Norte – Day 7 – Gernika to Bilbao
Gernika to Bilbao is about 31 KM on the Camino. Most of our fellow pilgrims had planned to stop in Lezama which is about 10 KM outside of Bilbao. When we made our reservations we decided that the Bilbao accomidations gave us more options. That left us with a dilema, to walk 10 more KM into Bilbao or take the light rail. The camino experience in large cities, especially industrial ones is not too pleasant. They are useually boring and nosiy with lots of pavment and cars. So it was not difficult for us to make the decision to hope on the light rail to Bilbao.
The weather was quite good as we left Gernika on a pleasant Sunday morning. As we passed the outskirts of town, the Camino presented us with another hill. So we said “hello hill” and plodded on huffing and puffing for hours. The guide book we are using for the Camino Norte does not seem to be as explicit regarding the stages difficulty or elevation as the Briarly Camino Frances guide book. Not sure if its better to know beforehard or not that is going to be a tough day…. but I tend to want to know what to expect. In short, the journey thus far on the Norte is much more difficult than the Frances route. There are a lot more hills, and more mud. So on we went up hill and into the forest. Aside from the hills and mud, much of the day was spent walking in the woods. As we decended out of the muddy woods, we met up with Pam from Federal Way (who is the organist for St. Theresa’s in Federal Way).
We walked with Pam into Larrabetzu which is one of the most out spoken villages for the Basque fight for independence. We arrived in the town square to see a silent protest in progress. In the town square is a replica of Picao’s painting with another mural depeciting the fear of the horrific event in 1937. You cannot help but to sympathize with scars of pain the people of this region have lived with.
Throughout the day the sunny weather had been turning gradually more grey, and while we were in the square enjoying a short rest and a Coca-Cola, a few rain sprinkles began. Not sure if it was the threat of rain or if was just the time to end the protest; but that was all it took for the town to begin clearing out.
With the threat of rain coming we shouldered our packs and headed on to Lezama as the sprinkles faded. Along the way I said a short prayer… “Lord, please hold off on the rain until we reach our hotel…” (Thunder showers were forecasted) After another 3.5 KMs we arrived Lezama. As we neared the village square we heard the sounds of a large crowd. We turned the corner and found ourselves in the midst of a crowded outdoor food fair. Lots of booths crowded with people enjoying meats, cheezes, wines etc… Being a crowded space, we stood on the outside of the event for a minute taking in the scene. As we stood there two women approached us and asked us in Spanish if they could take a photo of our muddy boots…. (mostly Lori’s I think…) Look at us! We are becoming quite celeberities. First me with my Seahawks shirt, and Lori with her muddy boots. After our photo shoot, we decided not to attempt to navigate the crowd of the food event, and decided to head off towards the light rail station wishing to get to Bilbao in time do some laundy and grab some dinner.
We managed to figure out (sort of) how to purchase tickets from the light rail vending machine, and board the train…. in a 20 minutes we arrived at a station as close to our hotel as we could get. One problem, we could not exit the station as we apparently did not pay the right amount… going 2-3 stops past our fare. Thankfully a station agent assisted us after a bit of hand gestures and Google translate. After another 20 minute walk, we walked into our hotel as the sprinkles were just begining. While waiting to check in, the thunderstorm began with a loud crash and huge downpoar! The heavy rain lightning and thunder continued for another hour before subsiding. And thus ends another seemingly uneventful day on the Camino.
