Day 6 (del Norte): San Sebastian to Orio

Resuming the walk today, we planned to have an early start but do not manage to leave until 9:30am. I guess we are not quite into the rhythm of the Camino yet. Fortunately today's leg is only 12km, true to the Camino LITE spirit. But I am still quite concerned about the terrain through which we have to nagivate, so hopefully it will go smooth on this first day out of San Sebastian. The breakfast is excellent again and we are leaving this hotel pretty impressed. (The helpful man at the desk is the owner's son but not her oldest. We know that the Basque tradition in the farms is for the first son to inherit the property and the rest of the siblings move out when they get married, but I guess that does not apply in this case.) 

The walk is pretty uneventful. Waymarking is spot on and no other navigation device is really needed.

San Sebastian (or Donostia - my last chance to state its name in Euskera, or the Basque language): at 7:30am the sun has not risen over Monte Igueldo and the lighthouse is still going strong. The typically late sunrise in Spain will only get worse as days get shorter and as we move westward.

Leaving San Sebastian: this stage starts along the ocean (Bay of Biscay). The two sheep in the middle are posing for the picture?

Leaving San Sebastian: spotting the first hospitality station for the peregrinos. We are now under 800km from Santiago!

Walnut trees abound around here.

A large hydrangea, which the wife surmises is due to the wet environment in this area.

A Basque farmhouse: not too far from here is the restaurant Akelarre. Too bad we don't get to go there this time. Sorry, Chef Subijana, not to include you in our pilgrimage. Next time.

Waymarking is surprisingly excellent. And in fact, this "X" when you are about to take a wrong turn can be very helpful - something not even seen commonly on Camino Frances.

Berries are there for the picking. The route is paved for the first 5km or so, a luxury probably much appreciated when it's wet.

The pavement ends and soon a narrow and often rocky trail starts. The wooden signpost, not uncommon so far, stands guard authoritatively.

Some pilgrims are on horseback, like on Camino Frances, but I am not sure if they do it the entire length, given the tough terrain.

These are not poison oak - I know with certainty, because 1) I have expert knowledge on the difference between berries and poison oak and 2) it simply does not exist in this area! It's a good thing.

This gentleman (left) who passes by is one of the few pilgrims we run into (and our paths would cross multiple times today), is a telecom consultant from Canada and holds a physics PhD. When asked why he chose this route rather than Frances as his first Camino, he retorts, "why would you want to pick an easier route?"

Most people we see on the route are locals on a day hike or a stroll with dogs.

Descent into Orio

On the outskirts of Orio: hmm, this could be an idea for presenting mignardises (desperately trying to combine the Camino and the culinary pilgrimage...)

After a steep descent from the hills, we reach Orio, our final destination today. We notice the attractive center of this small fishing village with the population of 5,000 before we cross the bridge over River Oria to find our hotel easily. The luggage has arrived intact, hooray. The owner of this facility, which is really a B&B, speaks little English but leads us to our impressive room - large, modern and very tastefully decorated. 

Orio: we arrive at the hilly side of this fishing village

Orio: we stumble upon Pieta attributed to Oteiza, whose work we saw in San Sebastian yesterday. Orio is his birthplace.

Orio: Crossing River Oria to arrive at our hotel. Ferdinand and Isabella supposedly banned the process of charging pilgrims for river crossings to encourage pilgrimage. So how come we haven't seen an inexpensive pilgrim's menu at the local restaurants?

It is already past 3pm (did it really take more than 5 hours to cover 12km?) so it's definitely time for lunch. Should we eat light at lunch or dinner? Decisions, decisions. The restaurants along the river are still very busy as expected, so ordering lunch this late is no problem. But once we notice that the dinner does not start until 8:30pm, the decision is made - this is going to be another single-meal day with a full lunch only, as we don't want to stay up late. The meal hours here are obviously more in keeping with the rest of Spain than catering to pilgrims. The prices also reflect this fact. No 10-euro menu de peregrino in sight.

The fish reign here so we order hake nape at Bodega Jose Mari, but the lady sitting at the next table tells us that the real specialty at this restaurant is besugo. Why didn't she tell us that before we ordered? Anyway, she speaks good English and we have a nice conversation with her, who lives in San Sebastian and drove to Orio with her family to have besugo, which I look up and find it means red sea bream. It only took them 15 minutes to get here, which puts our walk into perspective.

Orio: lunch at Bodega Jose Mari. The mixed salad (with asparagus and tuna) is an old standby for us whenever we are in Spain.

Orio: hake nape (cogote de merluza) at Jose Mari. I resist the temptation to ask if they have Oreo cookies for dessert.

Orio: the entrance to our well appointed casa rural. Returning to our room early for a fairly long day tomorrow.