Camino de Santiago del Norte
INTROThe Camino de Santiago is a network of long distance pilgrimages throughout Europe, primarily Spain, leading to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Closer and closer to Santiago
This is about the North route (del Norte) which I began in San Sebastián, Spain. This route is roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers). This is different from an other backpacking I’ve done; less wilderness, more showers/town food. This comes after my completion of the Camino de Santiago Frances.
Day 8-10 took me from Islares, Spain - Arce, Spain.
OVERVIEWDAYS3
MILES/kilometers33.9/54.6
TOTAL ELEVATION GAINED2763 ft
TOTAL ELEVATION LOSS2646 ft
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Fantastic birthday; hotel, massage, pastries, kind people
Beautiful beaches and coastal views
Private rooms with no snoring
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Bus schedule and forgetfulness getting me completely off track
Pavement walking. So much pavement.
Rainbows after the storm
In Depth
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Accommodation: Alojamiento La Ballena
Distance: 18.1 miles / 29.1 Kilometers
Elevation Gain: 1879 ft
Elevation Loss: 1807 ft
After a decent night sleep and a good bunk, I had some breakfast and myself, Koral, and Maria set out again. Zuzanna was getting off trail this day and it was her birthday so it felt like a beautiful way to wrap up her time. We also began walking with an Irish woman who had been living in Germany for the past 40 years. And though she was my mother‘s age, our lives had some similarities that we bonded over. And of course, our love of Derry Girls.
This day was primarily a road walking day on a highway. So though many of my photos and highlights that I’m describing are beautiful coastal areas… in between those areas were paved road walks often on dangerous highways.
We entered the beach paradise of Laredo that is known for having a five kilometer beach. This statistic would become important tomorrow. We again had some kebab and headed for Santoña. There was a small ferry that took you the approximately five minutes to get across the bay. Because I had wanted to do a large day the following day, it made sense for me to get the ferry out of the way rather than staying in Laredo.
There were a few reservation options in Santoña so I booked a private room at a hostel. As I was freshly showered and settled into my peaceful space, prepared for a night of no snoring, I realized I forgot my headphones back in Islares. I called the owner of the hostel and they did find them so she set them aside for me. Problem was that the ferry had already finished for the day and didn’t start until 9:00am the next day and the bus schedule was limited because it was a Sunday. So I had a very tight timeline to get them and I slept pretty terribly thinking about the bus schedule.
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Accommodation: Isabel Rooms
Distance: 26.7 miles / 43.0 kilometers
Elevation Gain: 44 ft
Elevation Loss: 15 ft
Because I couldn’t take the ferry until 9:00am, I got to sleep in a little bit. I was at the ferry station and took the first shuttle over the bay. My boat docked at 9:10am, but my bus was at 9:50am with that infamous five kilometers to tackle. By that I mean, I ran 5km with my 9kg backpack. Though there were many people out on a Sunday, no one engaged with me. Though one woman sitting at the bus station offered to call her friend to give me a ride, which I stopped and said “thank you”. She then followed up with “it’s two euro for me to make the call”. I continued running.
I made the bus with four minutes to spare and arrived back in Islares. I had a seven minute turnaround before my return bus to Laredo so I ran again. To the hostel and back to the bus stop was 4 minutes therefore I was at the bus stop three minutes before my scheduled bus.
I waited until the scheduled bus time. Then three minutes past the scheduled time. Then 10 minutes passed. Turns out the bus had arrived five minutes early and despite me booking a ticket, they left five minutes early from the destination. So all of that running was for naught. The next bus was in five hours.
I sat at a local bar got some breakfast and lunch for five hours. The decision was then made to jump straight to Santander because I had reservations booked a few days in advance for accommodation. This is why the statistics for the section are a little bit off is because I took a bus I cover 22 miles of the trail.
That bus arrived early as well, so thankfully, I was there and I took the two hour ride to Santander. This is where I was greeted at a very strange albergue, but Sophie was there. Though the accommodation was lacking in any actual amenities (cold shower, sitting area, or anything but a bunk bed), I was able to go out to dinner with Sophie and we had plans for the next day.
*Daily mileage listed includes bus. Total in summary section subtracts any public transport
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Accommodation: Palace de Arce
Distance: 11.8 miles / 19.0 kilometers
Elevation Gain: 840 ft
Elevation Loss: 824 ft
This day was my birthday hence why I had accommodation booked in advance. Myself, Sophie, and Helen (Taiwan) went out to breakfast for my birthday and they sang me ‘happy birthday’ straight away when I woke up. It was a lovely way to start the day.
Because I was in a large city and my legs were immensely sore from running an unexpected 5km with weight on my back, I decided to get a massage. Massages are my favorite birthday present and it was well worth it after clocking in over 1000 miles of hiking thus far at this point in 2026.
Leaving Santander after my massage, I was on cloud nine. This section is known for being very industrial and walking to Arce is unpleasant because it is completely pavement. But the day kind of flew by because my legs felt so great so I didn’t notice.
I arrived at my luxury accommodation - definitely compared to albergue. Trish and Greta (USA) were also going to be there that night so we had planned to meet up. I got settled in and eventually went out to look for dinner. Which was harder than you think for a Monday because many things were closed.
I went back to the hotel and had a glass of wine with Trish and Greta and we gabbed about the trail as their time on the trail was coming to a close soon. They are from the states as well and have a lot of knowledge about Glacier National Park, which is where I will be starting the Continental Divide Trail so I was able to get some intel from them.
I ended my birthday evening chatting with friends and then taking a Jacuzzi bath while eating pastries.
GALLERY
