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Camino 2023

May - June 2023
A 50-day adventure by Terri's Trails Read more
  • 47footprints
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  • 50days
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  • 914miles
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  • TravelerCamino 2023
    1
    Day 12

    Pasaia to San Sebastián

    May 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    After yesterday, today was practically a rest day! I only walked to San Sebastián about 5 miles. Of course the day started with a climb - up concrete and rock stairs - the equivalent of about 25 flights according to my Fitbit. After that it was steadily uphill until the rather steep descent into San Sebastián.

    Some beautiful views along the way, and the weather cooperated by not raining, though it was overcast and very dark walking through some forested areas.

    I quickly found my pensión and was able to drop off my backpack while I attended to the important business of the day - buying new waterproof socks. Somehow I managed to lose one that I had brought with me, and considered doing without, but I saw that Decathlon carries waterproof socks. I first checked the small Decathlon City store not far from the pensión, but their stock was very limited. I looked on the in-store kiosk computer and saw that they had a few pair at the large store a bit outside the city center. There was a bus nearby that took me right there and I now am the happy owner of 3 waterproof socks.

    I'm currently sitting in a laundromat waiting for my clothes to dry, then I have been told in no uncertain terms that I MUST get ice cream at s shop called Gelataria Boulevard by a fellow Camino forum member. It's an order that I'll be happy to follow.😂

    I'm a little disappointed that the weather isn't better, but I plan to make the most of my time here.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2023
    Day 13

    San Sebastián to Getaria

    May 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today was the longest distance I've walked so far on the Camino this year - just over 26 km, but it was fairly easy. A few climbs, but I walked with a couple of young women, one from the US and the other German, so the time went by quickly as we walked and talked.

    It was overcast all day which made for good walking weather, but not great for photos.

    At around the 10 km mark there was a house where a woman had set up a small tented area and offered hot coffee and cake for a donation, so we rested there a bit and met pilgrims from Italy, Israel, and Spain. Of course I forgot to take a picture.

    The American woman and I had reservations at the same hostel, and it's quite nice with large showers and curtains on the bunks. We are the only two in the room tonight with 2 bunk beds.

    Rather than wait until we could get dinner at 7:30 we had pintxos had a small bar that seemed popular with the locals.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2023
    1
    Day 14

    Getaria to Ibiri Auzoa

    May 24, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌫 14 °C

    I didn't remember this stage as being particularly difficult when I did it five years ago, but maybe being five years older makes a difference. My calves never hurt, they just didn't want to take another uphill step. And this day had LOTS of uphill steps. According to my Fitbit, the equivalent of 380 flights of stairs!

    I walked all day with Emily from North Carolina who is only 28 and runs ultra marathons - she was kind enough to wait for me - a lot! We stayed in the same albergue last night, and it seemed that we were the only two there.

    Although it was a tough day it was really beautiful as we took the coastal alternative on the "Ruta de Flysch" so named from really interesting sedimentary rock formations that formed over millions of years.

    The albergue I'm at tonight is well organized with lockers for backpacks and bins to bring belongings into the dorms. They served a communal dinner. At my table there were two Italian men, and three women - Australian, French, and American.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2023
    2
    Day 15

    Ibiri Auzoa to Markina

    May 25, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    While yesterday was more difficult that I remembered today was much easier than I recall from five years ago. I took my time walking, and was still second to arrive at my albergue shortly after they opened at noon. It's a place where I enjoyed staying before, so I had made a reservation.

    My walk today was powered by half a bag of potato chips. The listing for the albergue where I stayed last night listed breakfast for €5, but it was a bag containing things that I thought that I'd only eat half of, so I declined, because my Camino apps said that there was a bar (restaurant) just a few kilometers away. Unfortunately, it didn't open until 10:00, so I finished a package of potato chips that I bought yesterday. I also had some cashews, an orange and a chocolate bar in case I really got hungry.

    At this point the Camino went inland and much of today's walk was on country roads with horses, sheep, and cows along the way. I won't see the ocean again until I reach Bilbao in a few days.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2023
    Day 16

    Markina to Gernika

    May 26, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I'm a little behind on posting so I'm writing this three days after the fact, so probably just mostly pictures

    I walked about 26 km today with lots of ups and downs as is typical for this route. Much of the day the Camino was along a little stream in the shade, and at other times it passed through farmland with cows, goats, and sheep. I had a fun meet up with another Camino forum member who is walking backwards along the route and counting pilgrims as he goes - I was number 15 for the day.

    The hotel that I booked in Gernika had a automated reception machine that sort of resembled an ATM. You enter in the code that was emailed when the reservation was made, then it has a scanner for your ID. After everything checks out it dispenses your room key and a code to enter the building.

    I went to dinner with the group of five Canadians I had met the night before and Emily from North Carolina who I had been walking with previously. We chose a pizza place which had excellent pizza and dined outside.

