Spain
Markina

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 32

      Fête du pays basque

      October 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Aujourd'hui c'est fête du pays basque à Markina-Xemein ! C'est un peu comme le 14 juillet mais avec des vaches, des chevaux et des moutons !

      Au programme, balades, prix du plus beau toreau, pelote basque et bières.

      Une bonne journée culturelle.
      Read more

    • Day 5

      Jour 5 - Markina

      August 27 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      Puis c'est la descente sur Markina, parfois très pentue (il y a même une corde à un endroit, car des cailloux ont été ajoutés, et c'est facile de tomber).

      Au bout de quelques jours, je croise de nouveau des têtes connues, notamment une belge et un hollandais. Nous finissons l'étape ensemble jusqu'à Markina. Et nous faisons un selfie, nous avons presque les mêmes chapeaux !Read more

    • Day 15

      Ibiri Auzoa to Markina

      May 25, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

      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

    • Day 14

      Getaria to Ibiri Auzoa

      May 24, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌫 57 °F

      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

    • Day 8

      Markina-Xemain

      May 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Schon um 7 Uhr aufgebrochen, um die härteste Tour zu machen, zwar nur 25 km aber gefühlte 3000 Höhenmeter und schlechte Wege, aber Traumwetter zum Gehen, sehr viel Wald, Wind,.... zwischendurch hatte ich das Gefühl in den Alpen zu sein, schaut teilweise wirklich so aus, Meer heute kaum in Sicht
      Aber endlich angekommen, brennende Füsse, schmerzender Rücken, Knie, die sich melden und hungrig, nur wie es hier so ist, zwischen 15 und 20 Uhr hat fast alles zu, so ernähren wir uns (Camino Michi und ich )halt wie schon die letzten Tage v.Pinxtos und dann fanden wir doch noch eine Burgerbar, ein Traum mit Tinto veran.
      Jetzt sind wir in einem ehemaligen Kloster, haben Wäsche gewaschen und freuen uns aufs Bett.
      Read more

    • Day 6

      Markina-Xemein

      April 23 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      Day 6
      I'm feeling nothing, and that makes me feel frustrated! I suppose this is just the phase of settling in and that's okay: it's finding out if my clothes and everything suit what I need, it's discovering which bits of my body hurt or don't, it's seeing who else is around ,and how it all works, day by day by day. I reckon next week will be a bit of a shock when I will start sleeping in hostels instead of these lovely private rooms Heike has booked for us. But perhaps there will be a better sense of belonging to the pilgrims.
      Cold, wind and rain demand resilience. We avoided the long and slippery hill route today in the challenging weather conditions, so took the coastal path for 10 km to Ondarroa, and then a bus to Markina. I didn't expect this cold and I'm very unsure that my kit is sufficient.
      A most unusual church building at the Ermita de San Miguel de Arretxinaga - why these rocks?
      Heike had booked an Airbnb apartment with a kitchen, so for supper we ate in, Karaoke fish from the fishmonger in Mutriku, and scallops in their shells: I now have my pilgrims' symbol to carry!

      Uninspired to paint. Squeezed out some 'thunks' I've been sort of thinking instead.
      ... am I part of this environment, or separate from it? Incidental, unimportant; or significant, maybe, just because I'm here? Is my passing through any more (or less) consequential because I'm human - compared with sheep, snails, cows, donkeys ... or flowers, winds, sun, rain?

      Walking together is nice, but I need to be alone. Next week will do. I want to gain more inner clarity and simplicity.
      Read more

    • Day 8

      Merkina-Xemein

      August 28 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      The night under the open sky was a little restless for me. When I woke up in the morning, half of my face was swollen; some little animal had taken great pleasure in stinging my face (about 8 bites next to each other). We then went to the nearest cafe, where we had breakfast and prepared ourselves for the day. On the were many horses, including some that had a bell around their necks. We spent the night in a large hostel (about 51 beds) in Markina-XemeinRead more

    • Day 43

      Markina-Xemein

      September 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      "I would've shouted if I knew you were British!" she gasped as she walked through the gate that I was holding open, her husband close behind. "I wouldn't have heard you anyway" I replied.

