SUSAN MURPHY'S WALK IN SUPPORT OF THE CFUW CHARITABLE TRUSTSusan's Murphy's Call to Action - June 2014:
This summer in mid-August, my friend Monika and I are going to be pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. We plan to walk 500 km, about 350 km on the Northern Route along the coast and 150 km on our favourite section of the French route. We have been peregrinos twice before; in 2007, we walked 280 km ending in Santiago de Compostela; and, in 2009, we walked 300 km starting just inside the French border and ending just past the Spanish city of Burgos. They were both wonderful experiences and in 2009, we raised money to help create the CFUW Nanaimo Margaret Strongitharm Memorial Award, in recognition of Margaret's many contributions in Nanaimo and her term as National President of CFUW. As national President of CFUW, I am honoured also to be a Trustee of the national CFUW Charitable Trust (CT) which funds over $90,000 in Fellowships and Awards for women each year. ( www.cfuw.org) I want to help kick off the plans for CFUW's upcoming 100th anniversary in 2019 and one of our projects is to increase our scholarships and fellowships by $100,000 in that year. So, I am going to walk 500 km, make a personal donation to the fundraising, and invite you to join with me.
4844 Finnerty Place, Nanaimo BC, V9V 1N9 I will be sending updates and photos along the way and sharing the experience, although not the blisters. Thanks very much for your support, Susan |
FOLLOW SUSAN'S PROGRESS: |
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Left to Right:
Fiorenza Albert Howard, Chair CFUW Charitable Trust, Ann McEhinney, Treasurer Susan Murphy, past present of CFUW |
FOLLOW SUSAN'S PROGRESS: CAMINO DAYS 1 - 22
Camino Day 22 - Sept 6, 2014:
Finale - finales should be auspicious; however, this is the slow downward homeward trek, we have to scramble to find those sophisticated plastic bags to fend off two rain squalls, we are surrounded by huge numbers of pilgrims plodding along the path, past the airport, through small tidy neighbourhoods, alongside the road, and finally across the highway overpass at the official entry to Santiago.
It is a UNESCO world heritage site, for its beautiful old centre, and, a final test of patience along the long Avenida de Santiago about three more km winding along to get to it! A cobblestone entry, a gate where we can hear Celtic/Gaelic music and all of a sudden, the huge Plaza Obradoiro and here is the Cathedral de Santiago, the end of the trail.
Here we are - 500 plus km in twenty-two days and in good shape. In fact, we look better than the Cathedral which is under major renovation. After the official photo, we go immediately to the Pilgrim Office to have our passports stamped and to receive our certificates for having walked over 100 km. It takes over an hour stand ing in line and we patiently do so. Our final official Camino function will be to attend the evening pilgrim mass at 7:30 pm tonight and to hear our country named - two from Canada!
Monika and I both thank you all so much for your generosity to the CFUW Charitable Trust, and for so many messages of support and encouragement as we travelled along. We appreciate that you were with us and on more than a few days, we stepped a little lighter as a result.
Buen Camino everyone.
It is a UNESCO world heritage site, for its beautiful old centre, and, a final test of patience along the long Avenida de Santiago about three more km winding along to get to it! A cobblestone entry, a gate where we can hear Celtic/Gaelic music and all of a sudden, the huge Plaza Obradoiro and here is the Cathedral de Santiago, the end of the trail.
Here we are - 500 plus km in twenty-two days and in good shape. In fact, we look better than the Cathedral which is under major renovation. After the official photo, we go immediately to the Pilgrim Office to have our passports stamped and to receive our certificates for having walked over 100 km. It takes over an hour stand ing in line and we patiently do so. Our final official Camino function will be to attend the evening pilgrim mass at 7:30 pm tonight and to hear our country named - two from Canada!
Monika and I both thank you all so much for your generosity to the CFUW Charitable Trust, and for so many messages of support and encouragement as we travelled along. We appreciate that you were with us and on more than a few days, we stepped a little lighter as a result.
Buen Camino everyone.
