Day 6 Gernika to Lezama

I took my time leaving Gernika having an extra café con leche on the Main Street and finding the Picasso Mural, a reproduction, that was inspired by the bombing of Gernika in the Spanish Civil War. Unfortunately the Peace Museum didn’t open until 10 so I had to miss that. Most uplifting was the storks nest with 2 storks, possibly more, perched high up on the belfry of the Iglesia de Santa Maria. They were a daily feature on the Camino Francés, I wasn’t expecting to see them on the Norte.

I left Gernika and began the gentle climb up to Goikolexea and the less gentle descent into Larrabetzu where I had an excellent late lunch which made the final schlep into Lezama feel very long. I’m staying in a Casa Rural, inappropriately named since it’s in the middle of an industrial estate. There are no facilities, however I do have a balcony that does have a rural outlook in one direction. My washing is drying very well in the sunshine.
I walked with the New Yorker a fair bit today with interesting conversation about minority languages, and the Kumano Kodo Camino in Japan which he has done and cannot recommend. Far too many pilgrims jumping in and out of buses.

The late lunch means I don’t have to walk the 2k into town, I am about to have my breakfast roll and cake and an enormous peach which was my lunchtime pudding.

Tomorrow it’s a short walk of just 12k into Bilbao where I will have most of the day to explore. I’ve booked the Guggenheim for late afternoon. Half price for the over 65s, and you don’t have to be a European citizen.

The blip is main square in Gernika early this morning, a few minutes later the clouds dispersed and we had sunshine all day, and warmer too, about 21 when I arrived in Lezama. Perfect walking conditions.