Deba (Spain) | Leapfrogging My Way - 89 Day

Beautiful sunrise this morning as I leave Zarautz with my fellow Peregrinos Juan and Borja.

Today's journey is 22 km (14 mi). Although the path moves inland slightly, the ocean remains in sight all day. Today's stage comprises several rises and falls, with the biggest climb maxing out > 300 m (1,000 ft). It is the first of two difficult days.

When I get up at 630 am, I can tell I didn't drink enough water last night and immediately work to get hydrated. In the lobby of the Surf Hostel at 7 am, we are joined by José. Borja asks how José's doing and tells us he has a big blister. Borja spent time as a paramedic, so he immediately begins to doctor José's left heel. His blister is the size of a silver dollar. Honestly, I am not sure how he made it to Zarautz yesterday. Once his left heel is bandaged, we set out with José on the left, Borja on the right, and a fellow Peregrino in front.

About 35 minutes later, we arrive at the little coastal town of Getaria. The city looks lovely, basking in the morning sunlight.

Getaria has a lovely little swimming beach, and it is protected by the harbor. It looks very inviting. As we round the beach, José can hardly walk. He stops at a park bench, takes his pack off, and takes his boots off. His bandages are not holding up. Borja tells him to take a rest day here, and José is not up for that. He tells us to keep going and begins changing shoes.

Borja and I continue on. As we leave Gertaria, we begin our first long climb of the day. It is a steady grind. Borja jumps off the trail a few feet when we pass a vineyard. "You want some grapes? The fruit of the Camino," he says. Yes. He reaches up and cuts two small but densely packed vines of grapes. The grapes are delicious, not too sweet, but refreshing. Unfortunately, the fruit is small and has multiple seeds because they are wine grapes. 

The view is stunning this morning. I am enjoying the Basque part of Spain so far. We encounter a local Basque man along the trail who is out for a walk this morning. He wishes us a "Buen Camino." Borja and he strike up a brief conversation. A brunette woman with a red backpack walking alone passes and waves. A few minutes later, José appears. He is now wearing black running shoes, still limping. He waves us on.

The shadows are long this morning, and I am taking advantage of the cool air.

Around 10 am, we begin the descent into Zumaia, Spain. The decline has a very steep slope. I fall behind the other two as I take my time descending. The canal below is the entry into the harbor of Zumaia.

I stop at the first water fountain in town. Take off my shirt, wash and dry my face. Then I start applying sunblock. The sun is warm now, and I am entirely exposed without shade as I walk into Zumaia. It is supposed to be over 80 F (30 C) today. I wave the other two on. About 10 min later, I pass José sitting on a park bench tending to his feet. He waves me on. Borja is out of sight now. As I climb out of Zumaia, I take a moment to look back at the city. I love looking back on cities I just walked through. I enjoy the new views.

More spectacular views of the Basque countryside. A beautiful part of Spain so far.

When I reach this campground, it is late in the morning, and I decide to stop amongst the trees in the shade to refuel my body and fill up my water bottle. As I leave, I encounter the brunette woman with the red backpack. Céline is from southern France, about an hour south of Bordeaux. She is walking on the Camino for the next 3 weeks without her family. They just finished several shorter treks this summer, and she decided she wanted to keep walking while her husband and kids returned for the start of the school year.

After a brief exchange in French, Céline and I part ways when we begin another long steep descent. She descends considerably faster than me. In fact, almost everyone is faster than me. The trail is rugged and rocky in many places, but there are some beautiful stretches today.

Around 1230 pm, I pass this little apple tree on the right. I reach up and grab a tiny apple from the tree. I bite into it. After a few chews, I spit it out. It is dry and flavorless. I laugh as I tell myself that this is NOT a fruit of the Camino. Céline and I leapfrog each other several times. I pass her on the uphill, and she passes me on the downhills. José also passed me during the descent. I notice he now wears tan running shoes and is on his thrid pair of shoes today.

About 30-40 min after passing the apple tree, I surface from the long climb uphill. I am tired and know I have more uphill to do before I reach the city of Itziar, Spain. Now that I am out of the trees, there is a refreshing breeze. I decide to shed my rucksack, lean up against it and begin eating. About 10 minutes later, Céline also surfaces. "C'est unne bonne idée ça [That's a good idea!]" she says as she passes by. A few more Peregrinos pass by. Then Mary Ellen and Sylvie, the two french women from yesterday, also pass by.

Feeling refreshed, I lift my bag and continue the hot climb into Itziar. As I near a church, I pass by Mary Ellen and two younger German women (one blond and one brunette) sitting on a bench in the shade. I wave and continue on. I pass Céline again, sitting in the sun and having lunch after the climb. I tell her nice view. She found a very scenic spot to have lunch.

Before beginning the descent, I chat with the little old couple from France, I encountered on day 1. They are lovely people. He wears a burgundy shirt, which is how I recognize them. Unfortunately, his wife has a sore knee. After several minutes, I finally begin the long descent into Deba. Here I catch my first glimpse of the city.

Although the decent has notable spots, like this one. The descent is grueling and slow. Finally, I reach the bottom, but the going was laborious.

I enter Deba around 130 pm. Borja is sitting with Juan and another Peregrino. Alex from Italy. "Head to the tourist office, show your passport, and get a room at the Pilgrim's hostel. It w ll cost you 8 euros." Borja says. I follow his directions. While I am in line, Sylvie and Mary Ellen join the queue. The tourist office gives me information and assigns me bed number 37. At the Pilgrim hostel, they show me to my bed. Perfect! Number 37 is a bottom bunk. I prefer not navigating those terrible tiny steps for the top bunk. 

As I unload some things, then Céline arrives. She has bunk number 38, directly above me. We laugh. Céline also speaks Spanish. The lady at the reception desk said tells her there is a washing machine, but it would be best to pool laundry. So, Céline asks if I have any laundry. I say yes, but I don't have much. So, she heads off, searching for other pilgrims, and finds the two young German girls. The four of us pool laundry. I agree to watch the laundry and move it to the drier while I work on my blog. Then, the girls head to the beach. This is a reasonably typical site at Pilgrim hostels. Check your shoes and poles at the door.

I am still working on my blog later when Céline returns from the beach. She tells me she is heading to have a drink at one of the restaurants if I want to join her later. I am almost done for the day, so I agree to join her. I join Céline for a beer, and we chat while waiting for restaurants to open. Then, we head back towards the hostel, where we find the French Pilgrims having the Pilgrims dinner at the restaurant. We join Mary Ellen, Sylvie, and the little old couple I passed earlier in the day.

You never know what will happen on the Camino. So I think it is a good policy to make friends along the way! I never expected to be surrounded by French people. I am enjoying conversing in French. I feel tired, and my feet are sore but in great shape. I am thankful I survived that brutal downhill. Unfortunately, there is more of the same tomorrow.