Camino del Norte Day 13 – Laredo to Güemes

Gronze warned it would be a long one today, and it wasn’t wrong. Broke the 30km mark for the first time on this Camino. A flat gentle stroll along the promenade for an hour to reach the ferry to Santoña. Hardly anyone about and the view across the bay in the morning Sun was aContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 13 – Laredo to Güemes”

Camino del Norte Day 12 – Castro Urdiales to Laredo

The difference the Sun makes to a day of walking cannot be understated. Blue skies all the way today! It’s a small hill to tackle straight off the bat giving views back at Castro Urdiales and along the coastline ahead. Eventually it dropped to the coast, passing through a grove with goats weaving through theContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 12 – Castro Urdiales to Laredo”

Camino del Norte Day 11 – Portugalete to Castro Urdiales

After breakfast we headed on out, up a hill as always – Neill and John took full advantage of the escalators (a common feature in the hilly towns) The route follows some impressive infrastructure. A footpath and cycle lane takes you over the roads, the motorways and an impressive spaghetti junction. About an hour andContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 11 – Portugalete to Castro Urdiales”

Camino del Norte Day 10 – Bilbao to Portugalete

Poncho time again. The rain was still pouring when I left the hostel. The route pretty much follows one of the main roads from east to west of the city. There was a hive of activity with people walking their children to school and making their way into work – a mass of umbrellas. OnceContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 10 – Bilbao to Portugalete”

Camino del Norte Day 9 – Larrabetzu to Bilbao

The rain arrived with a vengeance, hammering it down from the early hours and didn’t let up until a brief period in the afternoon. We grabbed breakfast at the bar, donned the ponchos and began Day 9. It was flat roadside walking for 7km before the start of the only climb of the day. TheContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 9 – Larrabetzu to Bilbao”

Camino del Norte Day 7 – Markina-Xemein to Olabe

In contrast with the walk so far, today was the easiest. For the first 5km it was flat but the only real climb came at 13km, by 1300h I reached my destination. I had the best night sleep on this Camino so far, I closed my eyes at lights out and opened them when theContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 7 – Markina-Xemein to Olabe”

Camino del Norte Day 6 – Deba to Markina-Xemein

Everyone had been warning me that today is hard. Gronze gave it a 4 out of 5 on the difficulty level, but I found yesterday worse. Despite being above the train station my sleep wasn’t disturbed. In fact as soon as my head hit the pillow, the next time I opened my eyes it wasContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 6 – Deba to Markina-Xemein”

Camino del Norte Day 5 – Zarautz to Deba

Today it was forecast to rain but not one drop appeared, although there was another downpour in the night. The air perfect for walking, Neill, John and I set off through the town. The route again had a variant, the easier path via the coast and the harder route. I chose the difficult one leavingContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 5 – Zarautz to Deba”

Camino del Norte Day 4 – San Sebastián to Zarautz

There was a heavy rain during the night but luckily it had stopped when we left the hostel just after 0800h. It was straight into a climb but the air was cool and refreshed. The route consists of forest paths and country roads for roughly 13km with no places to stop – it was aContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 4 – San Sebastián to Zarautz”

Camino del Norte Day 3 – Irún to San Sebastián

0600h on the dot classical music blared through the albergue, lights flickered on, signalling wake up time. Dawn wasn’t until 0750h so I milled around the kitchen area chatting to my fellow peregrinos before setting off around 0730h. As usual with leaving cities, it’s difficult to find the way; despite taking an unintentional variant weContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 3 – Irún to San Sebastián”