two hours later, we were walking back and forth looking for our pension. At least ten local people sent us in ten different (and wrong) directions. We were already tired and hot, and Anne was developing her first blister.

After a little rest, and the kindness of our hostess (after we found her), however, we are almost ready to face our last two days of the Camino. And the forecast is for rain…

We are sad to leave Euskadi — Basque country — but the gorgeous views of the coast and Bay of Biscay distract from any melancholy. The weather has been glorious, with highs around 69 to 70.

Last night (Monday) we strolled around Castro Urdiales, a lovely resort town and had the most fresh fish, beautifully and simply prepared, of our lives. Literally it was right off the boat, and cooked by people who love their fish.

The middle photo shows us with a statue commemorating Roman emperor Vespasian, who is credited with founding the town. The statue is in front of the church which has a commanding location next to the lighthouse, and the most flying buttresses, flying in multiple directions, that we’ve ever seen.

It’s hard to believe we have only three more days of Camino walking (ending on Friday evening). By the way, Ed’s blister is all better, thanks to Compeed and Urgo (brand names) silicone plasters. (But today he got a splinter…)

People who walk the Camino frequently say or hear local people say to us “Buen Camino.” It means have a good walk. Some people say “Ultreia” which in Camino-speak means ‘go farther, go deeper, keep going.”

We walked for the last few days in the sun. It gave us time to meditate as we walked about all kinds of things. Some of the time we did stretch into Ultreia. Some of these thoughts were about our family and friends, especially those who have, in the last few years, passed on to their next chapter. Some of the thoughts were a reflection on how lucky we have been in our lives and in the lives of those we love. How grateful we are for the gifts we and they have been given. And, just when we are deep in a meditative state, one gets a pain in a joint or muscle that brings us back to earth. One experiences the pain and thinks, ‘I hope it is just a tweek or a momentary and passing thing. I hope it isn’t serious. I hope I can make it to the next place that has people around who can help if I need it.’ How quickly we can focus on the next step.

It is important to be grateful and to understand that much has been given to us, not because we have earned it or deserve it, but because we are lucky to have been born into good families in a good and wealthy country. Maybe we were able to take advantage of one or two of the many opportunities we have been given.

Walking a Camino helps us to be grateful because it is good to remember the past but it is also good to stay in the present and focus on today.

We are in Bilbao for 2 days and leave on Sunday morning on our last week of this Camino towards Santander.

We walked into Bilbao thru a heavy fog over Monte Avril. We were told that we would have panoramic view of the city from the top of that mountain. Too bad. We walked downhill into the city in the afternoon and found our hotel with some help from the local police. We went out, after descanso, to get the feel of the city and its people. We walked around and sampled the pintxos which were great. The people we met and spoke to were all helpful. We were back to hotel by 10:00 – which is early in Espana. We looked forward to our planned day of rest.

On Saturday we walked to the Fine Arts Museum and there was a very large exhibit of Goya pieces from many museums – many from the Prado in Madrid. It was very nicely done. We then walked to the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. We walked along the river path to get the full view of this architectural work of art. We went into the museum and went thru the special exhibits.

We went to Mass on Saturday night at the Catedral. It was the first Mass that I have ever seen the priest do the whole Mass with sign language as well as a speaking the prayers and homily. A young and energetic man, he had many helpers do the signing when he wasn’t speaking. It was very impressive and inclusive.

If you are a vegetarian, you may want to skip the rest of this post…

We had dinner that night at a restaurant that specializes in “Old Cow.” “Old Cow” is the Spanish translation of Aged Beef. It is called txuleton in Basque country. It is grilled beef that has been aged for months, unlike in the US where aged beef is aged only for weeks. It is served on a charcoal grill at the table. It was great and very Basque.

Yesterday it went all the way up to 64 degrees and today it was predicted to go to 66, but a blanket of fog kept it below that at the top of Monte Avril. Anyway, this constitutes a heat wave in our experience.

The mud hasn’t been quite so bad the last few days, but the ups and downs of the mountains make this highly strenuous. It’s no wonder that the more southerly, inland route, called the Camino Frances (the route we took in 2015 for our first Camino) overtook this Camino del Norte route in popularity back in the 13th century or so.

Some of the long uphill slogs have been conducive to meditation, but they are succeeded inevitably with steep downhills that require careful attention.

Since we started at Lourdes we have walked about 300 km and almost all of it was either uphill or downhill. For example, in the last 3 days we have had a +2,000 ft up and 2,000 ft down followed by a 3,000 ft up and a 2,700 ft down followed by today’s walk into Bilbao with a 2,500 ft up and 2,400 ft down. Some of the slopes are reasonable but many exceed 10° and there have been frequent 15° and 20°+ slopes. The downhill walking is tough on the thighs and caused Ed to get his first blister since our first Camino in 2015.

It has been enjoyable to see the Basque people up close at walking pace. Their ancient language seems to be flourishing in the modern context, and their economic clout proportionately exceeds their numbers. The little horses (batokas) are adorable and the goats are sure creative (don’t worry, he got his head back through the fence, horns and all, without mishap.)