    An overall good day.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2023
    1
    Day 17

    Gernika to Larrabetzu

    May 27, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    I thought that this was going to be a pretty easy day, since it wasn't a very long distance - about 16.5 km, or a little over 10 miles. In fact I planned to start a little later than usual because I had planned to try to get a bed at the municipal albergue, and it didn't open until 3 pm.

    So I slept in a bit (until 8) and then had some breakfast with the Canadians. It was already starting to feel warm, so I started to wonder if a late start was such a good idea. Then I decided that maybe I should reserve a room somewhere since the municipal albergue only had 11 beds (or 20 depending on which guide I was reading). There was nothing available on booking.com, so I decided to send WhatsApp messages to the nearby Casa Rurales - there were no pensions or hotels in the area.

    Before I could even send the second message the first place replied that yes, there was a room available. So I set out for what I thought would be about a 4 hour walk. I immediately encountered some steep climbs, and the temperature was also rising. Just the day before I had been thinking about sending my umbrella to Santiago since there's a lot more shade on the Camino del Norte than on the mostly treeless stretches on the Camino Francés. I was so happy that I had it with me to protect me from the sun! By the end of my walking day the temperature had soared to 90°F. 🥵

    Adding to my exhaustion was that there were no little towns or other places to stop and take a rest. Though at one house I passed a woman had slices of watermelon and other fruit for sale. She invited me to sit while I ate my watermelon, but I was afraid that I wouldn't want to stand up again if I did!

    The casa rural where I had booked was very lovely, and the owner was really nice. But of course it was at the top of a steep hill! The owner provided dinner so at least I didn't have to walk down and then back up to eat.

    A couple of my Camino forum friends, Laurie and Clare are together on another Camino route, and they called me on a WhatsApp video call. It was great to see their faces and chat a bit, and Laurie confirmed that I had made the right choice by not staying at the public albergue since the dorm is in an attic type space with poor ventilation, which would have been horrible on such a hot day.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2023
    Day 18

    Larrabetzu to Bilbao

    May 28, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    This actually was a pretty easy day. There were some hills, but they were mostly in shade and it wasn't anywhere near as hot as yesterday. I walked most of the day with Kasha from Poland who I met a few days ago. It only took me a few hours to walk the short distance to Bilbao, so this was mostly a tourist day. When I did this route back in 2018 I didn't stay in Bilbao and only stopped long enough to have breakfast and take some pictures at the Guggenheim museum.

    After checking in to my hotel, showering and washing my clothes I received a message from Edna and Janice, two sisters from British Columbia who I had met in Markina. They came over to the old town area where I was staying and together we walked around the city, including walking all the way around the Guggenheim. We found a large plaza with pintxo restaurants all around and chose one that offered 10 pintxos and a bottle of wine for 30€. We ended up supplementing that with a few more pintxos for a total of five each. Each one is several bites, so it was plenty of food.

    Then we had to have a dessert that's a specialty of Bilbao called a Carolina, which is a small custard tart topped with meringue which looks like a soft serve ice cream cone. It was delicious!

    Sadly, many of the people that I've met so far are either ending their Camino this year in Bilbao (many people, especially Europeans do a section of a Camino every year), or they are spending two nights in Bilbao, so I'll no longer be in the same schedule.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2023
    1
    Day 19

    Bilbao to Portugalete

    May 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    There are three ways to leave Bilbao and none of them seem great. The official route is quite a bit longer, and my Camino app warned of a steep 1 km hill. My calves wanted a rest so I chose one of the shorter, flatter options. When I walked this route before I walked past the Guggenheim on my way out of town and stayed on a pedestrian walkway along the river for most of the way into Portugalete until finally crossing the river on the Vizcaya Bridge, also known as the Puente Colgante - hanging bridge. It's the first of its kind, built in 1893. It carries vehicles and passengers on a suspended gondola.

     The route that I ended up on today was not very scenic, and didn't have the advantage of going past a stunning museum. It was basically city streets and an industrial zone. So I decided to take pictures of some public art and graffiti (of which there was plenty!)

    The overcast skies kept the temperature just right for walking and I arrived quite early. I was able to drop my backpack off at the pensión, and take a couple of trips across the river on the bridge.

    I saw only one other person walking the Camino on this route, I'm hoping to meet some other pilgrims tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino 2023
    21
    Day 20

    Portugalete to Castro Urdiales

    May 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    One of the nice things about walking out of a town at 7 am is the smell of freshly baked bread from the panaderías. This morning that was the best thing about the walk out of Portugalete, as most of it was a long slog on a pedestrian/bike way adjacent to a highway. I finally reached the countryside with the familiar horses, cows, and sheep.

    Not too long after that I reached the ocean again. Unfortunately, part of the trail along the headland overlooking the sea was closed due to (I've read) a landslide.

    After the short detour I was again walking on a path overlooking the ocean. I mostly walked alone, but did meet a few other pilgrims on the way, and walked with a Spanish man whose English was slightly better than my Spanish. When we reached the village of Ontón a farrier was busy shoeing horses, and I considered an upgrade on my soles.

    I took a short nap after my daily shower and clothes washing routine, so I haven't had a chance to look around town yet.    Read more

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