Tony, Tim, Betsy & Ray's (not forgetting Geoff) 2014 Camino

20.06.14 Friday. Portugalete to Castro Urdiales. After the pleasant day yesterday today promises to be hot and of uncertain length. The only blessing is it appears fairly flat. Oh Yeah do I hear! We scoot out of Portugalete on a well defined and marked foot and cycle path that turns into a huge foot and cycle bridge over the extensive motorway interchange just outside. This then becomes a well used and level way on the old coastal railway track. Full marks to the designer for that bridge linking town to walking route. Sometimes planners get it right. We trot along happily to the beach at La Arena where there is a campsite but we are not stopping. Just as well it is defunct. After a footbridge over a small river in which the tide is rapidly coming in, we climb up about 50 m to the remains of a railway that served the mine workings now mostly defunct along the coast. This is now a useful cliff top walk way and we meet a group of school children walking along it and wonder how much paperwork was needed by their teacher beforehand. Such a trip would prove virtually impossible in the UK now. We can see Castro-Urdiales around the coast and the motorway that snakes around the bay takes a leap over the valley in which nestles the little village of Onton, Ray expects some Onton cordial but no natives are visible as it approaches siesta time. We descend it is only about 80 m back up to regain the cliff road or an alternate 10km around in the hills away from the coast. No choice. The sun is out and the ascent steep up the old main road. Tim calls it a 10 second hill (sweat is dripping from his nose faster than a drop every 10 seconds. We get there and start to descend the hairpin bends on the other side. Is it a mirage? Is it closed? There appears to be a bar on the cliff top just below us. There are cars parked.... Tony is waving it is OPEN. Two beers and some food later we feel human again and meet with equanimity the none existence of the first camp site, it had morphed into multiple blocks of holiday flats. The situation almost on the beach too good for someone to resist. We find the tourst office, shut for siesta, and carry on past the Templar castle the statues of two nude boys diving off rocks in a land locked but tidal cove and up the hill in the midday sun again, to the second campsite...... ... Glory be it exists, it is open , it has a swimming pool. Nirvana has been reached. 28km an undetermined amount of up and down not exceeding 1000m but probably much less.