{"id":278,"date":"2013-06-24T22:10:32","date_gmt":"2013-06-24T22:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/northiberianctc.com\/blog\/en\/?p=278"},"modified":"2013-09-30T16:38:25","modified_gmt":"2013-09-30T16:38:25","slug":"stage-27-castro-urdiales-guemes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northiberianctc.com\/blog\/en\/?p=278","title":{"rendered":"Stage 27: Castro Urdiales \u2013 G\u00fcemes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CastroFirst stage only via Cantabria. The first section is about 15 km long, along tracks that follow the coastline and are not very suitable for cycling, so it is difficult to ride the bike although there are no steep slopes.<\/p>\n

From Islares, you take a road and the experience gets much better. Then you go down to Laredo, and from there, you go to Santo\u00f1a on a little water-taxi. The coastal town of Santo\u00f1a is a perfect place to eat seafood. From Santo\u00f1a to G\u00fcemes, all the landscapes are mountainous, and we won’t see the beach again during today’s stage.<\/p>\n

In G\u00fcemes, I stay in a lodge called \u201cLa Caba\u00f1a del Abuelo Peuto\u201d. It is owned by the priest Ernesto Bustio. It is open to pilgrims and has permanent volunteer activities for the Third World. This is said to be one of the best lodges to be in contact with pilgrims, and it may be true if we compare it with most hostels that can be found in Cantabria or Asturias, less maintained than those in Euskadi or Galicia.<\/p>\n

\u201cLa Caba\u00f1a\u201d has special routines: At 7 p.m. every day, there is an informative talk in Spanish, and occasionally in English, to tell about the life of its founder, the origin of the lodge, the type of activities developed there, and to ask guests to be generous in their voluntary donations to maintain the lodge.<\/p>\n