Camino Day 21 - Sept 5, 2014
A later start to our day with tostada and coffee in the cafe on the square and I think every pilgrim stops here. The family with the little girl in the pram have and I am surprised they are still with it. It is very foggy again this morning and as we manoeuvre the cobblestone walkways out of town, it has a surreal feel. This is rural Galicia - corn fields, farm yards, implements and animals, potted flowers in front of well-kept houses, gravel trails in the forest, but no huge elevations as before. We encounter the Arca Tourist Office a long way ahead of town, and they book for us tonight and in Santiago, and speak English, a real help. Tonight we have to keep walking another 5 km beyond Arca and that makes sense as the hordes are everywhere. We stop for a Kas limon drink at the place we stayed last time, came back on the highway a bit and headed through tge forest, through a bit of housing, more forest, corn fields, alone...passed finally by about five cyclists and ended up at the hotel in Amenal, as booked. Out in the country, in a new hotel!
The food!!!! Here are a few small examples of the wonderful food we are offered on the way. The first in Sarria, a tomato, unripened cheese and anchovy salad, the second the largest tortilla I have ever seen or tried to eat - and failed - and in Palas de Rei, a plate of "piments padron", tiny peppers oiled and roasted on a grill and served with sea salt and chunks of bread.
In Galicia, it will also be fresh anchovies; pulpo - slices of boiled octopus served with sea salt, paprika and olive oil, which tastes much better than it sounds; and of course, Santiago cake made of ground almonds and dusted with icing sugar.
Thankfully we are working hard to deserve such fare and wear it off!
A later start to our day with tostada and coffee in the cafe on the square and I think every pilgrim stops here. The family with the little girl in the pram have and I am surprised they are still with it. It is very foggy again this morning and as we manoeuvre the cobblestone walkways out of town, it has a surreal feel. This is rural Galicia - corn fields, farm yards, implements and animals, potted flowers in front of well-kept houses, gravel trails in the forest, but no huge elevations as before. We encounter the Arca Tourist Office a long way ahead of town, and they book for us tonight and in Santiago, and speak English, a real help. Tonight we have to keep walking another 5 km beyond Arca and that makes sense as the hordes are everywhere. We stop for a Kas limon drink at the place we stayed last time, came back on the highway a bit and headed through tge forest, through a bit of housing, more forest, corn fields, alone...passed finally by about five cyclists and ended up at the hotel in Amenal, as booked. Out in the country, in a new hotel!
The food!!!! Here are a few small examples of the wonderful food we are offered on the way. The first in Sarria, a tomato, unripened cheese and anchovy salad, the second the largest tortilla I have ever seen or tried to eat - and failed - and in Palas de Rei, a plate of "piments padron", tiny peppers oiled and roasted on a grill and served with sea salt and chunks of bread.
In Galicia, it will also be fresh anchovies; pulpo - slices of boiled octopus served with sea salt, paprika and olive oil, which tastes much better than it sounds; and of course, Santiago cake made of ground almonds and dusted with icing sugar.
Thankfully we are working hard to deserve such fare and wear it off!
Camino Day 20 - Sept 4, 2014
After a quick tostada and coffee next door to our pension, we head out of town again on the trail just around the corner. Again mundane looking, sidewalk, some trails, a number of them in the forest and some beside or crossing roads. We reach the highlight town of Melide about 15 km away about lunch time. It is famous for its pulperias, where long tables are set up for the pilgrims and others to eat the octopus delicacy and many do. Large steaming pots are on the stove waiting for the octopus to be boiled and then sliced with something resembling garden shears. The streets are overrun with people walking and we begin to wonder where we will stay and how far we want to walk.
It is a cloudy day, about 22 degrees, and the terrain basically quite flat so quite easy to continue on. We do see some old churches and a little thatched leboreiro on our way out of Melide and several more horreoros painted a variety of colours or completed in more modern bricks. Otherwise, it is very rural with the aroma and sight of cows, horses and pigs, and the evidence on the trail to watch for.
The most remarkable sight is the incredible number of people. But surprisingly, sometimes on the trail, we are also alone. Where do they go? Well, lots are picked up by buses so they walk to a certain point and are picked up, taken to a prearranged hotel/hostal, and they have dinner and spend the night. It is another way of doing the Camino that has great attraction for many who are not long trekkers and who want to carry only a day pack and the tour company carries the heavy luggage. We walked for a while yesterday with three - a couple from Wisconsin and a woman from the Philippines. Seventeen in their group and they all just met on the trip. We were walking and chatting away and, all of a sudden, they said ...here's where we stop. Lots of options on Google!
When we walked this section in 2007, there were far fewer people, fewer albergues, pensions and hostals and cafes along the way. Now it is an incredible difference. And siesta is a thing of the past.Sometimes, a little grocery or bar would be closed. Not now - that is when the cash register is k-chinking repeatedly.
