We are on our Way. 230km completed!

Hello all, sorry for the long absence but I had problems logging on in Spain.

We have been having a wonderful time. The weather has been kind to us although it has been 30plus degrees each day and very humid.
We left Irun at 12.30 on wed 10 Sept and walked until 8.00 to arrive at a full Albergue!  Apparently the hospitalero,after seeing my exhausted face, phoned a neighbour who let rooms in her house.  Wonderful to  have some privacy on our first night!.
Left early the next morning and crossed the river on a ferry.  LOTS  of  very  very steep hills. Scenery  is beautiful we walked through fields and forests.
Second night in our first Albegue in a place called Orio.  It was much better than I expected.  Everyone very nice but nobody speaks any english.  Suprisingly my little bit French has come in useful as many of the French speak spanish and can interpret.  We were offered a meal at the Albergue of soup, chicken and desert and of course the bottle of red wine.  At supper with 3 frenchmen.  Far more men walking than woman.
Friday morning left early and had breakfast of orange juice crossaint and coffee. Juice  - zuma - is freshly squeezed and we have learned to order coffee - cafe con leche grande.  This comes in a glass!  It is the best coffee, without exception always good. Met lots of locals out on their morning jogs or walking the dogs.  Arrived at our destination and walked 3km up hill to recommended accommodation to be told that it was full!  It  is weekend and wonderful weather (apparently Aug weather was not good and now having exceptinal weather for September) so everyone was out. Luckily the receptionist was going back into town so gave us a lift back and organised us a room in a pension above a taverna.
This turned out to be a good thing as we were in the centre of  town and able to be part of the atmosphere.  Met our first English speaking couple in the bar. They were on holiday from UK.
Saturday  walked on to Deba. We left our pension in Zumaia and walked back up the 3km hill and through the countryside.  Very sad to see how badly the dogs are treated in the rural areas.  They are always chained up on short chains. We reached our destination 5km outside of Deba and stayed in a fairly new Albergue on a small holding.  Two dormitories of 16 beds each. We shared one dormitory with a Polish couple and the other room was used by men only.  Once again a wonderful meal, interesting in that wife organised starters, the usual salad consisting of lettuce, tomato, eggs, asparagus, tuna etc. This was followed by a sausage and potato type casserole prepared by, I think, her brother.  After this we were served chicken and chips.  Desert was ice cream or creme caramel served by the husband followed by coffee and of course we had the usual red wine.  All for 10 Euro.
Sunday we arrived at the Cistercian Monastry in Zarautz.  Unfortunately it was raining when we arrived so we could not walk around the gardens.  We were all invited to attend Vespers with the monks which most of us did.  Sleeps 10 and we were given a large pot of vegetable soup and bread for supper.  Breakfast of bread and jams and coffee.  This is all donativo! There is a box behind a door for your donation.  We had a thunder storm whilst here and lots of rain.
Monday we left in very slippery conditions. Was had going trying not to slip on the steep hills through the forest. Stopped to overnight in Gernicke.  No  Albergues so we booked into a pension once again above a bar.  The down side of being above a bar is the noise.  The spanish only seem to go to bed about 2am but then the mornings are quiet until well after 10am and of course dont forget siesta from 1.00 -5.00 when EVERYTHING is closed.
Tuesday Arrived in Lazama at about 1.00 Albergue only opened at 3.00 so we joined the queue and relaxed on lawns outside. A lovely new Albegue in a small town.  Went for drinks with some frenchmen. Bought cheese and ham for supper and off to bed.
Wednesday 17th, Portugalete.  What a long day.  Walked into Bilbao and 5km out of town through industrial area.  I seem to have pulled a muscle in my thigh and this added to the unpleasantness of the walk.
We had to take famous Puento Colgante to cross the river.  Stayed in a Pension as no Alburgue.  Wonderful hosiçpitality from the old couple who run it.
Thursday 18th Castro Urdiales.  Left this morning over an enormous pedestrian flyover.Most of todays walking was alongside a freeway so not very inspiring.  Once again my leg is bothering me. Stayed in Albergue which got full so mattresses on the floor to try to accommodate people, lots of Aussies here. Enough said :)
Friday 19th Laredo.  Once again lots of road walking. We could have left the road and walked via countryside but I am trying to rest me leg and I was worried about the uneven ground. We stayed in the Dominican Missionaries Alburgue.  The hospitalero was very insistant that we were married.  It turned out that the rooms are private and as a married couple we were given our own room.  Lovely place with a separate lounge, dining room and kitchen.
Saturday 20th.  Left Laredo and walked 5km to the ferry to take us to Santona.   Today is to be our rest day.  We have booked into the Albergue in Laredo.  It is not very clean, probably the worst place so far, but the town is very pleasant.

Thats me for now.  This was the second internet cafe we have seen on route.  The first one was closed down.  I will try to update you soon.

0 DAYS TO GO - We're off to Great Places! We're off and away!

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets.  Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry.  Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted.  But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?  Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.  there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame!  You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
 

           

4 DAYS TO GO - Help!

I have just realised, only 4 days to go.  Somehow next Monday feels like a week away, not 4 DAYS.  I am more or less packed - I could leave now if you told me too but I would still like to tweak things a bit more. I think that David really wants more time, but there is never enough time, SO for David 4 more full and busy days.
I am very happy that I have managed to keep my pack under 6kg (5,700g at the moment).  The weight may change slightly as I adjust things but I am determined that it wont go over 5,750g.