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Camino Del Norte 2022Camino Del Norte 2022
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Camino Del Norte 2022

July - September 2022
First time walking the Camino del Norte Read more
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  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 1

    We have arrived

    July 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We have arrived - after 3 planes, 2 trains and countless cabs we have arrived in Irun the starting point of our Camino del Norte. We have met up with George our hiking buddy from the States, booked into our first Albergue, eaten and drank at our first Bar. It’s good to be back on the road to Santiago de Compostela.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 2

    Irun to San Sebastián

    July 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Our first walking day - We wake to the sound of music, lights and a voice telling us it’s time to get up, its 5:57am. Sweaty, bleary eyed and tired we get ourselves ready and head downstairs for coffee and toast. We hit the trail at 8am and before we know it we have made it to the outskirts of Irun. We are walking in a rural setting in an upwards direction and its beautiful. There are quite a few pilgrims on the trail today and as we hit our stride, we seem to spread out nicely. Not too long into our walk the rain starts, lightly at first like a nice refreshing mist, but it soon picks up in intensity and starts hammering us for the next couple of hours, we end up pretty soaked. The rain does eventually stop and we do dry out. We are all hoping and praying that this rain is falling where all the fires are burning across Spain. As we continue on I am lulled into a false sense of ease as we make our way to Paisaia, and it isn’t until we get to the last few kms that I begin to understand my mistake. Over the years countless pilgrims have told me just how hard the first few days of the Camino del Norte are and now, I understand. The climb out of Irun wasn’t too bad, it’s the down hill into Pasaia that is the problem, it seems to go on forever, just ask my toes, ankles, knees and hips! Eventually we make it to the lovely little albergue in Pasaia it’s already 1:30pm. This albergue only has room for 14 pilgrims and there are 9 pilgrims already lined up, we decide to head down into the main square to get our selves something to eat and drink as we are famished and thirsty. What we be will be, if we miss out on staying at this lovely little albergue, then we will just have to walk on to San Sebastián. We end up having lunch at this amazing little seafood restaurant, Lisa and I decide to share a garlic prawn casserole and some patatas bravas, we also drink wine, coffee and eat cheesecake for dessert, our meal was exceptional! George has sardines, flan and a cervesa. We then start our next leg to San Sebastián - we can’t bare the thought of walking up all those stairs just to find out that there is no room left at the albergue, so we call it and head to the ferry to take us to the other side of the inlet. Then comes the climb - George has named it “the stairway to heaven” I think I will call it the stairway to the stars as it will be dark by the time we get to the top. Once we have finally conquered the stairsway it’s not too long before we are walking on a lovely dirt path following the coast line with spectacular views. We hope everyday will be like this. We eventually get into San Sebastián, it has been a fabulous day, but we are all buggered and need to rest our weary bodies.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 4

    2 Rest Days in San Sebatián

    July 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    I know, I know, we have just started and already we are having not one, but two rest days. Well in our defence we weren’t meant to get here for another day and well, we’re in San Sebastián! It would be wrong to fly through here without soaking up the sun, vibe, food and wine, so here we are. We wake late around 9:30am get organised and go find a bar for breakfast, it doesn’t take too long, we head straight for the beach front knowing that there will be bars for days overlooking this magnificent view. With breakfast under our belts, we go exploring. First stop is a ride on the hop on hop off bus - they are great for getting your bearings in a big city and finding out some interesting info and history. This takes a couple of hours, then it is time to get some lunch and relax for a bit, enjoy the vibe of the city, catch up with friends, whilst trying new dishes - some lovely, some not so much. Before we know it the day is done, and we need sleep. We haven’t got our trail legs yet, so they are very sore. Day 2 and there are chores to be done, we need to get our washing sorted out and stock up on supplies, the next walking day has no pilgrim support and our bodies can’t run on empty. We also need to get lost for awhile in the buzzy little old town streets of San Sebastián - have a drink here, pintxos there and just soak up the lifestyle of the Basque people and the tourists. Rain is forecast for today, but so far there hasn’t been any, it is overcast and cooler, which is a welcome change from the heatwave we were experiencing in Paris and Irun. We have tried to get a bucket of prawns to eat at the beach but the price is out of our league at €78.00 per kg. So we will see if the price decreases as we leave the tourist destinations and get to the smaller coastal fishing villages along the way. We have dinner at a beautiful seafood restaurant right beside our hotel, it is a delicious meal and our last one in San Sebastián. We head back to our rooms, do some social media and drop off into La La land at around midnight, with our alarm set for 6:30am.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 5

