5th Stage of Camino del Norte from Santona to Güemes

At the posada where I stayed last night, I was actually the only guest. I sat all alone for breakfast. I prepared a baguette for the road and then went back to my room. I had packed everything and just needed to tie my shoes. I stood up with a swing and bumped my head against a shelf. I saw stars, and tears came to my eyes simultaneously. Wow, that hurt! I had to sit down on the bed for a moment. After a while, I felt better again. I said goodbye to my host and headed over to the path. I was back on the Camino in no time. Today, I had two options at the very start to walk to Noja. Either over the mountain and along the coast or along the road. I chose the mountain again. As for the route description: it was a narrow footpath with stones and small rocks sticking out at various points. The way up was okay, but the bushes with their thorns annoyed me. However, the various views compensated for that until then. After taking countless photos in all directions, it was time to descend. The path got narrower and I had to almost crawl under the bushes. It was a nightmare. I don't know how many times I used the F... word, but I didn't care. It was disgusting. I kept feeling spider webs all over my body. I was practically forced to stop because my shoelace got tangled in a bush. I almost fell. The descent from the mountain wasn't great, especially since one had to concentrate intensely to avoid falling. When I finally reached the beach, I threw all my things into the sand and dusted myself off. No, that wasn't for me. I captured the path in several photos! Ugh, I have to shake it off again...

As a reward, almost six kilometers followed through sand and water. It was wonderful to walk there. The sky was bright blue and the sun was shining down. I kept sitting on the sand and staring at the water. It was fantastic. I walked slowly to Noja and treated myself to something delicious to drink at a beach café. When I needed to go to the toilet, I spoke to the waiter in English, but he replied: 'No English.' Ha, just wait, I thought and boldly asked in Spanish: 'Where is the toilet?' The waiter was thrilled that I could do that, and he pointed his finger towards the restroom. Yes, Daniela, as you said, that is the most important sentence I need to know. :-)

After this nice break, I continued. This time the route led a bit away from the coast into the hinterland. I kept walking on rural paths and through tiny villages. As mentioned, it was very warm today, yes, it was even hot. Sweat was running down my body. I could have used a break, but just like in the previous stages, there was no chance to get something to drink or eat. That's really weak. In the next small village I passed through, I stepped off the Camino and walked into the center. I was lucky because there were several bistros right there. Exhausted, I sat down and ordered food + drink. I really enjoyed that break! When I paid, the owner gifted me a bottle of water and a pin. Completely happy about such kindness, I went back to the Camino.

Phew, despite the refreshment, it was extremely exhausting to walk in the heat. Because now it felt like it was all uphill. There were several cows in a pasture. When I took a photo of two of them, suddenly several more cows came and lined up. That was funny. Such little highlights made the ascents bearable.

I was completely exhausted and checked on my phone how far it was to my accommodation. There were still just under two kilometers to go. Luckily, the sky was getting a bit cloudy, and the sun kept disappearing. When I arrived in Güemes, a car honked next to me and stopped. Arielle, Charlotte, and Chris got out and greeted me joyfully. Chris had picked them up in Güemes. They are flying from Bilbao to Madrid today. We exchanged phone numbers and took some photos. After a warm goodbye, I walked to my accommodation. There I took a shower first and washed off all the bugs from my body. Even though I was completely exhausted, I still wanted to explore the town and went out again, and what can I say: there isn't much happening here. I wonder how many people live here. 10? Just a quick note about today's stage, which was nearly 20 KM long!

Best regards,

Anke