Day 10 – A special Camino experience?

Laredo to Güemes, 30Km

If you like endless deserted sandy beaches with rolling sand dunes and their special plant life, this was your day. It was just a shame that the weather was overcast. I tried to convey the beauty of the walk with a few photos but they all look dull and grey. You’ll just have to believe me.

I’m walking with Sanne from The Netherlands and we set off at 7:15 to walk 5Km along the beach to catch a small ferry at 9am. Our plan was to get breakfast while waiting for the boat to start but we arrived to find a desolate empty beach with nothing more than a notice to wait. So we waited. More pilgrims arrived and then, soon after 9am, the little ferry pulled up and we hopped aboard. We set off just as our Dutch friend Inneke appeared over the dunes but she missed the boat. Sadly we were not able to say goodbye. Her Camino ends soon.

After a dull breakfast on a dull day we had a lovely walk over endless beaches and climbed a big hill. We were going to stop in Noja but we reached it at 11:00. It looked like a particularly dull place so we decided to walk on to Güeme. This is where there is a special albergue. La Cabaña del Tío Peuto is widely hailed as the one of the essential overnight experiences on the Camino del Norte. I have a mixed feeling about such places but we are here now so I’ll keep an open mind. The reception process required great patience as each pilgrim had to disclose all their personal details and I was left wishing for Ryanair’s speedy boarding option. Eventually one of the kind volunteers showed us to a room of 12 beds and then into a cold shower which I later discovered was hot if you turned the thing in the opposite direction.

Feeling more invigorated than usual, I was told to wait for the 7:30pm bell which summons pilgrims to hear all about the religious organisation which owns the place and their heartening work in Africa. Later will come the communal dinner which has a low bar to climb to become the best communal dinner I’ve ever eaten.

I returned to my bed and opened one of my emergency cereal bars and a banana. But quite unexpectedly, one of the pilgrims found a gap in the security fence and escaped. She just returned with 12 cans of cold beer and now we have some enthusiasm for tonight’s agenda.