Into Bilbao

Today was another lesson in how dramatically different reality is from ones expectations. But I will get to that when I get to the end of the post when I describe the end of the day today.

After a great nights sleep in the hotel in Ampuero last night I had a leisurely departure since I expected to have a relatively easy day to Bilbao. 

This is the first climb. I start iin the little village below.

This was the 2 nd climb

After these ascents I figured I would have a nice long decent to the ocean and then about a 30 mile ride up the coast from Castro Urdiales to Bilbao. I had heard a lot about Bilbao and thought it would be a good place to spend the night, and I was tilde there were many hostels and several alberges. 

These pictures are of Castro-Urdiales.

Well the short ride up the coast as I am learning, anywhere in this part so Spain involves big hills. After another few moderate to big climbs I finally descended into what I trout would be Bilbao. When I got near what I thought was the city I found a really great bike path and thought I has home free.

Only to have the bike path dump me onto some pretty urban roads. When the roads started to get dangerous and at one point I went through a tunnel through a mountain, I understood that I had become accustom to rural life and now I was in a BIG city. So much for expectations! Wisely I got off the road and stopped for a coffee and sweet. I have found that my Spanish is pretty good when I talk and I can express myself pretty well and people seem to understand me. But when they talk, it is all a blurr and no compare do nada. They woulall point ant it was always to a busy road that I would get killed on. Until one really nice man saw my desperation and told me to take the subtierra. The underground, metro. Brilliant!! With all the commuters and the help of s really great metro employee I hopped on a train the treturous last few miles to downtown.

For a place to stay I found the very helpful Informacion de touristica where they alr always very helpful and always help me find a hostel or albergue for a shower and a bed.

Well now came big surprise #2. The city was in the middle of a HUGE music festival, and every room in town was booked. But upon looking like the entirely desperate piligramo that I was they sent me to where the el Camino pilgrims could stay. Mostly the alberges are in an annex to a very old church, but this one was a huge hotel/dorm on a sort of college campus.

But they too were filled, and the sent me of cours further up a huge very steep hill to another dorm like building. All the while the sort of park area on the side of this mountain overlooking the city was getting mobbed with kids. They were everywhere arriving in by the bus loads, in cabs and on foot. I was being directed toward the center of a Woodstock festival!! There were police directing traffic, and since I had wisely gotten the last place with no rooms to write down where I was supposed to go, they ere able to send me to a sort of school where indeed there were el Camino hikers and bikers and I got an upper bunk bed and a shower. I was very happy an in spite of being in a bunk house setting with about 25 people and noise all night long from the music and partying I slept like a log. 

Quit a night for for the night before my birthday.

2 days from Gijon to Ampuero

The last 2 days since Gijon I have had a hard time getting Internet, plus I have been living closer to the earth staying in an el Camino albergue in Saint Estefon and last night sleeping under the stars along side a lighthouse on the beach in Saunces. Tonight I am in a little village about 50 miles from Bilbao. I have left the coast where half of the time it is beautiful but half the time it is cool with a misty fog rolling in off the ocean.

I have been making pretty good time logging in about 70 miles per day since Gijon. This in spite of a lot of up and down. I found if I stay along the coast there is a big decent at every river, town or beach, with a big climb to follow. If I move inland there are bigger climbs but much fewer.

I will close with a bunch of photos, which I have gotten better at taking since Hannah grace me her great handlebar bag where I can keep my iPad/camera handy.

 Fog rolling in

Breach without the misty fog

Church and albergue where I stayed on Monday

My afternoon comida on Tuesday, a lobster payalla.

One of many little villages and churches along the way.

Anywhere there is a sandy spot the locals head to the beach with their umbrellas.

Alan on the road

View from my table at dinner tonight ....... Good night! 

A sad goodby to Hannah

The day began with sleeping late again, waking up again after 9. We started with another big up and then down into the 1st real industrial town of Aviles. Then out along the coast and into Gijon where Hannah was scheduled for the train to Barcelona to visit Harry. After much confusion with the Spanish train system which will not accommodate bicycles we booked into a Hostel within walking distance to the train whic was to leave at 7AM.

We made a great recovery from the drama of the train with a swim at the beautiful beach right in town, and then dinner of tapas and vino tinto near the harbor.

Monday and I need to catch up

Since last posting in Mondonero I have gotten behind on my blog. It is only because we having so much fun and doing so much that by the end of the day I am exhausted and fall to sleep once we have had dinner. To catch up I will be brief with words and post pictures instead. 

Leaving Mondonero on Friday we had a long climb and the a lovely decent to the rio Ribadeo where we crossed from the state of Galacia into Asturias. Then a short time later we reached the ocean.

Friday night we reached the little town of Navia near the coast but not on the water; 51 miles. We stayed in another small hotel over the liveliest bar in town. For lunch and dinner we had delicious seafood. The broiled fish platter had about 6 or 8 different items, clams, mussels, something a lot like haddock and a delicate white fish served whole with skin, bones and head with eyes in tact. It greatly surpassed even the fish platter at McSeagull's in Booth Bay.