    San Sebastián to Orío

    July 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We wake up excited to be walking to our next destination today, we are off to Orío 16km away, it is a little overcast as we leave San Sebastián, but this won’t last for long, we have a top of 30 degrees today. We meet George at 8am in the lobby and from there will follow the way and hope we come across a bar to eat breakfast. The walk out of San Sebastián is stunning with an overcast sky and a few early risers either running, walking, cycling or swimming. The Camino follows the beach line, and thankfully we end up finding a bar right at the very end of it, we enjoy a lovely breakfast consisting of a ham & cheese toasted croissant and a coffee. The trail then turns left and takes us up, up, up into a forested area. It’s time to take some pics (code word for suck in a few deep ones and wait for the heart rate to drop a little bit 😉) and watch the fit locals pass us by. We are walking on a dirt path with lots of rocks, we take our time, soaking up the view, we chat with a fellow pilgrim also named George, he is from Argentina and will be finishing his Camino is Bilbao this year. The trail is continually changing from dirt paths to quite roads to cobbled stone surfaces, the different surfaces don’t bother me but the accents and descents do, I am so looking forward to the day when I can climb a steep path and not have to stop multiple times before reaching the top. There is no pilgrim support along our path today so we end up finding a nice shady spot and stop for a bite to eat, take our packs off to rest our bodies and just enjoy some downtime. As we continue our walk the scenery changes from forested area to beautiful clear vistas of the Cantabrian Sea, unfortunately my photos don’t capture the absolute beauty of these views. We finally arrive at our albergue, we are staying at a lovely little albergue called San Martin it is on the outskirts of Orío and has enough room for 20 pilgrims. We check in, get our credential stamped, shower, wash our clothes, wait for our clothes to dry then head down into Orío in search of food and wine. We fill our belly’s then try to get a cab back up to the top of the town to our albergue, this doesn’t work, George has asked the lady serving us and she basically calls him a pussy and tells him No, it’s a 10 minute walk, you walk! So we haul our butts back up the hill and settle in ready for bed. It’s been a big day and sleep is very welcome.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 6

    Orío to Zumaia

    July 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Not a lot of sleep was had last night, I was trying not to snore so I didn’t keep everyone awake and we were sleeping opposite the bathroom - thank goodness for sleep masks, I was sleeping on a top bunk - first one this trip and I am a little rusty so I was conscious of not falling out and just to add to the atmosphere there was a fiesta in a town some where close by, we could hear the mariachi band and all the people celebrating through out the night, it sounded like everyone was having an awesome time, if only I wasn’t so old and tired, anyway before we know it, it’s time to rise and get ready for another day on the trail. We have breakfast included for our €20, so we get ready and head to the little kitchen/dining area. We enjoy a variety of food including fresh fruit, yoghurt, porridge, toast, little cakes, tea and coffee. There were about 10 of us, the rest of the bunch got up early and left before breakfast. It’s going to be close to 30 degrees again today with not a lot of cover from the sun. Our walk today takes us through and out of Orío and it is stunning. We walk along the river enjoying the views of the boats tied up along the rivers edge, and the buzz of activity as people go about their day. We cross over the river via a bridge and start heading out of town, in no time at all we are heading up, up, up again. This is another picturesque walk with a lot of coastal views. It is summer holidays here in Europe and there are tourists, locals and pilgrims everywhere enjoying the outdoors. We pass a few camp grounds which seem full of surfers. The walk from Orío to Zarautz is through country side with rolling green hills and the sea as a beautiful backdrop. We stop in Zarautz for a drink and light refreshment at a lovely little bar and their tortilla patatas is so fresh, it smells and tastes devine. Then it’s a fairly flat walk via a coastal walking path, along side a busy road, this walking path is bustling with people as there seems to be a triathlon and the swimming leg is underway. The swimming leg seem to start in Getaria and finish in Zarautz, there is a lot of support people on the water, in boats, on jet skis or on paddle boards. Man o man I don’t know how they can swim that far it’s 2.9km in the open sea 😳, I would have sank and drowned after 30 metres. The vibe is electric and I feel very fortunate to be here experiencing this. We make a small climb into Getaria and walk down to the old part of town, the bars are all busy, but we manage to find a table in a lovely little bar and have a couple of vinos and a plate full of prawns, life is good and it would be very easy to settle in for the afternoon but we need to keep moving we still have a ways to go to get to our destination today. The walk out of Getaria is quite the accent, Lisa and I do the usual - walk for about 20 steps, stop for 20 breathes, then repeat until we get to the top. There are lots of hills between here and Zumaia and they all seem to be on the Camino path. We finally get to the outskirts of Zumaia and it’s all down hill from here, we gingerly make our descent, thinking that when we get to town we will taxi to our accommodation, but unfortunately there are no taxis around and we end up climbing a very steep, long street to get to our hotel. Our hotel reminds me of something out of the seventies - picture the hotel in dirty dancing. We do the usual chores before we go to find the bar in the hotel, they direct us to the an open air area, where we need to hold our glasses or they would blow off the table, I look like ‘cousin it’, my hair is covering my face, I can’t see Lisa, I can’t see or drink my drink and I am not game to let go of my glass, we can’t stop laughing and eventually we move indoors. After a chat and a vino we head to the indoor pool, our bodies have taken a beating and it’s time to show them some love. To our surprise the indoor pool is a therapy pool there are specific stations situated around the pool focusing on different areas of the body, I start with the stomach, move to the thighs, then the carves, then the back and neck, lastly the all over body station. I feel like I am going to walk out of this pool 25 years younger, and in my mind I feel it, but no, I still physically look then same, even my cellulite is jiggling it’s way to the change room, oh well, at least my muscles are no longer aching. We go shower and get ready for dinner, we dine at the hotel which is exceptional, George shouts us a beautiful bottle of Vino Tinto from the Rioja region, we drink, eat then we call it a night, our room is dark and we drift off in no time.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 7

