Day 11, Beyond Bilbao

At the advice of several pilgrims who have traveled the Norte before us, we chose to ride the metro 10k out of Bilbao to the town of Portugalete. That allowed us to skip a day of walking through the less than scenic section of Bilbao where the industries and refineries are located. From Portugalete we walked to the small beach town of La Arena where we will spend the night.

Our walk today was quite different from the past several days. Just about the entire day was spent walking a paved pedestrian/cycling trail with gentle slopes and a couple of parks along the way.   It wound out of Portugalete, over a major highway and eventually into a quiet rural area where it ended at La Arena beach.

Leaving Portugalete:

There was an escalator in town that took us up a very steep hill.  Judy was pleased.

Today’s “trail”.

Along the way:

Denise’s backpack. She has the most “flare” of the three of us. That’s our mascot, Tom, peaking out of the side pocket.

A post-walk beer with a bear.

On the beach in La Arena:

Author: Maureen

I decided to walk across Spain to pursue the many things I love about life: the great outdoors, spending time with friends, meeting new people, food, wine, music, and challenging the physical self. I'm fortunate to have a wonderful husband who has provided me with the encouragement, support, and love I've needed over the past several months of training and preparing. View all posts by Maureen