El Purgatorio - Hondarribia to Pasaia

I was hoping for clear weather today because I planned to walk the route called El Purgatorio, which follows a high ridge with great views. When I did the Camino del Norte in 2018 I was very jet lagged and it was raining so it didn't make sense to attempt this climb.

They weren't kidding when they named it El Purgatorio, and I questioned my judgement almost immediately when I started the climb. I have a fear of falling backwards - I hate long steep escalators and stairs, and this was no different. The feeling was worse carrying a full backpack because my center of gravity was off. While others walked by at a seemingly normal pace I was practically crawling up the side of this hill. My poles weren't much help because the rubber tips that are great for most of the Camino didn't grab into the ground, and they were on so tightly that I couldn't remove them. After what seemed like an eternity while I considered every step I took I finally made it up this very steep part.

Of course that wasn't the end of the uphill walking, but at least I was only often out of breath for the rest of the walk and not terrified of falling.

The day had started out sunny and warm, but somewhere near the top of the mountain a cold wind carrying mist from the ocean came up. To my right on the ocean side it was foggy and cold, but to my left I could look down to see the city of Irun in the sun.

Around this time I needed to stop to layer up and met an older French man who speaks fluent Spanish because his father was from Spain. So we could communicate, though I couldn't understand everything that he said. He waited for me to don my warmer clothing. Later I discovered that he's diabetic so I waited while he tested his blood sugar.

We teamed up and helped each other the rest of the way, arriving together at the albergue around 2:30. It was supposed to open at 4:00 and I was prepared to wait, but the volunteer hospitalero was sitting on a bench outside and offered to let us in early. There are only 14 beds here, and reservations are not accepted, so I was happy to be able to get a bed, as the only other option was an expensive hotel room, as this is a really cute, but very touristic town.Read more