For those of you considering walking the Camino del Norte, we can highly recommend Carmelo and his service, Le Petit Bag http://greencartrans.webcindario.com/ or (+34) 635 730 852. Carmelo provides the (for us, essential) service of transporting our luggage forward to the place where we’ll be staying that night. Ever since our Portuguese Way Camino last year, when Ed had his problem, we’ve determined not to carry our full packs.

Carmelo picks up our bags around 9 am each morning, and they are waiting for us at the new aubergine- hostel when we stumble in five to seven hours later. He has been completely reliable from our start in Irun to Deba, our fourth walking day in Spain.

Since Deba, Carmelo passed us on to Mikel, who will transport our bags to Bilbao (which we will reach tomorrow, D.V.) Then a different Mikel will take over to our end point (for this spring), Santander.

It was raining and 46 degrees when we set out from Orio yesterday (Sunday, May 12). Then it stopped raining and the sun came out. Then it rained again, with a chill wind blowing off the Atlantic. It seemed as though at least five distinct bands ranging from “winter” to “summer” swept through– but it never got warmer than 58 degrees.

Rain pants have been essential gear, and we’ve been busy zipping and unzipping various layers. The scenery is gorgeous and the paths very quiet.

We felt blessed when we walked up the steep hill to the 17th century church San Nicolas de Bari in Orion on Saturday at 5:20 pm and learned that there would be Mass at 6:00 pm! We were equally fortunate to be able to celebrate Feast of the Ascension at 8:30 am in St Jean Pied de Port. May we continue to enjoy His protection. (Mass times don’t seem to be shown on any website. If posted at all, they are written on a sign stuck INSIDE the door of the church, which is, of course, closed and locked when there is no mass…)

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We failed to tell most of you that we are visiting THREE countries this trip. Not only France and Spain, but Euskadi — the Basque Autonomous Community. We participated in a fabulous Ascension mass in which there were not only about 50% male attendance, but the male and female voices rang out strongly and beautifully.

There are a lot of “x’s” and “z’s in Basque, but it seems like the pronunciation is pretty straightforward, so we joined in the singing.

How lucky that yesterday’s walk, day one on the Camino del Norte, was sunny and warm! (The forecast is not so good…) There was a long climb, with enticing glimpses of estuary and ocean. Lots of rocks and rough path made the going slower, but, unlike in France, the waymarking has been excellent.

The night was spent in Renteria, high on a hill above the shipbuilding port of Passejes de San Juan. Part of the Spanish Armada was constructed there.

One of our last meals in France was prepared by a professor of French (lady standing at the back) and her husband, hosts of a B&B in a beautifully renovated, but remote, farmhouse. It was a gourmet feast of Basque specialties, shared with two pilgrim friends and two French couples taking a “long weekend” (French term) for the Armistice Day (May 8) and Feast of the Ascension (May 10) holidays.

There followed an 18 km walk through the constant clouds and drizzle to the gateway town of St Jean Pied de Port, from which in 2015 we began our laborious trek over the Pyrenees.

There were more pilgrims on this last day than we had seen the previous six days, perhaps 10 in all, including the little doggy getting a free ride from his master. Behind him you can see the contraption that another pilgrim was dragging instead of carrying his pack in his back.

So au revoir to France. We will soon be catching a bus to a train to another train to a taxi, to hopefully arrive tonight in Irun, Spain, the start of our next phase, the Camino del Norte — the camino along the northern coast of Spain. Dare we hope for some breaks in the rainy weather???

Monday, May 7 we saw a rare sight: a sunny day! And we decided to eschew the scenic walking path through the woods (and the mud) by walking on the road. (We did walk in the wrong direction at one point, adding 2 unnecessary kilometers, but at least they were dry underfoot!

Overnight we stayed at the picturesque town of Mauleon. As with our first Camino (2015) we have become friends with fellow pilgrims, two Canadians, a Frenchman and a woman from Miami. They are each delightful people on their own spiritual journey. And they are the only pilgrims we’ve seen so far, as this route in the French Pyrenees has been little travelled so far. (Possibly because of the wet spring and the mud…?)

Today (May 8) we shared the road with a flock of sheep whose shepherd rode a mini bike. The sheep were running flat out, their little hooves clattering over the pavement. Ed thinks they were cold because recently shorn. Our road took us over a mountain top where fog blew across thicker and thicker until we could only see a few metres ahead. Signs promised “un vue panoramique” but we saw none.

La boue means “mud,” and that is the headline for our first three days of walking west from Lourdes. Day One brought us to Lestelle-Betharam and the whole day was rainy and cold. Day Two’s destination was the hamlet of Arudy; it was cool and cloudy.

On Day Three the forecast was the best yet: sunny and 72 degrees. But the path, running through pastures and forests, was all too often a slippery descent through churned up mud to a slippery stream bed. Locals say this has been one of the wettest springs in memory. The sound of rushing water is an accompaniment to bird song and occasional early crickets!

One highlight was catching up with a bunch of white water rafters fully togged with wet suits and helmets. They gathered on the Pont du Diable (Devil’s Bridge) and, one by one, jumped off with blood curdling yells 25 feet into the greenish cold swirling water below. When they saw us crossing the bridge, they invited us to jump, but we declined.

Jumping from Devil’s Bridge