Laredo to Bilbao

I write most of what I post on this blog in my tent by the light of a headlamp, so by "today" I really mean yesterday.

Today was probably the most physically stenuous day of my life. We I biked over 60 km from Laredo to the outskirts of Bilbao- Krisztian said it was the most hilly day he´s had since starting in Madrid. We rode up septuple switchbacks and on roads that were overlooking cliffs where Europe meets the Atlantic. The hilly areas and scenic roads always have the most breathtaking views, and sometimes it almost feels like the twenty minutes going down a 10% grade makes the suffering more tolerable.

We stopped for lunch in a village and ate on the beach. Our lunches consist of a baguette each, a pile of meat and cheese, a few pieces of fruit, maybe some pre-packaged gaspacho, etc. It´s amazing how much you have to eat to have the energy to keep on climbing hills.

Later in the day, we crossed into the Basque nation. Quickly, the names of everything changed- long words with k´s and x´s. As night fell, we scouted out a "guerrilla" campsite off of a walking path which circumscribes a waterway, located in a beautiful village called El Regato. We found a footpath off of the walkway which was next to a huge construction site where workers were building a highway tunnel through the mountain. We both thought it was a pretty good spot, and I wanted to go spelunking in the tunnel once the workers went home.

The workers never went home. Apparently, this was a 24 hour worksite. I laid in my little coccoon, hearing machines and voices, losing all sense of their distance from me.