It felt quite strange having spent the last week just packing up my ruck sack each day, to now rejigging everything using my motorcycle tank bag and panniers ready to be strapped back onto the bike. As I left my room there was Sylvia once more looking bemused about which direction to go once out the front of the hostel. I said,"You see that big cockle shell sign up the road there?" She nodded. "There's another sign about 100 metres after that telling you to turn left. You're then on the trail and just keep following the shell signs which will appear every 500metres or so. Also there will always be other peregrinos in front of you. If in doubt, follow them!" We said our goodbyes and as she walked off up the street I couldn't help thinking that she would somehow, contrive to wander off the trail somewhere between here and Santiago!

Anyway back to me. Last night I was promised someone would be at reception for 9am in order to open the garage so I could retrieve my steed. 9am came and went and after about 20 minutes, just as I was becoming fretful, a chap appeared with the keys and allowed me access. Knowing that my battery had seen better days and with me leaving the petrol tap on, I was really worried my baby wouldn't start. Worry not Dave, she fired into life first time!

I guess by the time I strapped all my luggage on it was around 10am when I twisted the throttle heading north oncemore towards the coast. It felt good to be riding again even though it was dull and overcast with a steady light drizzle falling. And just as I was contemplating putting my waterproofs on, very gradually the sun began to poke through warming my body and my spirits. The only downer was that although I had intended to cut across country to make the journey more entertaining, I somehow ended up on the main highway so a lot of the journey was a little monotonous. Never mind, the idea of today was to get me pretty close to Bilbao (my port of departure) so I didn't have to worry about, or travel far the next day in order to meet the morning ferry back to Blighty.

By the time I rode into Laredo; that sounds great doesn't it? Dave 'rode into Laredo' like some kind of wild west hero in an early technicolour Hollywood movie starring John Wayne and Dave Smith! In fact I was in the original Laredo (the other one in all the western movies is in Texas, by the way!) and what a delightful seaside resort it was. A beatiful golden sandy bay with a gently sloping beach. Must be great for families with young kids. 

I checked in at L'Anca (The Anchor) which was almost like a ghost hotel, I guess because it was the end of the holiday season, but also maybe because the whole hotel was last refurbed back in the early eighties and all the decor, fixtures and fittings were all very tired and dated. It somehow felt a bit eerie and reminded me of The Eagles song, Hotel California - 'You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave' - brilliant guitar solo follows - lol :-) However the manager was very friendly and helpfull, allowing me to park the bike right up close to the hotel entrance where it would be safe and secure.

Once settled in I decided to do some exploring. So after a short walk to the seafront and perambulating along the promenade, I hadn't realised how hot it still was, so rather than return all the way back to my hotel to retrieve my budgie smugglers, I merely removed my shorts and tee shirt, leaving a 60 year old man in his black cotton briefs running straight into the sea, like an excited 9 year old, before the briny water tripped me up sending me headlong into the waves for a refreshing life-affirming swim! I was expecting the waters of the Atlantic to be considerably colder than the Med, but to my pleasant surprise, due to the shallow water, I don't think there was actually much difference! I had no towel so, following my delightful dip I merely stood on the beach allowing the gentle warm breeze to give me an all over natural blow dry. I tried to relish every moment, not just thinking back about my Spanish odyssey over the last 4 weeks, but also relishing the last of, not only the day's, but for me, the year's warm sun.

Feeling contented, but mixed with a slight feeling of melancholy, I redressed and headed more into the town as the more pressing need to survive kicked in - hunger! I settled on a small side street cafe/restaurant serving kababs and chips. Even though I'd enjoyed lots of Spanish cuisine, sometimes you just want something that you have back home don't you? The amusing thing with this establishment was that it seemed to be the local hang-out for the Spanish womens OAP card school. Two tables of blue-rinse 'cool hand Lukes' playing some kind of poker game for money!

After settling up the bill I wandered back along the prom just as the sun was setting and managed to get a couple of arty-farty pictures on my phone which I think you'll agree are not half-bad! And once more a slight wave of sadness came over me as this was not only the sunset of the day, but also the sun going down on my holiday. Oh well, at least I've still got the cruise back to the UK to look forward to!