Day 8: Ontón to Liendo, 219 Km done, 616 to go!

We're no longer in Basque Country.  If you're keeping score,  we're now in Cantabria. 

Yesterday's albergue was really highly rated in one of our three sources for this trip, two guidebooks and an app.

Looks nice enough right?  But a top rated place? I dunno...  First off, note how close the road is...

In an albergue,  you sleep in a bunk room. That's my stuff on the lower right hand corner of this shot.  The windows of this room open onto the front of the building and that road.  More on that in a moment. 

This place is a donativo,  meaning you pay what you think it's worth, like the monastery.  The middle aged lady who owns it, Maria,  is otherwise retired.

She made dinner for the ten guests.  There was salad, vegetarian paella, dessert, and wine.  No real protein.   I am going to lose some weight on this trip...  My watch, Garmin the all-knowing, says I burned 3,700 calories yesterday. 

Dinnertime was fun, just the same.  There was an older couple from Nantes, France.  There was a mother and daughter from Seville who were of French extraction.  There was a teacher from Italy, and another, Juan Carlos, from Madrid.  Finally there was an overly chatty lady and her niece from Leon, Spain.

I mention all this because an element of staying in hostels is a forced fraternization with people from all over.

So, we roll into bed before everyone else because we're early risers. We put in ear plugs and put on eye shades, because that's what you need to do. (Sounds like Pinball Wizard, without the cork...)

Of course,  someone shuts the @#%!!! windows for the road noise, and the room turns into an overnight sauna.  (This happens every time we do the Camino...)

Okay, so 5:30 AM rolls around and we slip out silently to start our walk by six.  We have two choices: extra height and distance through the mountains,  or walking along the shoulder of the old, little used coastal highway.

We made the right choice.  Today was a day where we adored the views of the coast.  This is the earliest of many shots.  This was taken at 6:31 AM.

Along the way, we had to cross another old mining tunnel.

It was really long and well lit.  We never had anything like this in the French Route.  Pretty cool, huh?

At 8 AM we reached an amazing seaside town named Castro Urdiales. Imagine big seaside villas, high rises competing for harbor views, an old town of narrow streets.   What's not to like?

Yes, we even found a place open and serving fabulous tortilla española. At 8 AM!  This is how the Camino is supposed to work!

We gathered ourselves together to push on.  It was approaching 9 AM.  Out of the woodwork start appearing other pilgrims.   It seems we're the odd ducks getting up so early.

Again, and all day, we opted to walk closer to the shoreline when given a choice.

As we were leaving Castro, we passed this amazing grotto where people swim.  It must be connected underwater to the sea because the water rises and falls.

How can you get tired of these views? The app we use says that we covered over 40 kilometers today,  but the coastal route cut probably 10 off of that.

We arrived in the town of Liendo at just after two PM. Nobody answered the phone at the municipal albergue.  Nobody answered the door.  What to do?  We went to lunch. 

The municipal albergue in Liendo. 

Unlike last night's stopover, this town has two bar/restaurants and a supermarket. It has a beautiful church. 

This must be a float in their Easter procession.

So, we've done laundry,  bought some provisions, and are sitting outside the albergue.  It's  6 PM as I write this.  So far, four of last night's other dinner companions have arrived at this albergue... so far.

Tomorrow's plan is to get more than half way to the city of Santander. We plan on staying at Güemes.  Its an aggressive  plan.  Tina will let you know how we do.