    Zumaia to Deba

    July 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We sleep in and are late meeting George this morning, he is already enjoying his buffet breakfast at our hotel. The options are endless this morning, it’s hard to pick, but I end up with a big thick piece of toast with butter, ham and cheese, freshly squeezed orange juice and a coffee. We then head back to our room to finish packing and get ready to hit the road. We start off today on the GR121 which will take us along the Ruta de Flysch - this is a
    Geological phenomenon where the sea erodes stratified rocks and forms interesting rock formations. We will rejoin the Camino in around 3.5 km. We follow a narrow path along the coastline, it is a beautiful clear day with little wind. There are a lot of people walking on this path in both directions. The cliff sides and rock formations are so amazing, I understand why scenes from GOT were shot here. This has to be my favourite day so far as the scenery is just so beautiful, it is picture perfect and I just can’t help but stop, look up and smile every few minutes, I am just so happy to be here. We wind up and down hills all day, we eventually get to the outskirts of Deba and the down hill is super steep, we take it very slow and our joints are letting us know that they are not happy! We arrive at the first street in Deba and the downhill has not ceased, there is stairs as far as the eye can see and George is on a mission to get to the end of them and to our Albergue. We on the other hand keep taking photos, putting off the inevitable, I turn to my left to snap a photo and low and behold I see a lift - stairs or lift 🤔, this is a no brainer, lift all the way! We take the first one down just to see there is a pedestrian crossing and it leads directly to another lift, we are on it! We meet up with George at the Albergue, there is only 1 bed left out of 59 so we collect our other backpacks and go to a bar to workout a new plan. There is absolutely no accommodation of any form left in Deba, so we look further afield. We discuss booking at our next destination and boomeranging back here tomorrow, but we are unable to source any accommodation there either. We jump on booking.com and check out what we can find - all we can find is one place up in the mountains via Eibar. We book it and then I ring to check that they have a restaurant and that they will feed us, l have turned into a labrador this trip and this lab can’t go without a meal! Robert (The owner of the establishment) assures me that we will be feed, so we finish our wine then go to catch the train to Eibar. It takes about 40 minutes before our train arrives. We hop on and George gets a seat facing the entry and exit. Lisa and I are standing in this area. The train takes off and we are rolling along nicely, then all of a sudden a lady who is also standing in the entry and exit area starts screaming MEDICO, MEDICO! Everyone starts looking around and this lady is now running through the train shouting MEDICO! Next minute she is running back with a younger women in front of her, who must be a nurse or doctor and she is onto it. A man sitting behind George is having a seizure and she quickly but calmly gets him on the floor and lays him on his side and clears his airways, this works a treat and soon he seems to be recovering. We get to the first stop and on jumps a train attendant who b-lines for the man. People are strongly discussing if the man should have been taken off the train as there is a hospital near by or if he should stay on the train. He stays, the medical woman returns to her seat and the train attendant stays with the man, he ends up getting off at the next station with the girl he was travelling with. We get off the train after another 2 stops, only to be told to hop back on as there are 3 stops in Eibar and we need the 2nd one so we can catch a taxi to our destination for the night. So back on we hop and 3 minutes later we are lugging our selves and our backpacks off the train in search of a taxi. George is all over it and we have one before we know it, all our packs just fit in the boot and we jump in, next minute we are being whisked up a mountain with Lionel Richie blasting out of the stereo, of course Lisa and I assume we need to sing along, so we start singing - off key of course! Well old buddy the taxi driver starts driving like a rally driver, I lean, well half fall over to Lisa and tell her that I don’t think he likes our singing, cause he’s now driving like he stole the cab - I think he just wants us to shut up! It works we stop singing, but start laughing instead. Thank god we arrive in one piece, we thank the man for not killing us and head in to our hotel for the night. Robert meets us at the reception desk, we book in, he chats to George for a while, George lives in Florida and Robert lived there for 10 years, so they have lots to discuss. He books us a table for dinner at 8:30pm, which gives us time to shower, change and feel human again. We meet George in the restaurant. We are feeling very spoilt - lovely accommodation, spectacular views, beautiful wine, delicious food and fabulous service from all the staff here. I don’t think we are going to want to leave tomorrow. Our day is done, our belly’s are full and it’s well and truly time for some shut eye.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 8

