Day 11 Laredo to Noja 14K

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Wow! What a difference a day makes! Leaving the highway and arriving in Laredo was a terrific turn around. The town is set on a HUGE expanse of a sandy beach. The town is FULL of apartments that must be used only during the summer. The town is very clean and tidy with many options for food. Our B & B is very near the beach and quite comfortable. The walk into Laredo was very scenic and restored my faith in the Camino, it's a really nice departure from two days of pavement. The Camino from Laredo is along the vast sandy beach and is level and flat all the way to the ferry that takes you to Santona. It's a funky little boat that pulls up on a sand bar, lowers a gangway and you hop aboard. Its 2 euro for a 30 min. ride that saves about 10K of walking inland. From the ferry it was another 4K to option #2, A. you can follow the road and skirt the mountain, or B. you can climb over the mountain into Noja. At this point the beach and the mountain collide. There is a HUGE surf camp here with 20-30 people getting surfing instructions in full wet suits. No idea this was such a highly regarded surf location. Sandy beach, no rocks, no rip tides, moderate waves and long rides make this a perfect beginners surf spot. I choose option B. I start the climb up the outcropping and find it steep, narrow, and kinda dangerous. It's a short 2K of STEEP up and down right over the ocean with a shear drop off to the ocean. I saw no one with a backpack on this segment. At half way I was regretting not taking the longer road route. There were incredibly beautiful, vistas winding the way around this rocky point and turned out to be well worth the effort. I reach the midway point and I can see Noja around the corner. Its another 3K to the town on a gravel road with no tracffic, very nice. The town has another pristine beach at its base. I start up the hill to find the tourist center only to spot my Girl friend who is waving me into our lunch spot. My how my girl loves a free lunch. This town is obviously a summer resort town. Everything with a few exceptions is closed, but you could see in the summer it would be crazy with people. Since it's early in the season few lodging options are available. Our tour company has us call our lodging from the church in Noja and they come pick us up and take us 3K from the Camino to spend the night. This B & B is in Esclande and is immaculate and so well furnished, it's a great end to a fabulous day of walking.

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