Stage 7 ~ Bilbao to Portugalete

Today we had a short day. Only 13.5 miles. Fitbit still gave me happy faces, and it felt good to only walk for 5 hours. And to sleep in until 730. And not be rushed. I checked out of the hostel at 1030! A leisurely breakfast followed by running errands (I have anti itch bug gel!) and packing securely.

I then strolled into town and went to the Cathedral of Santiago to pray for all your intentions. It was quite peaceful. And I ran into my French friends again! They checked on my bug bites because they had seen them yesterday and felt my lymph nodes to make sure I was ok. They said everything was better. Nice to be looked after by near strangers!

I was supposed to meet Tash (Australia)  near the river at 12 but it turns out we were thinking of different places, so we missed each other. I ended up with Petra (Hungary) and Niko (Spain) and Tash caught up with us later.  The walk was not pretty, but great fun! It rained, so we had our lunch under an overhang to wait out the storm. Then we kept looking for this bridge we were supposed to see, but it turned out to not really be a bridge and we crossed the river in a suspended car/ferry thing.

We had discussed walking past Portugalete and camping on a beach, as the recommended stage at this point ends in a town with only a seasonal albergue and no reasonably-priced accommodation. However, clouds threatened more rain, so we decided to stay here and found a pension Where our 2 German friends happened to also be staying. After a quick clean up and handling off our dirty clothes for them to be washed (for free!), we headed to the bar across the street, where wine was 1€ per glass and I paid 3.2€ for my very meaty kebab and soft drink. Great company, good food, wonderful night.

It wasn’t much to look at today, but the company made it fun. Complaining doesn’t change things, so I just have to keep trucking along. Today about 3/4 of the way through, Niko commented that I keep smiling even when we are walking through terrible conditions. I said it is all I can do because I can’t stop walking and smiling makes it better. He said it was good, so today I am grateful to be able to spread at least a little bit of joy!

Hostel (pension La Guia): 15€
Food (grocery and the bar): 10€
Bug cream: 8€

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