Today was the last hike of more than 15 miles with at least 2000 feet of elevation gain. These hikes certainly showcased the beauty of the Basque coast and inland mountains. They were also more challenging because of the rains over the last three days. Slippery mud — glad I bought my waterproof boots.
The walk out of Markina-X had many twists and turns. I finally used the map from the Buon Camino app. Dah. You don’t need the commentary because an icon which represented my position could easily be seen on a yellow line — the Camino trail.
From my hotel which was a mile south of town, the map helped bring me back to centro in order to reconnect with the Camino. From there, it helped guide me around construction and a new pathway on the Camino. It works offline thus reducing the amount of cellular data transfer, thus, payments to the telecommunication company.
About 3 miles away from Markina-X, I stopped for a break. While sipping my coffee, in came John from England whom I met on the first day. We last texted two days ago. He was 10 miles behind me but here he was. He had walked 15 hours (not miles) the previous day in order to make up distance using a torch (flashlight in American English) at night. My cardinal rule — no night walking.
I passed through Bolibar named for the ancestral home of Simon Bolibar (Bolivar as we know him). I did not have time to tour the actual home which is now a museum. I had done a quarter of the walk and it was already 11:00.
Even without the rain, the area has stretches of rain forests. At one point, the locals put in a half mile long wooden stairwell on a particularly steep incline. No way could anyone safely come down that hill.
About three-quarters of a mile from the bottom of the stairwell, I spotted the tower of a church in the town of Munitibar — almost the halfway point at about 1:15. Time was ticking.
After more climbs, steep descents, and muddy tracks, I finally spotted Guernica (Gernika in Basque) at 4:00 PM. I have wanted to visit the town because of Picasso’s famous painting of its destruction during the Spanish Civil War. The city is rebuilt and has expanded into the foothills. I will visit the memorial mural tomorrow.
My B&B for tonight is located outside of the city. Once I arrived at one of the main plazas, I called for a pick-up and asked for an hour to have some dinner. A cafeteria (not what we think – more like a bar and coffee shop) was nearby where I had some pinxtos, beer, and a chocolate croissant that had what seemed to be a generous bar of chocolate running through it — 2.80 Euros for the croissant.
The Casa Rural Astobieta has a delightful host family (husband, wife, two young boys), four dogs (finally received some puppy love), super fast WiFi, and a very comfortable bedroom. I was the only guest for the night. The night was dark.
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