< Norte Day 11 — Norte Day 13 > < Norte Index >
35 kilometers, 9 hours, passing through Cóbreces, Comillas, and San Vincent de la Barquera.
After breakfast at the wonderful Albergue Izarra in Caborredondo, we were off for a long thirty-five-kilometer day.
Let me tell you a little about Hendrik the German. I’ll start with him because I had been around him the most. He was young, in his 30s. He is a large fellow, taller than me, and he had a lumbering pace I could just keep up with. Hendrik was an electrical engineer who worked with naval weapon systems. He’s a good man. And he had a story. After being around him for a while, he’ll tell you: Four years before, his grandmother who had lived through WWII told him to travel, to see the world. She passed away soon after. So, he went on Camino, the Camino Francés. It changed his life, his perspectives. He wanted more from life and to travel more. When he returned home, he met a nice girl and they had been together since. They liked to travel together and had been to Vietnam once. When he had completed the Camino del Norte, he planned on another life change: he would ask Lucia to marry him. Aaaaaahhhh.For the first time, we saw the Picos de Europa. They are a mountain range not far from the Cantabrian coast: a large granitic upthrust. The contrast with the coast made for beautiful views.
Throughout this trek beauty there, beauty everywhere. Natural beauty, amazing views near and far, and stunning old buildings. But this day was especially so, covering all those bases, and if you spend enough time wandering around Spain, you will find Antoni Gaudi. The highly acclaimed architect was commissioned to design and build a villa in Comillas for a very rich man who lived in a huge mansion next door. Guadi’s villa was to be this wealthy man’s guest house. Imagine that kind of wealth. The villa, very near the center of town, should not be missed. Its architecture is undoubtedly Gaudi, ornate, with bold, glazed tile and looming towers.
As I left Comillas, I ran into Stephan and Patricia. They were considering route options ahead of them. Because I had previously been ahead of them, Stephan asked where I had been. I told him about the villa. He was familiar with Gaudi and talked Patricia into going back with him to see the fine place. I gave them quick directions and took off toward Serdio.
Largely an information and inspiration gathering mission for my novel, each day on the Camino del Norte, I would make decisions on the route ahead based on what my character(s) might have done. Not this day. I wanted to see Gaudi’s villa and take the longer coast routes. So, I did.
There was little climbing this day: Cantabria, in general, was flatter than the Basque Country. The day’s weather was wonderful and the seaside gorgeous. I saw many smaller and some larger beaches and lots of surfers getting in a few more waves before winter would arrive. Because of this beauty, I did a quick check of Airbnb and home rental costs. They were not inexpensive, that’s for sure. Most places targeted the surf crowd in their ads. During high season, it must be crazy busy in these towns, especially the larger ones.
Our Camino family ended up at the municipal albergue in Serdio. It had everything a pilgrim needed and for only six euros per night. Most of us went to La Gloria, the only bar/café in town. Two warnings here: whether her name was Gloria, I don’t know, but she was not the most pleasant barkeep ever. But she, and I assume her husband, were the only game in town, they were busy. Secondly, don’t have the “house” white wine at La Gloria. It was served from a well-worn old bottle and tasted like murky runoff from a nearby creek mixed with grain alcohol. Simply put, nasty.
