Day 44 - Haro to Laredo

 Good start to the day when ‘Merlin’ identifies the sound of a Wryneck and G spots it just above the van in a tree. All this time thinking they were super elusive and there’s one sitting 20ft away for half an hour!

Quick breakfast and a good tidy up and on our way. As always we’ve chosen a slow route so we can nose around and this time we’ll get a good last look at the Ebre which feels fitting.

The journey is lovely (though there are a couple of slight slip ups!). It’s not long before vineyards give way to riverbanks , and then to mountains as we climb high over the Torino’s pass before descending into the Basque Country towards our  stop in Laredo. 

Still not got my head around supermarkets being closed on Sundays and the fridge is pretty empty so I was delighted to see a mini carrefour in a small town that meant we had food for a picnic tea. 

Not many stops today, we were just enjoying the sunshine and the views but we did spend a while in awe at the top of the pass before the fast descent down. 



We got excited when we realised we were passing the Calera caves too, as we’ve not managed to see any cave paintings this holiday but it’s closed as it’s Sunday hours and will be on the list for another time. 

The approach to Laredo was not too promising but the campsite is on the edge of town and right on the beach. As we drive towards it we pass a huge number of horses waiting to take people on beach rides…. I’ve never seen so many maybe 100 of all sizes and shapes fully tacked and tied in the shade. 

The campsite is quite small but has an amazing position right on the sand and the toilets etc are all super clean. We’ve been sat a long time so before we eat out late lunch/early dinner we had a leg stretch heading south from the campsite , a lovely path alongside a river and it’s still pretty warm. I spotted. a bright green lizard which excited G who has been looking for  an ‘Iberian emerald’ all the time we’ve been here so he watches it for a while until it resurfaces. 


As soon as we’ve sat out and had our food in the sunshine we head north to walk along the rest of the beach before the sun sets. This time there is a small forest alongside and there are so great root structures anchored in the beach but with the sand they were once standing in washed away. 



Many are still managing to survive somehow and they are an amazing site… almost like mangroves. We don’t quite get to the end before the sun sets and we head back to the van via the wooded area where some of the horses are grazing. There’s an odd light across the estuary which, using binoculars, we can see is a forest fire racing down one side of a mountain looking like lava flow. 

Despite not quite being our last night there’s a real ‘end of holiday’ energy here tonight. 

Back to the van for wine and bananagrams and a bit of a think about what to do tomorrow….

Miles so far: 2593

Steps today: 8973

Overnight: Camping Playa del Regaton, Laredo, 21€ inc electric (ACSI)

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