    Eibar to Markina-Xemein

    July 26, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    This morning we sleep late, have breakfast late and just have some time to catch up on our journals etc. Robert the owner of this establishment is also a taxi driver and will drive us to our next stage on the Camino at around 1:15pm. We are staying at Markina-Xemein at a lovely albergue called Albergue Intxauspe, it has one big room which houses 20 pilgrims. There is a lovely grassed area with chairs and lounges scattered throughout, it’s a fabulous place to sit and relax. We have a high of 22 degrees today, which is just a perfect temp to enjoy the outdoors. The man running this albergue, is checking people in, giving them the grand tour, whilst prepping dinner and serving drinks to all the thirsty pilgrims. We spend a great afternoon drinking, chatting and belly laughing. Before we know it, it’s time for dinner and it’s lovely, we start with a homemade broccoli soup, followed by thin breaded pork with chips then viennetta ice-cream for dessert. Then it's off to bed.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 9

    Markina Xemein to Mendata

    July 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Amazingly we are not the last to leave the albergue this morning. But due to the fact that we didn't walk here and this albergue is located out of the town, we need to navigate our way back onto the Camino path. It doesn't take us too long though and before we know it we have made it to town. We have an eye out for an open bar, but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any open yet, so we push on. We have a top of 23 degrees today and at the moment it's overcast, the walk starts off very pleasant on even ground and no hills yet. We meander on a narrow dirt path alongside a stream, it's nice and peaceful just listening to the flow of water and the birds chirping. We come to a really pretty little village, that looks like it is loved and cared for by the whole community, the homes are all different, but look like they should all be on a postcard. We see an open bar and take a seat, a fellow pilgrim comes up to us and asks where we are staying tonight, we tell her and she asks if we can pass on a message to friends of theirs - Lyn has hurt her foot and they have booked a bus to take them to Bilbao, where Lyn can rest up for a couple of days. You never know whats going to happen, you can be tracking along quite nicely then all of a sudden a small injury can turn nasty, and plans need to be altered. We head off after wishing Lyn a quick recovery, we walk out of town into a forestered area and the shade and breeze are much appreciated. The scenery today is stunning as we wind up and down and around hills, the homes we are passing are beautiful with planter boxes in the windows bursting with colour. We arrive at our albergue just after 4pm, we are allocated our bed and sheet, we then shower, find Neala and Lota and give them Lyn’s message, then head back down the hill to the bar, we are well and truly ready for an afternoon bevy. We get down to the bar only to find it closed, we are all devastated and deflated, we head back up the hill to our albergue, we chat to the pilgrims there and find out that we are able to buy a bottle of wine off the owner, we do this and sit out on the balcony chatting with everyone and listening to music, the afternoon passes quickly and before we know it, it's time to eat, we have a communal meal at the albergue, we chat and laugh our way through and beyond dinner, we have had such a lovely time getting to know this group of pilgrims, but it's now time for sleep. Off we go to our bunk beds for another night of tossing and turning, but trying not to be noisy in a metal bunk bed. 😳.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 10

