We woke at 6:30 with the sound of bugle Calvery cry from one of our roommate’s phones. He is from Spain but loves the American west. After a breakfast of yogurt , granola and toast we left the Albergue Casiero Pozuenta around 8:00. It had stopped raining but we were still walking in a misty cloud for a while. The scenery was beautiful once the clouds and fog cleared. Once again we walked up and up and up. Every time we thought we were at the top we turned a corner and walked up again.
we finally reached the top and started downhill. Unfortunately we had a lot of mud to contend with going down from yesterday’s rain. We were very glad we had our poles as it was quite slippery.
We finally made it down to a town called Larrabetzu. We passed a lot of graffiti and signs calling for basque independence and the liberation of basque resistance members currently imprisoned. Apparently, this town, not too far from Bilbao, the Basque capital, is one of the most outspoken villages in the Basque fight for independence. The hills around here are full of trenches and bunkers that were designed to defend against the capture of Bilbao by the fascists in 1936. They were unsuccessful.
We were exhausted from our muddy climb down the mountain and decided to take a bus the last 9 kilometers into Balbao. This would also give us more time to explore the city.
After the quiet rural walks of the last couple days, Bilbao was a bit of a shock to our system. We walked out of the metro station to a chaotic and noisy but vibrant city. I was trying to find our location on the map on my phone but the streets were so narrow and buildings so high it was difficult. Out of the chaos an older man came over to us, and in broken English asked if he could be of assistance. He gave us a quick low down on places to see. He also warned about the many pick pocketers. He suggested a paper map as well. 😀. We thanked him and finally found our Pensión for the night which was in a great location just off the busy Plaza Nueva.
After a quick rest and a bite to eat, we headed out to explore. We headed a cross the river and walked to the impressive Guggenheim Museum. It was closed but we enjoyed walking around the outside of the strangely shaped building. We then went to one of the oldest cafes in Bilbao as recommended by out elderly friend. The interior was done in tiles. We then visited the cathedral where we were able get our compestella stamped. We then had a delicious dinner of pintos at the plaza Nutella and called it a night. We were exhausted