We slept late on Saturday getting up after 9. There is no need to start early since it has been very cool with a constant cool for rolling in off the ocean. After our typical light breakfast we headed out but had to stop to fix a flat on Hannah's bike. Fortunately the flat came in a pleasant spot to stop and we had a spare and the tools for the fix. The most important thing with a flat tire is to solve the mystery of why the tire went flat so the replacement tube doesn't go flat again. Fortunately we were able to find a very small sharp wire, common from a steel belted radial tire that went bad, in stuck into Hannah's rear tire. It was nice to be able to teach my girl an important cycling skill.

Finally the sun came out and we ended the day ended with a decent to the coast into the little fishing village of Cudillero, where we spent the night in a pension where we had a huge room and another great dinner.

Over hill and dale

The night with the el Camino pilgrims in Miraz was a savior. The accommodations were Spartan but clean, run by British Catholics it had a new rather than an old Spanish flavor. We headed out early after some weak coffee and bread and jam. The day was cool an overcast with low hanging misty clouds. After about 25 miles and a hearty 2nd breakfast we continued our gradual climb since Santiago. Then a brilliant find by me, of a small, winding, narrow but paved road, that Hannah trusted me to take, brought us down a huge decent to the charming little town of Mondonero.

Note the slate roof and the cool misty weather. Also the vegetation is lush with all of the moisture.  Delphinium grow wild everywhere and are beautiful along with all sorts of lichen, moss, ferns and trees.

After arriving in town at about 2 we rested and explored the small but very, quaint old village and had a fantastic 4 corse traditional mid day per-fix comida (dinner) complete with a local vino tinto. 

Hannah was determined to go on in spite of the preceding days disastrous finish. She desperately wanted to get to the coast. So we headed out for what was expected to be about 25 miles on a main highway again over a pass for the next town. When the main road turned out to be a dangerous heavily travelled road with a marginal shoulder we pulled off to reconsider an alternate route. Our only option seemed to be to bushwhack through several small and confusing local roads. Until I suggested we go back to Mondonero, at which point Hannah almost started to cry with joy at the prospect of a hot shower and a bed. We found a great, charming little pension (hotel) in town and got a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the town square.

A great day with 52 miles.

1st Day on the road

After an overnight train ride we arrived at the start of el Camino in Santiago at 7AM. Somewhat adrift and groggy we wandered around and saw the beautiful town and huge Cathedral that all of the pilgrims that we were about to see were traveling by foot to see. It was a cool and over cast day and after Hannah scored a fantastic guide book complete with maps, we set off. Since this was the end of the el Camino pilgrimage we encountered a steady stream of walkers and bicyclists as we embarked. With the late start, by 1PM when we stopped for lunch we were only 15 miles in. The sun broke through and we picked up the pace until at about 3 we were at the base of a moderate climb over a pass to the last valley before the coast. 

Hannah was the navigator and I followed. After a 10 mile wrong way start we restarted the climb and all went well. When we reached the summit we thought we had an easy decent to dinner and a bed and hot shower. But a missed turn, a wrong way decent and horrible road construction had us at 8 PM climbing back up the pass on a gravel road by foot. Spirits were very low and I was sure this would be the last ride I would ever take with my daughter. We were desperately hungry, out of gas and in a remote land of cows and pasture and not a soul around. After flagging down a car for directions we were escorted to a farm on the Camino trail where the farmer's nicest wife Elena, cooked a dinner of eggs with cheese, bread, sausage, olives and wine, all produced on their farm. After dinner we made the final 15 miles of the decent to the el Camino alberge\hostel lodging. Fortunately it was still light until 10 PM and we arrived as the sun was just going down.

Check out the windmills in the background up on the ridge.

After a 72 mile day we went to bed very tired but still enthusiastic for the next days ride.

Recovery from disappointment

After a great nights sleep in our hotel in Madrid the day began with a light breakfast and successfully packing everything onto our bicycles. Then we made a quick visit to a neighborhood bike shop to pick up a few minor items and air up our tires. Hannah wisely convinced me to take the train with her up to Chamartin the northern rail departure terminal and we arrived 90 minutes early for our 3 PM departure.

At this point I was a little disappointed, thinking it would be an uneventful day, when I had promised Hannah that every day would be an adventure. But when we went to purchase out tickets we were told that bicycles were not allowed on the train!!! BIG disappointment, but Hannah [I really liked her thinking] thought we should just try to get on anyway. Well even her whilley charms and winning smile did not work with the stern train conductor. Hummiliation followed by disappointment followed by anger and then tears came in quick succession. Now what? We had a 7 hour wait until the sleeper at 10:30 left and we were exhausted having been ready for a restful relaxing train ride. So we cycled to a nice little nearby park and took a siesta, after all, we had an air pad and sleeping bag. After an hour we woke to a park filled with children playing a soccer game and families setting up for dinner. 

Then the next thing we knew Alberto, who had been out for a run and was the nicest young man stopped by to chat. We had a lovely afternoon and Hannah made a fast return to her fluent Spanish. 

Well the next thing you know we stopped by Alberto's house to pick up his bicycle [he is a competitive triathlete] and rode off together to a great hamburger place for dinner. We made a great new friend in Madrid who escorted us to the night train and saw us safely off to Santiago.

I am now falling asleep in the cozyest little bunk bed being rocked to sleep by the rolling train. Hannah is in the upper bunk. We arrive tomorrow in Santiago at 7 and will begin to unravel el Camino.