We have a list of accommodation options again from the Tourist office, and Monika books one in Arzua, still about 12 - 15 km away. We feel good and it is too early to stop at 1:15.
An afternoon through the woods, some "up, up, up" as Monika calls it, past many cafes in the middle of nowhere where great crowds of walking groups meet. Today it appears to be a religious group of some kind with a priest, men, women and lots of kids who frankly looked much less enthused than the adults who are cheering them on as though they were Olympic athletes.
It is a long and industrial entry to Arzua, as advertised, and it does look familiar. We find the pension and are sharing the second floor with about five cyclists. There is a door on the street next to the pension, they have wheeled the dusty machines in there for safekeeping, and lumber up the stairs after us.
We have worked hard the past few days for sure and Monika suggests we reward ourselves with a cab ride of about 2 km, back to a little restaurant connected to an albergue right at the start of town. The menu was the best we saw and we discover Roland, the very nice French man we have seen frequently and who took our photo on O Cebreiro at the top. We join him and have a lovely dinner. A good bottle of red wine, bread, a first course - we chose salad, spaghetti carbonara, and ratatouille with a fried egg; second course, and we all chose merluza fish, dessert of warm chocolate crepes, and coffee for the bargain price of €9.90. There is clearly a desire to look after pilgrims here and to treat them well.
We manage to walk back to the pension and hit the sack by 10. In spite of promises of wi-fi and a password shown on a door on the second floor, the name of the pension never even shows up to select, and all we get from the owners are shrugs. The restaurant had open wi-fi which we always use but would like to do more later and it is not always possible. And advertised wi-fi has also not materialized before. The Irishman Paul insists on going to the room, trying it, and if it doesn't work, in his words, "I'm out of there!"
It is a cloudy day, about 22 degrees, and the terrain basically quite flat so quite easy to continue on. We do see some old churches and a little thatched leboreiro on our way out of Melide and several more horreoros painted a variety of colours or completed in more modern bricks. Otherwise, it is very rural with the aroma and sight of cows, horses and pigs, and the evidence on the trail to watch for.
The most remarkable sight is the incredible number of people. But surprisingly, sometimes on the trail, we are also alone. Where do they go? Well, lots are picked up by buses so they walk to a certain point and are picked up, taken to a prearranged hotel/hostal, and they have dinner and spend the night. It is another way of doing the Camino that has great attraction for many who are not long trekkers and who want to carry only a day pack and the tour company carries the heavy luggage. We walked for a while yesterday with three - a couple from Wisconsin and a woman from the Philippines. Seventeen in their group and they all just met on the trip. We were walking and chatting away and, all of a sudden, they said ...here's where we stop. Lots of options on Google!
When we walked this section in 2007, there were far fewer people, fewer albergues, pensions and hostals and cafes along the way. Now it is an incredible difference. And siesta is a thing of the past.Sometimes, a little grocery or bar would be closed. Not now - that is when the cash register is k-chinking repeatedly.
We have a list of accommodation options again from the Tourist office, and Monika books one in Arzua, still about 12 - 15 km away. We feel good and it is too early to stop at 1:15.
An afternoon through the woods, some "up, up, up" as Monika calls it, past many cafes in the middle of nowhere where great crowds of walking groups meet. Today it appears to be a religious group of some kind with a priest, men, women and lots of kids who frankly looked much less enthused than the adults who are cheering them on as though they were Olympic athletes.
It is a long and industrial entry to Arzua, as advertised, and it does look familiar. We find the pension and are sharing the second floor with about five cyclists. There is a door on the street next to the pension, they have wheeled the dusty machines in there for safekeeping, and lumber up the stairs after us.
We have worked hard the past few days for sure and Monika suggests we reward ourselves with a cab ride of about 2 km, back to a little restaurant connected to an albergue right at the start of town. The menu was the best we saw and we discover Roland, the very nice French man we have seen frequently and who took our photo on O Cebreiro at the top. We join him and have a lovely dinner. A good bottle of red wine, bread, a first course - we chose salad, spaghetti carbonara, and ratatouille with a fried egg; second course, and we all chose merluza fish, dessert of warm chocolate crepes, and coffee for the bargain price of €9.90. There is clearly a desire to look after pilgrims here and to treat them well.
