We’ve met up with Tom in San Sebastián. Tom’s knee was playing up badly by the end of yesterday’s walk, so much so that walking today wasn’t really an option. In reality continuing on the Norte as a group is no longer an option either. The first week of the Norte in particular is regarded as a tough strenuous walk, too difficult for Tom to walk any of the sections.

Apart from the first day’s jaunt over the Pyrenees from St. Jean to Roncevalles the Frances is a much easier route and given the plethora of services on the Frances it would be easy for Tom to taxi around any steep ascents or descents. I would guess that he’d easily manage roughly 90% or more of the Frances.

In view of the above, we’ve decided to take the next train from San Sebastián to Pamplona, spend the night there before setting out again early tomorrow morning.

Decision made.

Back to this morning’s little jaunt.

This group photo was taken shortly after we’d been turfed out of the albergue by the local volunteer who brazenly grabbed a kiss from Dorothy before setting about Tom and myself. Difficult to take at the best of times, but at 6:30 in the morning 😩.

We took the water taxi across the bay, got lost, found the route, said goodbye to Tom before heading up a path of a thousand steps up and around the headland.

Whew!

Safely at the top the remaining journey was unremarkable apart from some lovely views

Along sandy paths

with cows in serious danger of toppling onto us as we passed

We stopped at what looked from the outside as a lovely homely café

and was indeed a lovely homely café where the couple managing it gave us a great breakfast with home made sourdough bread. It turns out that they’re one of the twelve tribes, a Christian group who have adopted the bible as fact and are trying to live as a community in the style of the original Christians. They have a sister group in Devon at Stentwood farm.

As someone who spent many delightful mornings having coffee and religious discussions with the Moonies in Cardiff in 1976, I have a lot of time for groups attempting to live a life defined by deep moral principles. Unfortunately as they find out only too quickly, I lack the ability to believe without proof, something confirmed by the Moonie who complained of my unsettling effect on others in the group as he threw me out one Saturday lunchtime 😞.

As we left we stopped and chatted to the Dutch couple who’d slept in the room underneath us last night. I suspect that the chap was the source of the deep snoring that kept Tom awake for (he says) most of the night. Needless to say I heard it not.

The final 4 km this morning took us quickly downhill through a dark and mysterious forest of oak and beech trees

before catching glimpses of San Sebastián through the trees.

San Sebastián is a very attractive seaside town with lots of brave souls in the water swimming and surfing.

The older sections look interesting.

The final shot is of a our favourite person

relaxing before we head off to Pamplona.

Tom, who as you might notice is not in the shot is busy trying to check out of the plush hotel he checked into here after not reading the text I’d sent him to explain our options for today, after he’d told me he’d read it but hadn’t really. Such is life with Thomas 😩.

Next update from Pamplona.

Buen Camino