17th September, 2019
- Day 10: Rioseco to Santoña
- Distance: 22km
- Weather: Overcast but hot
- Accommodation: Albergue La Bilbaína, €12
I’m up at 6.30am and soon enjoying a delicious smorgasbord of breakfast. Everything I could want is laid out on the table; meats, cheese, fresh bread, jam, yoghurt, olive oil, cake and coffee! We leave together and soon take a short detour to the nearby St Vicente Church with its impressive portico.
St Vicente Church (Iglesia de San Vicente), Rioseco
Soon enough, we’re back in the eucalyptus forest and the smell reminds me of home.
Linda and Ted walking along the forest trail
A slow worm on the Camino del Norte
A forgotten boot
Highway and hill views
Who posed better? (He dropped a small stone on my shoe and patiently waited for me to figure out he wanted to play… In this pic, I’ve just thrown the stone in the air for him to catch!) Thanks Diane for the pic!
Camino del Norte sign
Stunning countryside views
Up and down with views back to the coast
After 16km, we enter the town of Laredo and it’s Spanish lunchtime. The Camino goes via the restaurant street in the old town and it takes a lot of self-control to continue. The smell of garlic prawns and seafood paella is making my stomach rumble. I want to stop for lunch, but the others want to get to Santoña (6km further) and I’m enjoying their company so I continue on too… with my mouth salivating.
A restaurant street in the old town of Laredo
A fisherman painting in Laredo
I take off my shoes and walk through the sea for the next 4km to El Puntal where we then catch a short ferry across to Santoña.
Pilgrims heading down the boardwalk to the boat across to Santoña
The boat crossing from El Puntal to Santoña
Sand, sea and mountains
It’s 4pm when we arrive and there’s only one restaurant still serving the menu del dia, so we stop and eat before checking into the hostel. We have a reservation so there’s no hurry. I eat my first seafood paella on this trip and it’s worth the wait.
Finally, a seafood paella for dinner, in Santoña!
followingthearrows 
It seems nothing unusual about the dog’s pause but the lady’s pause is so much fun to watch. Therefore, Kat wins in pausing.
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Thanks Kanji 😊
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Oh my goodness! This must be the same dog who dropped a dog toy over a fence for me to throw when I walked this camino in 2016. He was very excited and so we played fetch for maybe 40 minutes before I continued walking with a heavy heart because he still wasn’t done playing! I remember vividly how he watched me walk away with his toy still in his mouth and his head sideways!! I hoped the next pilgrim showed up soon to play with him 🙂
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Aha, you taught him that pilgrims will stop and play and he’s been the happiest dog ever since! 😊
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