We manage to walk back to the pension and hit the sack by 10. In spite of promises of wi-fi and a password shown on a door on the second floor, the name of the pension never even shows up to select, and all we get from the owners are shrugs. The restaurant had open wi-fi which we always use but would like to do more later and it is not always possible. And advertised wi-fi has also not materialized before. The Irishman Paul insists on going to the room, trying it, and if it doesn't work, in his words, "I'm out of there!"
Camino Day 19 Sept 3, 2014
From Portomarin to Palas de Rei, km 66. Not a memorable day in terms of scenery; rather, interesting things along the way, such as the huge bus parked waiting for some walkers on the side of the road, beside the yellow painted crosswalk to allow the huge number pilgrims the right of way from one side of the highway to the other. And the two horreos, old and new, for holding corn; the eucalyptus trees that have started to appear in the landscape - an import in the 19th century that Franco pushed even further, believing that oaks grew too slowly and eucalyptus would be a faster species - however, like many imports, they take over everything.
Meeting again two Danish men, the Irishman named Paul, another German young woman who is walking long distances like our earlier friend. This one has walked from St. Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago in 21 days and has returned to Sarria to rejoin friends in walking a few more days. This phenomenon of very long distances strikes both of us as extreme, but they both describe their experience as enjoyable and in keeping with their desire to walk all day - and that would mean about 12 hours. Yikes!! We arrive in Palas de Rei about 2:30 and search for our reserved pension to no avail. The address on Avenida Compostela is nonexistent, so perhaps the listing has an error. We find something else on the same Avenida and Monika calls the first fellow to cancel. With the Senora's recommendation, we head to a nearby cafe for pulpo, vino tinto and for me, a plate of oiled and grilled tiny green peppers with sea salt called piment padron. All delicious! However, all that oil and salt may have taken its toll - so I have a bottle of water for my dinner later and Monika is faced again with hoping and asking for plates with no oil or very limited, because of a fat intolerance,4 and often is told "oh, no fat...it is olive oil!" Mopping up the olive oil from some plates could be a full time job.
From Portomarin to Palas de Rei, km 66. Not a memorable day in terms of scenery; rather, interesting things along the way, such as the huge bus parked waiting for some walkers on the side of the road, beside the yellow painted crosswalk to allow the huge number pilgrims the right of way from one side of the highway to the other. And the two horreos, old and new, for holding corn; the eucalyptus trees that have started to appear in the landscape - an import in the 19th century that Franco pushed even further, believing that oaks grew too slowly and eucalyptus would be a faster species - however, like many imports, they take over everything.
Meeting again two Danish men, the Irishman named Paul, another German young woman who is walking long distances like our earlier friend. This one has walked from St. Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago in 21 days and has returned to Sarria to rejoin friends in walking a few more days. This phenomenon of very long distances strikes both of us as extreme, but they both describe their experience as enjoyable and in keeping with their desire to walk all day - and that would mean about 12 hours. Yikes!! We arrive in Palas de Rei about 2:30 and search for our reserved pension to no avail. The address on Avenida Compostela is nonexistent, so perhaps the listing has an error. We find something else on the same Avenida and Monika calls the first fellow to cancel. With the Senora's recommendation, we head to a nearby cafe for pulpo, vino tinto and for me, a plate of oiled and grilled tiny green peppers with sea salt called piment padron. All delicious! However, all that oil and salt may have taken its toll - so I have a bottle of water for my dinner later and Monika is faced again with hoping and asking for plates with no oil or very limited, because of a fat intolerance,4 and often is told "oh, no fat...it is olive oil!" Mopping up the olive oil from some plates could be a full time job.
Camino Day 18 - Sept 2, 2014
In Sarria, we are staying very close to a set of steps you need to climb to leave town on the Camino. Last time we were staying up the steps and close to the church and the bells rang on the half and then every hour. This time, no church bells but again, very early about 6-6:30, we hear pilgrims walking, talking and their sticks tapping on the cobblestones and the roosters crowing. We have breakfast at the pension where the makings have been left for us in the kitchen. It is very foggy as we leave about 8:30, and that takes several hours to dissipate.
One immediate change on the trail we see today is the hordes of pilgrims - those with packs like us looking somewhat dusty and bedraggled by now, those with day packs or wearing the same brightly coloured tshirts with logos who are likely walking for a cause and who are being met by buses along the way, a family of three on bikes, one a seven year old that we feel sorry for as he struggles up some very steep spots, a family pushing a little girl in a pram, and a small group of Roma people sort of hidden in the forest with their tent selling knicknacks and food. The mass of humanity is upon us! We reach Portomarin at Km 89 about 2:30 and today that is lots.
