Camino del Norte Day 8: Castro Urdiales to Laredo

Today was breathtaking. It was also VERY wet. 

Truth be told I’ve been incredibly lucky so far. I always knew that walking the Camino del Norte would at some point entail walking through rain. It’s not so green by coincidence. I’ve had fantastic weather until today. But I have to admit, when it started raining not two minutes after I walked off the beach in Castro Urdiales it was dispiriting. 

I spent the first hour kind of miserable and wondering if it would be awful of me to just hop in a cab and forget about today’s walk. Life’s too short. Why put myself through this? 

Then it stopped raining and I found myself on the most spectacular stretch of coastal scenery. My spirits lifted and it was glorious. This is why I am walking the Camino del Norte!

As the stretch ended I decided to stop at a cafe along the way for a break. Wouldn’t you know it, it started raining again. So I settled in with my coffee and chatted away with an Irish couple sitting next to me for about half hour. Rain over I once again got underway. 

Misery Loves Company: a long, wet slog on the Camino del Norte

This second half of the day was to be entirely walking on the side of a somewhat busy road. Most of it had a walkway on the inside of the guardrail, but not all. The first part was so gorgeous I didn’t even mind it.

This is when I met Jose Antonio. Jose is from Granada. He’s walking the Camino del Norte with his brother, nephew and a friend. He fell back and started chatting away with me, then went back to his peeps when about a half hour later he saw them stopped at yet another cafe. We said our goodbyes and I kept on walking. It was a few minutes later, when I realized I had missed the split. I had a choice to walk up and over a mountain with theoretically amazing views or continue taking the road for the faster way to Laredo. A local man seeing the confused look on my face pointed the way. I asked if it wasn’t safer for me to take the mountain route. He said “Not today it’s not. Don’t take the mountain, just stay on the inside of the road, you’ll be fine.”

As we were talking, Jose Antonio rocked back up. He didn’t want to wait for his peeps to finish their sodas and so we linked up again. All I can say is thank G-d for company on long, rainy, monotonous days. No sooner had we gotten underway it started not just raining, but pouring. There was nowhere to stop, to take shelter, nothing. All we could do was continue our slog. And so we did. While I was wearing a rain jacket I hadn’t put the pants on and before I knew it, my bottom half was soaked through as we walked along the bushes on the side of the road. And I’m doing this why again? 

But honestly it was fine. The company and the conversation kept us both distracted and before we knew it we were in Laredo. It had stopped raining in the last hour and we had dried up somewhat, so we were actually in good spirits by the time we descended into yet another picturesque coastal town. Nowhere near as beautiful as Castro Urdiales. But it still has its charm. 

As it turns out Jose Antonio is staying at the same hotel as I and since his peeps took an entirely wrong turn and ended up walking several miles in the opposite direction we had lunch together before I finally went back to my room to rest and tend to my soaking wet shoes. They’d better dry by tomorrow. It’s going to be another long one on the Camino del Norte. Around 19 miles (30K). But the wonderful thing is that even if I wanted to I can’t start early. There is a ferry that I need to take that doesn’t begin running till 9am. So yay for sleeping in!!! 

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Todays Stats

Distance: 16 miles (ish—watch died at some point) 26K

Elevation gain: 1,500ft (457m)

Duration: 6:30hrs

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Food and Accommodation

Hotel Ramona. The hotel itself is nothing special to look at. But honestly it was perfect and comfortable. The folks at the front desk are amazing. Incredibly helpful, doling out advice on everything from the best places to eat, to the logistics of catching the ferry the next day. This is one of those places that cares about pilgrims and it shows, even offering special rates on rooms for those walking the Camino del Norte.

Lunch: Cafeteria el Parque. Having gotten into town quite late, we went here upon the recommendation of our friendly hotel receptionist. It was a block away, and the menu del día was good and very budget friendly.