Gronze warned it would be a long one today, and it wasn’t wrong. Broke the 30km mark for the first time on this Camino.
A flat gentle stroll along the promenade for an hour to reach the ferry to Santoña. Hardly anyone about and the view across the bay in the morning Sun was a picture of tranquility.
The ferry picks you up from the beach with the first trip at 0900h and every 15mins afterwards, a quick trip across the small estuary and you are in Santoña. Looking back, the view was brilliant.
We had breakfast at a café then continued, passing the towering stone walls to a prison. A hill in front progressively got closer and at the foot, we had a decision to make. Take the official route or the road – official we went.
It was a narrow, rocky, winding path through shrubbery. Uneven and steep in places; Neill lost his footing and ended up like a turtle – thankfully no injuries.
All the hardship had payed off, as we rounded the hill, a huge sandy beach stretched out to Noja on the horizon. The path down to the beach behaved, and we were on the soft sand.
Here I met Elliot from Wales, on his first Camino and aiming form Santiago. I followed the line of pilgrims enjoying the sea air and golden beach.
Wanting to remain on the beach I had to navigate a small stream. I unlaced my trainers and paddled across. The cold water was heaven for my feet. So good I walked the rest of the way in the surf.
At Noja, I rinsed the sand of my feet and called into a bar for a tortilla. It was undulating country roads for the last 15km, with the heat, it was a bit of a slog. On the way I met more perregrinos, with Santiago in their sights. Sophie from Austria, two from Oregon USA.
The Albergue sits on a hill, a 20min walk from Güemes. A great Donitivo, a life’s passion for the owner. He has kept on building it up over decades with the help of volunteers.
He had led a life you wouldn’t believe. At the age of 12 he was a shepherd, then became a priest, was involved with worker’s rights campaigns, arrested and put into prison. When he got out, he bought a Land Rover, drove all around Europe and North Africa, then put it on a boat to South America and drove all around there. Then returned in the 80s to make the albergue, and at the age of 87 he is still working.
Stu's Camino 