El Monte awaits

Having spent a peaceful night in a warm cozy room at the Pension Zezilionea in Olaberria it took great fortitude to get going and out into the freezing morning air. All the cars were covered in frost when I first peeked out to check the weather. As today was only to be around a 16 km day to Zegama we decided to linger just a little longer over breakfast to let the sun climb a bit higher and hopefully thaw things out a bit. Eventually the front door of our pension quietly closed behind us and day four of our Camino Vasco was officially underway. A thin cold fog veiled the town and closed in on us from time to time as the temperature struggled to climb above freezing. But the clear sky (when the fog allowed it to) offered more gorgeous mountain scenery as we made our way along a very quiet rural paved road on our way to Zegama. We followed the folds of the landscape up and down enjoying the quietude of this section of the Camino. One mountain range, with its icy peaks, dominated the far horizon. It was always in front of us as we moved along throughout the morning. It finally dawned on us as we drew near to Zegama, and the mountains still stood front and center, that this was the range we would be crossing tomorrow as we ascend to the San Adrian tunnel and then drop down to the valley below en route to Agurain, Vitoria-Gasteiz and beyond, but first we must carefully negotiate some quite steep, icy trails. That thought has occupied my mind since we started this trip. But, the weather has been quite nice here for several days so I am hoping that the trails are passable. If not we will just turn around and try again some other time. Zegama is quiet town nestled into the foothills of the Basque mountains. There is not much activity, but In all fairness it is still pretty cold outside so today is not a perfect day for strolling around the town. It is only about 8 kms from Zegama to the top, and in that distance one gains about 850 meters in elevation. Not the toughest climb, but not a walk in the park either. The snow and ice will rule the day. We remain hopeful that all will go well. For now we are finishing up our laundry and then we will sample a local white wine, Txakoli, that the owner of the Pension Zezilionea gave to us as a parting gift. An interesting note, this is the third time this has happened to us in the Basque Country. Twice on the Camino Ignaciano and now again here this morning. The Basque are very hospitable people. More on the wine tasting and tomorrow's climb from the other side of the mountains. Light's out from here in frosty Zegama. 

Departing Olaberria 

Approaching Zegama

Zegama