We were quite grumpy this morning - me more so I think, what with being a middle-aged man and everything, haha! Not only did neither of us get any sleep because of the rather terrible Albergue and its awful beds, but also we're a little fed up with some of the small-town attitudes towards us tourists. It's happened on previous caminos too, we'd just forgotten about it. It isn't all of them, however, we've stayed in lots of lovely places, with lovely people. It's just a select few that maybe don't know how to handle us. Last week we had two days -Tuesday and Thursday I think - where, upon arrival, we were told that unfortunately food isn't served on that particular day of the week! When we arrived in San Vicente yesterday afternoon, at the only restaurant in town, to check in to the albergue, we were again told "ah, no, sorry, but our kitchen is closed today", and we thought really? You don't serve food on a Saturday night?! We asked them about having breakfast there this morning and they said yes, of course, that's fine. But when we turned up with the key, to check out, we were told there wasn't any proper food for breakfast, only these tiny, processed cakes in cellophane wrappers. I've seen them before in Spain, they seem to be either given to children, or sometimes included when buying a coffee. As I sat there, staring at these things in dismay, a local couple rolled up on their mountain bikes. They parked up, walked past us, and wandered in. A few moments later, they reappeared clutching huge ham and cheese sandwiches and proceeded to sit down at the next table, as if to mock us!! We looked at each other and our jaws simultaneously dropped, then we quickly gathered all of our things and flounced off, even more disgruntled than before. I don't view these incidents as mere coincidence, but maybe they are? :D Today's walk is seen as a kind of rest day for us, as it's only 10km and almost flat all the way, except for a short climb through some woods between San Vicente and Orbiso. I didn't bother taking any photos of this as it was just like previous days in appearance, with the yellowish dirt and gravel tracks. Orbiso has nothing at all in the way of bars, cafés, restaurants or shops, so we sat on a bench outside the church for 20 minutes or so for a rest, while our bellies rumbled. Even though it was only 11ish in the morning, it was hotting up, and we were really getting through our water supply already. Luckily, it was only a 3.5km walk from here, across the plains, to Santa Cruz de Campezo, though there was no shade at all, which made the short journey a little tougher. We have a room booked tonight at the Hostel Aterpe Kanpezu, and Jess had been sent several messages advising us that check-in was from 3pm. We decided, as we were a lot earlier than that, to find a bar for some food. The town is well catered for, and Google Maps said that most places were open. No they weren't! Naughty Google! We did find one bar open, that doesn't serve food today (sigh), so we had a diet coke. Jess then found a restaurant, supposedly open, that was a little out of town - around 1/2km walk away, so we decided it was worth the trek, with our packs, and low-and-behold it was indeed open! We managed to get the huge sandwiches we'd been craving, and a beer each, before walking back to the hostel to check in. It was now 3:30pm and really hot in the sun. We rang and rang the bell, knocked on the door, and Jess rang the phone number, to no answer. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes, we heard some movement inside and the door opened. It was the cleaner, who let us wait inside. Around 15 minutes later someone eventually arrived to check us in! The funny thing is, if we're late for check-in, we apparently owe them an extra €5! So perhaps we should have tonight for free?! What do you think? :D

Hiking/Backpacking

Montaña Alavesa/Arabako Mendiald, Autonomous Community of the Basque , Spain

time : Sep 14, 2025 10:13 AM

duration : 3h 57m 56s

distance : 10.7 km

total_ascent : 179 m

highest_point : 871 m

avg_speed : 3.9 km/h

user_id : fineartjones

user_firstname : Neil

user_lastname : Jones

We were quite grumpy this morning - me more so I think, what with being a middle-aged man and everything, haha! Not only did neither of us get any sleep because of the rather terrible Albergue and its awful beds, but also we're a little fed up with some of the small-town attitudes towards us tourists. It's happened on previous caminos too, we'd just forgotten about it. It isn't all of them, however, we've stayed in lots of lovely places, with lovely people. It's just a select few that maybe don't know how to handle us. Last week we had two days -Tuesday and Thursday I think - where, upon arrival, we were told that unfortunately food isn't served on that particular day of the week! When we arrived in San Vicente yesterday afternoon, at the only restaurant in town, to check in to the albergue, we were again told "ah, no, sorry, but our kitchen is closed today", and we thought really? You don't serve food on a Saturday night?! We asked them about having breakfast there this morning and they said yes, of course, that's fine. But when we turned up with the key, to check out, we were told there wasn't any proper food for breakfast, only these tiny, processed cakes in cellophane wrappers. I've seen them before in Spain, they seem to be either given to children, or sometimes included when buying a coffee. As I sat there, staring at these things in dismay, a local couple rolled up on their mountain bikes. They parked up, walked past us, and wandered in. A few moments later, they reappeared clutching huge ham and cheese sandwiches and proceeded to sit down at the next table, as if to mock us!! We looked at each other and our jaws simultaneously dropped, then we quickly gathered all of our things and flounced off, even more disgruntled than before. I don't view these incidents as mere coincidence, but maybe they are? :D Today's walk is seen as a kind of rest day for us, as it's only 10km and almost flat all the way, except for a short climb through some woods between San Vicente and Orbiso. I didn't bother taking any photos of this as it was just like previous days in appearance, with the yellowish dirt and gravel tracks. Orbiso has nothing at all in the way of bars, cafés, restaurants or shops, so we sat on a bench outside the church for 20 minutes or so for a rest, while our bellies rumbled. Even though it was only 11ish in the morning, it was hotting up, and we were really getting through our water supply already. Luckily, it was only a 3.5km walk from here, across the plains, to Santa Cruz de Campezo, though there was no shade at all, which made the short journey a little tougher. We have a room booked tonight at the Hostel Aterpe Kanpezu, and Jess had been sent several messages advising us that check-in was from 3pm. We decided, as we were a lot earlier than that, to find a bar for some food. The town is well catered for, and Google Maps said that most places were open. No they weren't! Naughty Google! We did find one bar open, that doesn't serve food today (sigh), so we had a diet coke. Jess then found a restaurant, supposedly open, that was a little out of town - around 1/2km walk away, so we decided it was worth the trek, with our packs, and low-and-behold it was indeed open! We managed to get the huge sandwiches we'd been craving, and a beer each, before walking back to the hostel to check in. It was now 3:30pm and really hot in the sun. We rang and rang the bell, knocked on the door, and Jess rang the phone number, to no answer. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes, we heard some movement inside and the door opened. It was the cleaner, who let us wait inside. Around 15 minutes later someone eventually arrived to check us in! The funny thing is, if we're late for check-in, we apparently owe them an extra €5! So perhaps we should have tonight for free?! What do you think? :D