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”
Tag Archives: outdoors
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 8 – Olabe to Larrabetzu
After breakfast at the Albergue we hit the road, as usual it was up hill. Olabe is just short of the stage end, as Gernika didn’t have an Albergue. The 8km to the town I spent walking with a German pilgrim Nico. We had great conversations and laughter that made the distances fly by. MostlyContinue reading “Camino del Norte Day 8 – Olabe to Larrabetzu”
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”
2024 Keswick Adventure
At the beginning of the year I thought I’d be missing out on my annual trip to the lakes because of a clash of leave, however a there was a cancellation, freeing up the rota for me to go. Usually I head to Keswick for the beer festival signalling the start of my adventures aroundContinue reading “2024 Keswick Adventure”
Camino de Fisterra Day 2 – Negreira to Santa Marina
It was another toughie with the heat and the ascent for the most of the first 10km for breakfast. We set off before 0700h to beat the heat and it was very misty, which hindered the drying of our clothes; we spent a bit of time attaching our undergarments to our bags before setting off.Continue reading “Camino de Fisterra Day 2 – Negreira to Santa Marina”
Stu's Camino 