GOOD-MORNING, GERNIKA!!! It’s 6:30am and Mikey is on a 35km mission today. (OK, that was a bit of channeling Robin Williams, but the Irish-American team has to keep up the pace as we move through the bush today.
It rained from 2-6am, so we left around 6:30. The fog stayed with us for most of the morning, but as today was a 35km hike, we were sure to get some sun in later.
To be honest, we had a 9 hour walk that included two sizable mountains. In other words, we had to climb and descend two 400m (1,300ft) mountains today. With all that huffing, puffing, and swearing in Irish accents, there was little time for pictures.
Still, Mikey snapped this one when we took our one break at 16km into the trek. This was the one town which had provisions (e.g. coffee, wine, and a small sandwich). It was located high in the mountains and called Larrabetzu.
We saw a few mountain churches, but really only stopped to refill water bottles.
At long last, and almost 9 hours of hiking, we got to see Bilbao from an overlook before descending down upon it. (Yes, that is a tired Mikey. Oh, and he is soaking wet with sweat. Ewww!)
Yep, it took 100% self-restraint for Mikey NOT to jump into one of Bilbao’s central fountains. Still, he walked close enough to feel the mist.
Tomorrow is a rest day, so we’ll have pictures of Bilbao and hopefully some museums and such. Mikey is headed to his hotel and, most importantly, BATHTUB!!! G’night!
Mikey on The Way 