Day 11. La bruma nos consuma

It was a 45 minute walk from our hotel down the streets of Laredo to catch the ferry to Santoña. All the passengers were pilgrims including a couple on bicycles. Once on the other side we found a coffee bar and had our breakfast, along with most of the pilgrims.

We left Santoña passing by a prison on the beach — this was no Devil’s Island but rather the place I want to be sent when they finally catch up with me. We headed up and over a promontory along a rocky trail which deposited us on the beach leading to Najos, another seaside village catering to tourists. It was low tide, exposing outcrops of limestone covered in black alga and green moss.

We pushed on past Najos after being thwarted in our efforts to grab a meal — we were mistaken for rich tourists willing to pay 10 € for a bowl of soup. In the distance, dark clouds were heading our way. Soon a persistent mist enveloped is. We donned rain gear and pressed on to San Miguel where we found a local coffee shop and ducked under cover for a bite. The rain temporarily stopped and we continued on towards Guemes, our destination for the night. Soon the mist caught us again and became heavier— not quite rain, but enough to leave us soaking by the time we arrived at our posada, the Angel de La Guarda. We checked in dripping wet and headed for our rooms, a shower, and dry clothes.

The innkeeper assured us the Bar Luis was open for meals but we found it was closed for descanso on Mondays. We noticed the parking lot of the church across the street was packed full and went over to investigate. It turned out to be a crowded funeral mass for a man who certainly had a lot of friends.

Next door to the church was another eating establishment and we entered hoping for a bite to eat. The kitchen would not open for another two hours, we were told, so we grabbed a glass of Rioja and joined a group from London, consisting of three adventurous sisters and the husband of one of them. They were not doing the full Camino. They had started a few days before and would be heading back to London from Santander. They were also waiting for dinner and we had an interesting evening with them. It turned out they were staying at the same posada so we will meet them again for breakfast. It will be a planning session to see if we can all get to Santander without getting wet.

By the way, Rafa, the YouTuber I met yesterday has posted his video. You can catch his interview with me at time stamp 21:40. (Search TeleLiendo on YouTube and look for his latest video, titled Camino de Santiago de Liendo…). It will give you an idea of walking the Camino. And give him a “like”; he would be thrilled.