Beaches, Camels, & Silos
Hiking Day 12 Santona-Noja to Galizano
Miles 17.5
Total Miles 166.0
Ascent 1284’
Descent 1213’
It seems that I neglected to say in yesterday’s blog that the prison where we climbed the wall was actually not a historic site but a functioning, active prison….hence the reaction of the security system and the guards!
We are unsure how far our hiking is today so we have an early breakfast and are off by 8:15, after I temporarily leave my cell phone in the hotel room. Phone retrieved, we depart just after our Michigan friends, Pete and Andrew. Leaving the hotel and the beach, we walk along the street and soon head up a steep and rocky trail, first with a breathtaking uphill and then sharply down, with great views of the ocean below.
The long descent takes us onto a wide sandy beach which we follow for a couple of miles, walking along the water’s edge in the packed sand. Great hiking where we do not need to concentrate on foot placement.
Most of the rest of the day is through green farms, past farm animals, and across fields. The scenery is nice but a lot of the same as we see each day when we are doing inland hiking. Near Noja we pass a place where you can take camel rides, burro rides, or horse rides. An interesting place to come upon camels!
We pass several small churches and in and out of small towns and villages. We photograph some artfully painted old silos and have lunch outside an old convent, that is supposed to be a Camino information center but is closed as are many of buildings along this hike.
After lunch we hike for miles along narrow and seldom used asphalt roads towards Galizano, at one point enduring a seemingly endless road climb of 500 vertical feet or so, finally descending steeply into Galizano. At one point we pass a farmhouse with several ferocious sounding, loudly barking dogs. The Spanish dogs are notorious barkers and would love to bite Pilgrim’s legs, but fortunately are always within fenced areas or are chained up. Thank goodness!
The day is unexpectedly long at 17.5 miles and the only other Camino hikers we see the entire day are Pete and Andrew. It is amazing that we can hike 6-8 hours a day and see no other Pilgrims. On our prior Camino we saw a hundred or more and sometimes several hundred others each day. This is truly a very different hike
My hip is a bit painful at times today but we have a shorter day tomorrow followed by a rest day in Santander the following day…..enough time I hope for the body to heal.
Scot headed into Galizano
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