The views continue to improve. I don’t know how long it will last so I’m trying to take it all in. Though this terrain has my knees and thighs screaming!
Every kilometer takes a long time and every view takes my breath away or is that the climbing? I don’t know but I’m constantly exhausted. We decided to walk the Norte route because it was hard and had epic views. We’re not getting any younger so we need to check things like this off our bucket list while we still can do them.
I can’t believe this morning started with an easy 5 kilometer walk along the ocean, it was amazing!! This was an optional route and I’m thrilled we took it! The sounds of the waves splashing on the rocks made the walk fly by!
Then we left the seaside to climb, and oh did we climb! We are just training because tomorrow’s climb is even more intense. I keep telling myself it will get easier but we’re from the flat lands of Ohio where a hill doesn’t even compare to this terrain. And honestly, I don’t mind the climb, my problem is how long it takes me. We’re getting into our accommodations much later than I like to arrive. Some nights our clothes don’t have enough time to dry (in part because we’re having to dry them inside because of the rain).
We did have to bus ahead a bit today because it was time to get the staples removed from my head and I had to get to a clinic before they closed. Click on this blog post if you don’t know what happened. My head is healing well. I still have headaches quite a bit. We’re taking 2 full rest days in Bilbao which I pray helps. I’m resting a lot when I can, daily naps are a blessing.
After I got my staples removed, we had about 3.5 kilometers left to walk and a massive climb at about 350 meters (or 1,148 feet). A tough climb especially at the end of the day. We’re staying past the village of Deba at a Casa Rural in the middle of nowhere but with an amazing view of the ocean while perched on a mountainside.
The views are worth it. Tomorrow we’ll have a bit less of a climb, though it’s still going to be another tough day with about 450 more meters of climbing and about 600 meters of descent. 3 days until Bilbao, then 2 full days of rest. 🙌🏼 Maybe we’ll find a boat tour, unless Mother Nature keeps this rain around us.
Time will tell. I would not change a thing! ❤️
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