Portomarin is a bottleneck because to get a credencial you must walk at least 100 km and that start is Sarria at 112 km. It is also a distance of about 22 km to Portomarin and no where close enough to go after it, so everyone stops here. We know this and should have booked ahead, but heat and distance took over yesterday and we were simply grateful for our Sarria choice. In Portomarin, we are limited to a pension which in reality turns out to be a hotel around the corner, and the hordes keep coming, so we take it.
Many years ago, Portomarin was flooded intentionally and from that reservoir, important buildings were reclaimed and moved up the hill. The Iglesia is among those and now is in the centre of the square where most restaurants are.
I will send a couple of photo emails and the last travelogue one as we head towards Santiago over the next four to five days.
Buen Camino.
One immediate change on the trail we see today is the hordes of pilgrims - those with packs like us looking somewhat dusty and bedraggled by now, those with day packs or wearing the same brightly coloured tshirts with logos who are likely walking for a cause and who are being met by buses along the way, a family of three on bikes, one a seven year old that we feel sorry for as he struggles up some very steep spots, a family pushing a little girl in a pram, and a small group of Roma people sort of hidden in the forest with their tent selling knicknacks and food. The mass of humanity is upon us! We reach Portomarin at Km 89 about 2:30 and today that is lots.
Portomarin is a bottleneck because to get a credencial you must walk at least 100 km and that start is Sarria at 112 km. It is also a distance of about 22 km to Portomarin and no where close enough to go after it, so everyone stops here. We know this and should have booked ahead, but heat and distance took over yesterday and we were simply grateful for our Sarria choice. In Portomarin, we are limited to a pension which in reality turns out to be a hotel around the corner, and the hordes keep coming, so we take it.
Many years ago, Portomarin was flooded intentionally and from that reservoir, important buildings were reclaimed and moved up the hill. The Iglesia is among those and now is in the centre of the square where most restaurants are.
I will send a couple of photo emails and the last travelogue one as we head towards Santiago over the next four to five days.
Buen Camino.
Camino Day 17- Sep 1, 2014
We are unsure again how far we can go. We head down from the mountain cross country, around farm buildings, past cows, along a trail beside the road, and down slate floored, steep sloped trails far from anything except birds and a great view. After an excellent lunch at a familiar spot in Triacastela, and as it is only 12:30, we carry on towards Sarria, the next larger place which is a long way off. We pass and are passed by a German couple and an Irish man, and later meet up with a great young German woman medical student who left Vega de Valcarce this morning and is going to Sarria. This was our start too...but YESTERDAY. She is walking an incredible pace, but adjusts for us, and somehow we chat and walk our way with her through the next two hours all the way into Sarria. It is Km 112 and obviously, mind over matter. We find another tourist office, get a map, buy our saving cold Kas Limon drinks that are simply delicious and taste so much better than stale warm water at this point. We find a lovely pension just off the main route near the river which is also our recommended inner location. It took a while to wash all the dust off us and our clothes - the temperature reached 34 here today.
We are unsure again how far we can go. We head down from the mountain cross country, around farm buildings, past cows, along a trail beside the road, and down slate floored, steep sloped trails far from anything except birds and a great view. After an excellent lunch at a familiar spot in Triacastela, and as it is only 12:30, we carry on towards Sarria, the next larger place which is a long way off. We pass and are passed by a German couple and an Irish man, and later meet up with a great young German woman medical student who left Vega de Valcarce this morning and is going to Sarria. This was our start too...but YESTERDAY. She is walking an incredible pace, but adjusts for us, and somehow we chat and walk our way with her through the next two hours all the way into Sarria. It is Km 112 and obviously, mind over matter. We find another tourist office, get a map, buy our saving cold Kas Limon drinks that are simply delicious and taste so much better than stale warm water at this point. We find a lovely pension just off the main route near the river which is also our recommended inner location. It took a while to wash all the dust off us and our clothes - the temperature reached 34 here today.
