It’s 8:47 pm and I’m writing from bed in a second floor room in a bar in the town of El Pontarron de Guriezmo. There are no open albergues here so we had to get creative.
Daniel, the host at last night’s albergue told us about Susanah and her rooms above the bar. I typed what I would say into google translate, phoned her, and did my best reading of the Spanish. She understood me alright but kept on talking and talking. After laughing, Daniel took the phone and explained who and how many of us were coming.
When we arrived. I again typed my message and entered the bar. I approached the woman behind the bar and said, “Hola Susanah?” “NO” was her answer. Luckily Susanah heard me and came over. I just showed her my message and she laughed, then got us registered.
This is what I imagine an old run-down tavern in a southern Ontario small town may have been like in the 70’s. It works, but the door handles don’t.
Bars have become our main source of food for lunches. I think I have had Spanish tortillas everyday – plain, with cheese and fried onions, with ham, and with sweet green peppers. Problem is, there are no other restaurants close, so this will be supper too. By the time Miranda, Mark, Richard, and I had made supper from the remaining pinchos on the counter, only one small tuna melt was left and Dudley had just come down to eat. He surveyed the situation like any engineer would, and decided to ask the woman behind the counter to make him something, the same woman who barked “NO” at me, clearly did not like Richard, and scared the others. We all turned our chairs to watch the show. It was loud and ended with the woman pointing repeatedly and telling Dudley to “Sit Down.”
In the end she whipped up a cheese omlette on half a baguette for Dudley. We were stunned and envious. He ended up with the best supper today.
Antonio, a local from Castro Uridiales, eagerly led us from an old train tunnel to the trail through town. He really wanted us to see the beach. He was right. Thank you Antonio.
Miranda, from Holland, quit her most recent job to walk this Camino. She is taking her time enjoying the experience and thinking about what she wants to do for her remaining working years.
Oliver is from Germany. He is a fellow Fujifilm camera enthusiast. He likes walking, and eating Spanish food. He is not sure how far he’s going on this walk.
Tracey, from Edmonton, Canada is living in England. I met her in Islares at Bar La Abuela Santa where she was eating lunch. This is her first Camino and is walking from Bilbao to Santander. I mentioned that I am an Edmonton Oilers fan from long ago and she shared the Mark Messier lived on her street in Edmonton when she was growing up. going up.
Tom, Tracey’s partner from England, is also on his first Camino but not his last.