GR11 - Day 7 - to Isaba

A marvelous sunny day. The way was easy and well-marked. We caught up to Manolo and walked together a while until we found a nice relatively clean open spot, free of cow pies, where we could dry the tent and ground sheet before the mold sets in. We had to anchor everything otherwise the wind would have taken it away. We found a bush behind a tree which provided us with enough protection to be able to enjoy a nice lunch basking in the sun. The scenery is beautiful, treed hills and green pastures. We can already see the higher mountains where we will have to start sweating. We arrived in Isaba in good time (6h30). It was about 2:30 and high time to find a restaurant for menu del dia. If you can believe it, the first 3 restaurants were closed, the 4th in a 3-star hotel claimed it didn't even have a slice of bread! We have found out since that the Spaniards often look down their noses at grubby people with backpacks. We finally went to the last possibility and found Manolo already eating, sharing his table with Alfredo, a local. We had a very interesting conversation. Manolo is very talkative, a philosoper with an incredible sense of humour. We spent the rest of the afternoon yapping away.