Camino Day 16 - Aug 31, 2014
Up and away into the hills and spectacular views looking back as we climb higher. We enter our final province of Galicia, and it is a tough walk up and up in the heat to O Cebreiro. It is a tiny hamlet with round thatch roofed "pallozas", a distinctive form of rural architecture found throughout the Celtic world. No chimneys and shaped to deflect the wind, smoke escapes through the thatch as hams and sausages are cured. This is a real tourist destination and as we come up a stone walled path to the road, we are suddenly surrounded by crowds. We have done well in spite of the heat, visit the tiny church, eat lunch and carry on. As we leave O Cebreiro, it is obvious that the route we knew has changed considerably - people used to leave the albergue in the dark with lamps on their heads, cross the highway and go down a steep narrow path. It is now more scenic, safer, stays on one side of the highway, and gets the same result. The rest of the day we continue to climb to our final destination of Alto do Poio, over 1300 metres high, and arrive again out of the forest and heat to a roadway, an albergue, and a hostal. We have worked hard in the heat and with the climbing. High in the mountains, it gets chilly and windy at night - a first! Not the most amenable hosts at the hostal; in fact, we are not impressed overall and are happy to depart in the morning. It is, however, a beautiful sunrise and you can see forever.
August 24, 2014
Hola everyone. We have managed to trudge along the bright and sunny Spanish north coast, from Castro Urdiales to a little town called Liendro where we stayed in an alburgue for the grand sum of 8 euros, as you share co-ed in a dorm of 8 people. Next a long haul to Laredo with an incredibly long white beach and ultimately a short boat ride to Santoya. A very long and tortuous walk for the rest of the day when we lost the plot, so to speak. Meaning no yellow arrows and no directions for ages, and then ....aha...a camino sign which led us up a cliff overlooking the beautiful beach. However, this was well beyond anything the Tuesday hikers would attempt and no ropes or fences to keep you from toppling. We abandoned at about the fifteen minute mark and turned back, and tbe return trip was nearly as treacherous. We saw two compatriots on day five who raved about it...highlight of their Camino so far...must be the caution of our age! The rest of that day was fraught with trying to make our way to Noja, a seaside town, with basically no arrows or ideas and way too much sun. Finally arrived in a very circuitous manner to a tourist office that was closed and little to choose from. Just past the town square, Monika spotted a "bed and breakfast" sign....not common here. Success!!. Our host Elena looked after us in a fabulous way, charged us 35 euros for a lovely room and provided a huge breakfast for another 5.
Off down the road again a bit late as we slept in and the alarm didn't go off....sounds like the dog ate my homework....however, a relatively good day with few problems, lots of walking, of course, one of the trails through the corn fields, many turns to take us past the local church for no other reason but to see it, and ending with another ferry ride from Somo to Santander. We have completed our first section successfully, some sore foot issues for both of us and a shin splint for me, but the packs with frames are good and not pulling our backs. Generally, the country side is beautiful, the food and wine delicious and the people very kind to help us. So far so good!
Hola everyone. We have managed to trudge along the bright and sunny Spanish north coast, from Castro Urdiales to a little town called Liendro where we stayed in an alburgue for the grand sum of 8 euros, as you share co-ed in a dorm of 8 people. Next a long haul to Laredo with an incredibly long white beach and ultimately a short boat ride to Santoya. A very long and tortuous walk for the rest of the day when we lost the plot, so to speak. Meaning no yellow arrows and no directions for ages, and then ....aha...a camino sign which led us up a cliff overlooking the beautiful beach. However, this was well beyond anything the Tuesday hikers would attempt and no ropes or fences to keep you from toppling. We abandoned at about the fifteen minute mark and turned back, and tbe return trip was nearly as treacherous. We saw two compatriots on day five who raved about it...highlight of their Camino so far...must be the caution of our age! The rest of that day was fraught with trying to make our way to Noja, a seaside town, with basically no arrows or ideas and way too much sun. Finally arrived in a very circuitous manner to a tourist office that was closed and little to choose from. Just past the town square, Monika spotted a "bed and breakfast" sign....not common here. Success!!. Our host Elena looked after us in a fabulous way, charged us 35 euros for a lovely room and provided a huge breakfast for another 5.
Off down the road again a bit late as we slept in and the alarm didn't go off....sounds like the dog ate my homework....however, a relatively good day with few problems, lots of walking, of course, one of the trails through the corn fields, many turns to take us past the local church for no other reason but to see it, and ending with another ferry ride from Somo to Santander. We have completed our first section successfully, some sore foot issues for both of us and a shin splint for me, but the packs with frames are good and not pulling our backs. Generally, the country side is beautiful, the food and wine delicious and the people very kind to help us. So far so good!