The guidebook stated that this stage was to give the traveler a flavor of the mountains. Did the writers forget the up and down experiences of the past three days? I walked south away from the ocean. Lots of greenery to be seen but no ocean. Ah.
I encountered the red, white, and yellow blaze again. I was getting worried that somehow I was off course. Did I miss another fork in the road?
At the halfway point, I met Wim from the Netherlands (born 1 March 1948 — two months before me) and Nina from Norway, 70. They were on their fifth Camino. Wim claimed the title of the oldest person so far on this Camino. I thought that I was the only person thinking about age. We fist bumped and reveled that we could do this trek.
I recounted my walk to the Flysch and how the path did not follow the published route. Turns out that they did the same thing. They noted that signage on this Camino was not as frequent or obvious as other ones. Perhaps someone acted on this observation because after we met the signage seemed new and stood out. Quite frankly, I am glad that I took the fork that I did yesterday. I would have missed the Flysch.
Another new mountain experience was sharing the path with a rider and horse. Watching them pass, I began to imagine what it was like for foot soldiers who slogged in the mud while officers and cavalry rode about. Have you seen paintings of foot soldiers cheering horsemen? Not this one.
Before descending into Makina Xemein, I looked back to the mountains that I had traversed. I thought — been there, done that. But many more are to come.
I arrived in Markina-Xemein where a large hexagonal building houses this shrine to St Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of Markina. The stones were mentioned in the 14th century writings stating that hermits and nuns inhabited the site. The current structure was built in 1741 and renovated and added to since. The only other time I saw a large rock enclosed was the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. This site would have been impressive without the structure. The Remarkables on Kangaroo Island, Australia is another place where I saw huge rocks standing apart from other formations.
My hotel was another mile out of town. The additional mile was a paved path along a river. Well worth the extra distance. Here are some images of the dining area (my room is on the top floor to the right), inside my room, and my three course dinner. I would recommend this hotel/restaurant to anyone. It was very quiet as well.
As I dozed off into blissful sleep, I wondered whether foot soldiers had it so good. I don’t think so.
88 Photos 