Portugalete to Miono in Calabria

Portugalete to Miono

At about 1600 on sun afternoon we heard a band strike up and thought we were probably in for a noisy night. Went down to look at there is a bandstand with about 100 locals dancing in the square! Fabulous to see - just another part of the European socialising that we seem so poor at. Here the streetwalker full of families talking, playing and eating. I know it is not just because the weather is better as I would see the same groups out in Belgium! Took the option of more racciones for dinner as we did not want to wait until 2200! Off at around 0730 and in Portugalete they have really thought of the pilgrims as there is an automatic pavement escalator going from the low level of the town next to the river to the top of town, which must be a climb of at least 100m! As we have already climbed this once I will not feel that i am cheating. Unfortunately , we took a wrong turn at the beginning and missed the escalators. good stroll today and we got back to the coast. Planned to stop at El Haya but did not see the hotel so walked another 5km until we found a little pension to stay at. Stopped on the way at about 1030 as mike had complained since we left Portugalete that we did not stop at any of the bakeries their. Miono is a fairly small place with a good sized beach. Few bars or places to eat but I am sure we will find something. Should be off to El Pontarron tomorrow via Castro UrdialesI. Having walked the Francis last year i have found the Norte more demanding - both in terms of climbs and finding accommodation. Have found the tourist info places invaluable and in fact the one in Deba was very helpful. They gave us a good map guide and an up to date accommodation guide. Many of the albergue de perigrinos are closed after mid sept so we have used pensions instead. The way has been mostly marked well although some towns and cities can be challenging. Especially, when they choose not to us a yellow arrow but a more upmarket shell on the ground or a posh silver sign. Clearly, there are also a number of alternative routes on the Norte which can be hard to find and awkward to choose between. It is a pity that there is not yet a comprehensive guide that inc all of the options and the albergues.