Day 7: Bilbao to Ontón

 

Another fabulous day of hiking across the North of Spain!  We left our hotel at 6:00 am, having enjoyed coffee in our room, and being offered additional coffee by the front desk.  So sweet!  We walked to join the Camino route.  Lo and behold, we passed many open bars and cafes.  How refreshing!  It’s possible to have breakfast as early as 6:30 am. This photo of a neighborhood in the outskirts of Bilbao shows an ancient ermitage nestled alongside a modern housing development.  Just another common site on the Camino.

Ermita in Bilbao

 

There are multiple routes along the Camino exiting Bilbao.  We chose a route along the river that’s both shorter and less steep than the main route.  The downside is that it passes through industrial areas instead of through forest land. Well, the route was indeed radically shorter, but it was also extremely poorly marked.  There were absolutely no road markings to be found, so we walked for 2 kilometers based on the directions in the Buen Camino App we'd downloaded.  Thankfully, our route reunited with the primary (and better-marked) Camino route and we continued on our way, which included a lovely breakfast at 8:00 am!

Paco along the Camino

 

Breakfast in Sestao

The first town we passed was Portugalete.  It’s a beautiful little town which years ago rivaled Bilbao as a major seaport along the Atlantic. Bilbao won the port privileges, leaving Portugalete to its historic tourist ways. The Viscaya Bridge pictured below is the first-of-its-kind transport bridge ferrying people across the river on suspended gondolas. It’s now a UNESCO heritage site.

Viscaya Bridge in Portugalete

 

Next, we had to find our way out of town to continue along the Camino.  That was no small feat!  Camino markings were maddingly incoherent: one arrow pointing to the left and an adjacent arrow pointing straight.  Or there were no arrows apparent at all.  At one point, there were 5 or 6 of us pilgrims standing in a square discussing which way to turn.  Non-existent or misleading directions are a big problem in cities along this route.

We found our way out of town and onto a phenomenal path that ran separate from, but parallel to, the major highway.  It was peaceful and quiet, 2 bike lanes with a walking path alongside.  It was a wonderful route.  Note the cow crossing sign along the way!

Cow Crossing!

 

We passed by a sports complex that was hosting a children’s sports camp.  One of the activities involved kids donning plastic gloves and picking up trash along the walkway.  I wish camps at home did that as well!  What a great service to the community.

Campers Collecting Trash

We also passed by lots of graffiti and ubiquitous separatist propaganda.

Separatist Propaganda

 

We met some new pilgrim friends along the way, folks who just started the Camino in Bilbao. Among them were a couple from Italy; a university student from Milan, Sofia, who’s relaxing before staring her senior year in business studies; and a young couple (French and German) now living in Austria.  Interestingly, we didn’t see our friends from the prior days.  They had planned to stop in Portugalete, and probably did so.

 After 11 kilometers of walking this path, we arrived at the oceanside town of La Arena.  This was our first glimpse of the Atlantic Coast beaches and rugged coastline.  Just stunning!

Beach at La Arena

  

Ocean Views at La Arena

 

The suggested itinerary from our tour books recommended that we finish at the small town of Pobeña, about a mile further along the coast.  As it was only noontime and we still had plenty of energy remaining, we decided to walk another 6 kilometers to the tiny village of Ontón. 

What amazing scenery!  Most of the walk was along the rugged Atlantic coastline.  The views were incredible!  We even walked through a pedestrian “tunnel” through a mountainous cliff.  It was such fun!

Rugged Atlantic Coastline

View of Onton in the Distance

 

Paco Entering the Tunnel

We arrived at our albergue around 2:30 pm, and chose to forgo a further 1.2 kilometer hike to a local restaurant in lieu of a refreshing shower and needed down time. 

As of the end of today, we’ve walked a total of 187 kilometers and LOTS of elevation in 7 days.  We’re now in the province of Cantabria.