Thursday, September 1, 2022

Getaria to Deba: 19.6km / 12.2 miles
Sunrise 7:34
Weather 68°F / 20°C Cloudy, Sunny
Start: 6:50
Stopped for a café con leche at 8:30 in Zumaia
Arrived in Deba @13:20

Hotel: Pension Zumardi

We learned about Juan Sebastián Elkano, the sailor from Getaria who circumnavigated the globe for the first time. Ferdinand Magellan is given credit for being “the first”, but in fact Elkano completed the circumnavigation first.

We had a few guest peregrinos walking with us today: my cousin Ismael and his brother-in-law Vidal. I swear, Vidal is like a mountain goat. Mike was happy to have someone who could keep up with him. Ismael is a cyclist, and he’s not a fan of hiking. But I was happy to have him along for our trek today. He reminded me to walk “despacio” on the uphill climbs. A welcome reminder, since I’m usually struggling to keep up with the Big Guy.

We walked up a steep hill from our hotel, through the town of Zumaia, which has two beaches popular with geologists because of the unique “flysch” that are located there. The Zumaia beaches are home to the largest area of this unusual rock structure in the world. It stretches 5 miles and gives this section of the Basque coast an otherworldly feeling. Of note: this is one of the settings used in Game of Thrones (where some of Dany’s forces land as they make their way across Westeros). We went to Zumaia with my Mom in 2018 when we visited our family.

Most of the walk was on unpaved, rocky, muddy paths. Walking in mild, slightly overcast weather is comfortable, better than hot and sunny. And there was no rain today!!

We met Felix from Germany, who was walking alone. He lived in Canada for a few years and spoke English, which was very helpful. We also met a couple, husband who was from Malaga Spain, wife from Ukraine, who were walking with their 4-month-old and were “winging it”.

Arrived at Pension Zumardi, an apartment building, in Deba at about 1:20, checked into the Pension, and then had lunch in the Plaza with Ismael and his wife Inma, and Inma’s brother Vidal. The last downhill, from Itziar to Deba, was tough on the knees, almost 850 feet in just over 2 miles. But having Ismael and Vidal along made the walk very enjoyable.