Day: April 17, 2018

Post by Wynette: We walked 8.75 miles today. It seemed further. The two places where we thought we would be able to stop for food and a break were closed. We were pretty beat when we got to Gernika. Luckily a little over halfway we passed a little chapel with a bench to rest and ate some pecans and dried apricots. And, since we got an early start we arrived in Gernika by 2 pm in time for a lovely lunch. (Ensalada mixta, red beans, fresh fish, and calf liver. The liver was a translation accident, we didn’t eat much of it but by then we were already full.) After that we rested, then looked around Gernika a little and are now at the self-service laundry across from our pension. Charlie helped me get the laundry started and now he is out exploring. He is so energetic!

Post by Wynette: Tonight we are in Gernika, which is spelled Guernica in Spanish. This town has a tragic history. From Wikipedia: “On April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the town was razed to the ground by German aircraft … sent by Hitler to support Franco’s troops. For almost four hours bombs rained down on Guernica in an “experiment” for the blitzkrieg tactics and bombing of civilians seen in later wars.” We have heard that Franco’s men guarded the exits to the town so that no one could escape during the bombing. Over 1650 civilians were killed.

Of course, this is the subject of Picasso’s famous Guernica painting. The original is in Madrid. The above is a copy in tile here in Gernika.

Post by Wynette: We are mostly over jet lag and were able to get a good night’s sleep and be on the trail early (for us), around 7:30. Here is Charlie in front of the casa rural where we slept last night.

Post by Wynette: Glad that, for once, the Camino took the flatter fork.