Where there’s a will

It was a very bright but cold start to the day as we headed into the centre of Gernika in order to find the right way out of the town. After several false starts, with us leaving behind a GPS trail resembling spaghetti, we found the correct way: up!

We knew we were in for a long haul as, once again, we had roadside markers showing the distance to the top of the hill and the average gradient for the next kilometre. Unlike the roads between San Sebastián and Deba the route was superbly graded and we were able to gain the heights without having to stop to allow the heart rate to fall. The views made the effort worthwhile.

In around forty minutes or so we had reached the summit, and began to believe that this stage was going to be similar to yesterday’s.

We were wrong; badly wrong. We turned off the numbered route and immediately descended very steeply into a side valley, and then, somewhat inevitably, started climbing very steeply out of the valley. The gradient increased to an estimated 20 to 25%. I dismounted and started pushing but soon even that became a struggle. After about a kilometre the road began to level and I was able to get back on. Even Linda, with her electric support, was forced to stop cycling and walk.

Eventually, we joined another classified road and the cycling returned to its more normal pattern.

A long descent brought us into Larrabetzu and our first opportunity to have coffee, cake and rest. We fought over the homemade chocolate cake and lemon drizzle cake, and finally resolved matters in true pilgrim style by sharing.

Over coffee Linda read our walking Camino guide and was enormously cheered by the reference to the “ long, straight, flat stretch of highway “ leading into Bilbao. She failed to read the next bit about Monte Avril!

The start was innocuous enough, trailing through a typical outer-urban commercial area, and we were even relieved initially when the quiet road started winding back into beautiful deciduous woodland. Yes, you have guessed: I had to get off once more as I found the gradient unrideable.

After an estimated further 280m of lift we reached the summit area of Monte Avril; the view of Bilbao almost convinced us that it was worth it.

Unfortunately, what goes up must go down….very steeply in this part of the world. Our routing advice had given us dire warnings of making a wrong turn at a key point: any error in navigation would lead us onto the motorway system!

We were paying attention, and I had way marked the key junction. We got it right but our difficulties weren’t over. This entry into Bilbao is even steeper than the one into Deba a couple of days ago. I was concentrating so hard on staying on the bike as I descended that I failed to realise Linda had disappeared from sight. I finally came to a halt at a junction but I had no idea where Linda was. Had she taken a wrong turn in the labyrinthine network of lanes as we plunged into Bilbao? Or, worse, had she toppled from her bike on the hill. As I was dialling her mobile she appeared walking down the hill as she had found it almost impossible to hold the bike on her brakes. Apparently, she had anxiously tried phoning me but, astonishingly, my mobile was switched off. I’m doing penance again.

Even then our troubles weren’t over. We were only halfway down into Bilbao when our route led us to the top of a seemingly endless and very steep cobbled track. We bottled it, and tried to navigate through a complex area of stacked apartment blocks. As I mistakenly tried to enter an underground garage a kindly building worker, speaking in fluent Basque, suggested we carried our bikes down three flights of steps to access……yes, the cobbled track.

Fortunately, an elderly lady, in more comprehensible Spanish, directed us to a cycle path winding its way in zig zag fashion between the apartment complexes. Ah, the unsung joys of the Camino.

We found our hotel situated very close to the old town, and headed out for lunch at a typical Spanish hour – after 2pm! The food was wonderful, as has been the case throughout the Basque Country. We were full after our main courses, but Ginnie, one of our devoted followers, had asked for Basque cheesecake and so we nobly took on the challenge of eating the dessert shown below. It was as light as a feather.

We will sacrifice much for our friends!

After leaving our restaurant we sought out the Catedral de Santiago. En route we came across this unusual way of presenting a restaurant’s carnivorous menu. Not for the faint hearted vegetarian!

In truth, we found the noise and bustle of the city a bit of a challenge after the peace and solitude of the earlier part of the day. So it was with a palpable sense of relief that we entered into the quietude of the cathedral. I will let the photos speak for themselves but we were intrigued once again on our Caminos to discover a black madonna of Montserrat. The cloister also merits a special mention as it offered a haven of tranquility just metres away from the hubbub of humanity beyond the stone walls.

Tomorrow we are back to the coast as we leave the Basque Country for the shores of Cantabria.

Data: distance 36kms

Ascent 903m