To Deba and beyond

It was misting/raining this morning as we left at 7:00 this morning. We were not sure how far we were going as there were villages along the way. 

  
For the first time it was flat for 4 km, walking right along the sea. 

   
   
We arrived in Getari around 8 as the cafes were opening. We enjoyed a nice break from the rain and mist as we had coffee, orange juice, and my favorite “Basque Cake”. 

   
 
After Getari, we headed for Zumai and the undulating hills began.  We were in Zumai by 10 where we stopped again for pastries.  We had covered about 10 km by then and it was too early to quit so we decided to move on in the rain. 

   
    
    
 
The next major town, Deba, was supposed to be only 12 more km, but we ended up taking a detour as the coastal route was too slippery and strenuous, and with the mist and  clouds one could not see the ocean, anyway. The detour was through farmland and added an extra 4 km to the hike. It felt like we must have hiked through at least 10 mountain ridges also. Each one fairly steep!

   
    
   
Finally, after 27 km, we made it to Deba, only to find out from the tourism office that there is not a single bed available in Deba.  They were able to shuttle us to a private alburgue some 12 km away. So far I have seen over 20 pilgrims here. It is a beautiful location and we are all a captive audience here. We have a group dinner ( I am guessing at 8 as it is already 7:30 and I don’t see any food yet).  We will get a ride back to Deba in the morning so we can continue our Camino.