Day 16 - Dream ride

28 December 2021

Church bells are tougher than the call to prayer. No debate. Wake up feeling ready. A short ride ahead and a possible campground.

A stroll on the beach. Smell. Sound. If I ever settle in a place it will be near the sea. Cortados at Kafe Native. Breakfast looks slim. Walk around the farmer's stalls. The food here is incredible. Next place we stay must have a kitchen.

Back to the beach. Kill some time. No rush. Just feel the surf. Tidore for breakfast. Eggs on toast with salmon and more coffee.

Check out. Pack. Ride. All coast. Stunning. 35 minutes later we are in Zumaia. Ride over. We grab a seat. Shell wants to push on to Deba. Another 15 km. Some big hills. I am in.

Grab some food to cook for dinner. Head off. Immediate hill. Push on. Stunning farmland. The road becomes a track. Coast the other side. More hills. Steady. Easy incline. Cyclists on road bikes fly past. They cheer us on. We are part of a club. I think we are the embarrassing sibling.

Start looking for a place to camp just outside Zeba. The ride was great. The hills not impossible. Spot an old church. Ask the guy in the house next to it if we can camp. Of course, you can.

Tonights camp - Ezkeinta o Freinda is on the sign. It is the Ermita San Roke. It is perfection. It is only 1.45 pm and we have covered 25 km. I had into town to grab lunch and a bottle of wine. Breadstick. Jamón. Tomatoes. Manchego. Bananas for breakfast.

I get back. Make lunch. Famished. I shower under the hose of the neighbor. Cold. Refreshing.

We are laying in the church porch. Shell is reading. Hikers come up to see Ermita San Roke. Shell says -

‘You might want to move your filthy underwear from in front of the church door’

I look over. There they are. My underwear. Mortified.

We delay putting the tent up. Hikers are visiting frequently now my underwear is gone. I am worried we will be moved on and lose our spot if we pitch early.

A lazy afternoon. This is what I imagined. Camping. Cycling. Cooking local food. This is the postcard ride.

Dinner is pasta with tomatoes and tuna. They know how to do tuna here.

The wine is a 2017 Compañia Vinicola Cune Reserva Rioja.

Today's ride -