After today, Markina-Xemein feels like a small victory. You settle at a café terrace, pull off your boots, and only then realise how much your legs have been through. You were on the road for more than 8 hours.
The climb of more than 300 metres in almost four kilometres is the hardest work. It’s steep, and it gives nothing away. After that, the path keeps rising and falling, and the descents ask just as much of your knees as the climbs do of your calves. Take it easy, take breaks and look around you. Behind you, the green hills stay behind, with woodland and scattered farmhouses on the slopes.