    Mendata to Muxika and Morga

    July 28, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We are up at 7am this morning its breakfast at the Albergue - toast, butter, jam, yoghurt and coffee are on the menu. It doesn’t take us long to eat, finish getting ready and head out the door. The walk starts off fairly flat and follows a nice easy path. We have our fingers and toes crossed that our trail stays like this today, but we all know it’s wishful thinking. The climb starts a couple of kms into our walk, the sun has sting today and with a top of 25 degrees, I’m not surprised. The Camino bypasses the first small village this morning, so no cafe con leche for us. We keep moving now in a downwards motion heading into Gernika. We stop at a bar order some water, wine and pinxtos, rest here for a couple of hours then continue on our walk. There is a steep climb out of town with a very uneven surface, it is very exposed and not a breath of air, we take it slow and steady and this accent seems to go on forever. The views are beautiful but very hard to capture today as the sun seems to be photobombing every picture. We finally make it to our albergue, sweaty, hot and aching. We check in, jump in the showers, make our beds and go sit down outside, with some snacks and cold drinks. We are in the middle of nowhere, so no wine or pinxtos.
    Fun Fact: Everyone who stayed at our albergue last night passed us before we make it to our destination today 😂    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Del Norte 2022
    Day 11

    Muxika and Morga to Larrabetzu

    July 29, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We wake up this morning late for breakfast it is 6:50am and we were scheduled to be at breakfast at 6:30am., which means we are interrupting the next lot of pilgrims, who were booked in for 7am, we all make it work though and crowd around the table, the food is beautiful and in abundance, we finish breakfast, finish packing and head off, we are on the road at 8am. This albergue has been super busy it has 19 beds in total, then a couple of tents set up to accommodate the overflow in the front yard, and also has plenty of room to set up your own tent if you are toting one. It was a great place to stay and the vibe is fabulous, lots of Spanish pilgrims staying at this albergue and they are always so social and fun. We say our goodbyes and so starts our walk for today. First up we have a down hill, after a little while it evens out, we have our fingers and toes crossed that it will stay on level ground but it doesn’t last long before the up, up, up begins and we all know what that means. There is no pilgrim support along the Camino until we get to Larrabetzu, but fortunately for us we cross paths with a trail angel who has a sign at the side of their house letting us know it’s ok to fill up our water, George partakes and we carry on. We walk under a canopy of trees which shade us from the direct heat of the sun, it must be 10 degrees cooler in here, it makes for very pleasant walking conditions.
    Side note: During our walk through Basque Country it is quite clear that there is political unrest here and they are very quick to tell you that they are not part of Spain or any other neighbouring country.
    The Basque Country is absolutely beautiful both here on the Camino del Norte and the Camino Frances, it’s one of my most favourite Camino regions. We get to the outskirts of Larrabetzu before lunch time and it seems to be a very friendly and inviting town, also a very active town with lots of people going about their day. We find a bar and decide to eat and have a drink here, we have booked accommodation and didn’t realise that it was out of town, so after our lunch and a snack haul from the supermarket we map our way to our accommodation, it is 3 km along a quite country road with a nice steep climb at the very end, it is boiling with no shade and we arrive hot, sweating and tired. Lola and her mum are looking after us though, we have lovely rooms and the rest of the house we are told to treat as our own, we enjoy the lilo’s out in the backyard, sunning ourselves like lizards. Later we head inside and sit in the lounge room chatting and enjoying a bottle of wine we bought in Larrabetzu. I then go for an afternoon nap - first one this trip and it’s lovely. Lisa wakes me up just before dinner at 8pm, we are eating at the B&B and are served a beautiful fresh salad with lettuce, tomato, white asparagus, corn, olives, onion, tuna, jalapeños and dressing, followed by crumbed steak and hot chips, we decline the coffee. George goes to bed while Lisa and I sit up chatting, it is just past midnight when we decide to call it a night.    Read more

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