      I'd noticed her as I turned to close the gate. She was running, or making an effort to run, up the steep hill while waving three quarters of a stick of bread. I realised immediately the bread was mine and I guess I should've walked down to meet her but I'd just climbed that hill and I wasn't going to repeat the feat for seventy cents worth of bread.

      I had passed the two of them moments earlier. I said something in Spanish and they smiled at me blankly so I guessed, wrongly, they were German. Then I must have caught the bread, which was attached to the outside of my pack, on a branch and the bread broke off but the lady very kindly returned it to me. It was then I discovered they were British, from Manchester. We had a chat and went our separate ways. That was the first face to face chat in English I had had for over a month and it was great!

      I'm staying in a hostel run by Carmelite nuns tonight. The town where it is sited, Xemein, was the scene of a battle in 1936 during the Civil War. Reading the various notice boards really brings home the bravery of the people of this small town against the Spanish and German fascists.

      Photos - today's wonderful path through the hills, a chapel for sailors with a suspended boat, outside the chapel with a great dog, Deba is so steep it has escalators, the Roman road into Deba
      Read more

    • Day 7

      Königsetappe nach Markina

      September 6, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Es ging in sehr steilen Serpentinen hoch hinauf auf einen Berg. Angeblich der Höchste des ganzen Caminos. Es war sehr anstrengend, aber durchaus machbar. In Markina haben wir wieder in einem Kloster geschlafen. 20 Leute in einem Raum. Ich hab wieder ein paar sehr nette Menschen kennengelernt. 😊Read more

    • Day 7

      Tag 7 -Markina-Xemein

      August 1 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Mir geht's wirklich super gut dafür, was für eine panische Angst ich vor den Anstiegen heute hatte.
      Zum Großteil lag das an meiner Gesellschaft -ich bin heute gemeinsam mit der Engländerin von gestern gelaufen. Alle 23,8 Kilometer in Gesellschaft! Das war ja mal was ganz Neues. Ich bin jetzt wohl kein Einzelgänger mehr!

      Natürlich waren die Anstiege hart. Was auch hart war -ich musste dem Meer für die nächsten 80 Kilometer Tschüß sagen. Der Weg führt nämlich ein wenig inlands bis Bilbao. Dort hören tatsächlich auch echt viele Pilgerer auf, und nur wenige gehen weiter als bis zur Großstadt.

      Heute Nacht hat jemand geschnarcht. Aber nicht normal geschnarcht, sondern wie ein Traktor direkt neben einem. Ich glaube, JEDER in dem Raum war wach und genervt, bis auf den Traktor selbst. Ich war also durcheinander am Morgen und habe einige Dinge ein bisschen durcheinander gehauen. Kate war glaube ein wenig sauer, aber es hat sich auch schnell gelegt.

      Irgendwie auf dem Berggipfel nach etwa 12 Kilometern trafen wir einen Franzosen, der uns ganz viele Sachen aus seinem Leben erzählt hat. Er hat schon 1000 Kilometer laufend aus Frankreich hinter sich gebracht und möchte nach Gibraltar. Echt spannend, so viele Ambitionen habe ja nicht einmal ich.

      Seine wilden Geschichten haben die Zeit aber wie im Flug vergehen lassen und schon 15 Uhr waren wir an der Herberge.

      Hier habe ich zwei Franzosen wiedergetroffen, die ich bis jetzt jeden Tag gesehen hatte. Mit den beiden hatten Kate und ich nun noch ein Abendbrotseinkaufserlebnis und dann ein wunderschönes und sehr lustiges Abendessen. Für mich gab es mal wieder Tortilla (und Erdbeersaft!!). War auf jeden Fall kalorienreich, was mein einziges echtes Ziel für den Tag war, außer nicht auf dem Weg tot umzufallen.

      Morgen wird es nur eine kurze Etappe zu einem Kloster. Meine Füße wollen Pause!
      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Markina, Marquina

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android