Playa de Arena to Castro Urdiales 21.6kilometers

It was sad to leave our apartment, it was well furnished and pleasant, but we must move on. The first stage was walk along the beach, a joy this time of the morning as it was warm and deserted. We crossed a lagoon area on board walks and arrived at a large parking area. This was Pobeña. There is an albergue here, but apart from this, nothing but a tap. We filled our bottles and gave thanks that we stopped early yesterday. There will be nowhere else to stay until Castro Urdales.

From here there is a series of steps that take us up to an abandoned railway bed. For the first time in ages we have a bit of flat walking. Apart from not having to lug our gear up and down hills, I enjoy a bit of industrial archeology. We play tag for a while with the German couple who were booked into our apartments last night, but in the end, I think they have a faster pace than us and they loose us when we stop for coffee.

At the end of the railway casement we have a bit of debate, the arrows are confusing, but the book says we must pass under the main road and the Germans go that way so we follow. We pass through Onton, the guide book says ” no facilities” and it was right. When we finally descended to the coast again, it was time to stop for some coffee and pastry. It would be nice to have something now and again that did not involve pastry or bread, it is playing havoc with our bowels. Fortunately we are out in the open most of the time.

When we get into the outskirts of Castro Urdiales, we start to wonder if we will ever find lodgings. It is all big houses, not even a hotel. I think we do nearly 2k more before we come into a town. Time for a beer before we look for lodgings.

Just inside the town area we find a lovely Pension, for only 30e. So we wash up loose the bags and go explore. We found a nice beach side bar that had menu, but we avoided all the fishy things.

Today should have been 18.6k with the 1.1to Pobeña again we have done 3k more and we are still short of the alburgue. Not looking good for tomorrow then, the book says 35.4.