Camino – Castro Urdiales to Liendo

So Peeps, apparently, between 20% and 40% of adults do this in bed.

I’m guessing I now have your undivided attention and I’ll cover the above soon but for the moment I can tell you that we’re walking from Castro Urdiales to Liendo and it involves a change of plan; however, first, we’ll cover what happened through the night…

It’s an issue with some soft tissue called the uvula (read that carefully, it can be misread) and when it vibrates it can be the cause of immense conflict between a man and his partner or others if in the proximity.

We had two people in the room last night that were testament to the fact that it can be an issue. One sounded like a male moose during the rutting season with its testicles trapped in a snare. The metal structures of the beds around the tiny room resonated with the noise. Some of the beds were shaking on the inward breath as his uvula set up sympathetic sonic waves that made teeth vibrate and eyes become unfocused. If you’ll forgive the pun, there was some disquiet.

This was the apprentice, the true professional was louder, much louder. He was also on the bottom bunk and some poor unsuspecting Camino pilgrim was on the bunk above. In fairness the traveller above managed an hour then as the epicentre of the sonic quake went for a pee he threw in the towel, picked up his mattress and his sleeping bag and carried them into the kitchen area and whilst this didn’t insulate him from the noise, it did stop it loosening his teeth.

I have a bit of a problem with snoring and sadly for the others, so does one of the Daves. I won’t give his name away as that would be unfair, let’s just say it wasn’t Dave Bowman. If you’re in a room with one snorer then that’s a bit unlucky but if you’re in with two then you really should be going to church you’ll need the teaching to strengthen your ability to forgive…you really will need it.

Dave and I rise at seven thoroughly refreshed and the others, well the others don’t.

Some are cleaning their teeth with extra care and others are rubbing their eyes in disbelief and all are committing the images of the two perpetrators to memory to ensure that they don’t end up in the same albergue further along the way.

I note the cleanliness of the floor outside of the shower and everywhere else on the ground floor, it sparkles – if you read the previous post you’ll understand why!

We don’t take long for our ablutions and make every effort to get on our way to avoid the stares and scorn.

Standing outside I issue a Buen Camino to the startled and subdued inmates who wave back at us with both hands held in a strange shape where two of the fingers are particularly prominent. I think it must be the Camino wave…

So we’re off. As usual, it’s uphill. The track is clear and off-road which is nice. It’s slightly overcast but showing promise as we pass pear trees, the odd apple tree but mostly orange and lemon bushes with an occasional lime. It’s slightly damp so there’s a glorious smell of vegetation and sometimes also the smell of goats or larger bovines of various types.

We’re on the coast, not high but the elevation is enough to give us fabulous views of the sea, again it’s the colour that is its virtue and not its violence although the potential is always there.

We stop after about an hour in Cerdigo where there’s a delightful cafe with a gorgeous little dog that reminds me of our two little beasties and sets up a bit of homesickness. I know it’ll pass but it’s bitter-sweet as I drink my coffee and think about them in the moment. Our merry crew soon snap me out of it and after some fabulous ciabatta toast and lovely jam were ready to climb Everest and we’re on our way.

We have more coastal track then it turns sharply inland towards what will be our ex-destination as the Pilgrim has met a vivacious British/Jamaican who lives in Madrid called Nikki and she’s walking directly to Laredo so there’s a change of plan and we make our new destination Liendo. This is mainly because someone has written about an albergue there. There’s also half a chance that the people that Dave and I entertained through the night won’t get that far so we have a double positive.

It does mean that we have quite a bit of road work although it is quiet. We stop at El Pointaron where we can sit in the shade for a mid-day relaxation with coffee and Spanish omelette which is beautiful.

We don hats to protect us from the sun and begin the walk along the road to Liendo. It’s uphill but not too steep although it does go on a bit. As it levels out we can see into the valley which is quite green but showing signs of the autumn that is not too far around the corner. It is warm; however, and we take it steady with a stop from time to time as we pass under the protective shadow of some continental oaks and the occasional eucalyptus. After an hour or a little more we can see Liendo down in the valley with the church that we must head for to find the albergue, it’s time for a pee break so the bushes are put to good use.

Like all destinations, the last couple of kilometres are the longest as we try to find the albergue and with a bit of help from the locals and some broken Spanish we get to – well at least near – the albergue then find it where it was projected to be – behind the church. What it didn’t say was that there are two churches!

The albergue is really nice although the hostaleer is a little hostile/brusk.

Tonight we have a room largely to ourselves. The other traveller chooses to sleep above me and must have been a heavy sleeper as we’re still on speaking terms in the morning; however, I do have to unpack my rucksack to retrieve a clean shirt on the strength of what I thought was a smell emanating from me and it turned out to be him – maybe he forgave me for the noise as he had no other friends – or maybe he too was a snorer and I hadn’t noticed.

Enjoy the snaps…G..x


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This is life after an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm open repair. Don’t be afraid of the operation, it set me free. Please be encouraged and inspired to walk, it’s liberating…G..x


Here’s a link to the next article:

Camino – Liendo to Santoña


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Satellite map.

This is life after an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm open repair. Please be reassured and inspired to do something similar…G..x

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