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.
Springtime foals
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 1-3 took me from San Sebastián, Spain - Markina - Xemein, Spain.
OVERVIEWDAYS3
MILES/kilometers42.8/68.9
TOTAL ELEVATION GAINED7508 ft
TOTAL ELEVATION LOSS7245 ft
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Beginning another Camino!
Finally seeing St. James Cathedral before leaving Santiago and heading to San Sebastián
Great coastal views
Lovely people along the way
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A 13-hour bus ride from Santiago to San Sebastian
Getting into the rhythm of a new Camino that felt completely different
Accommodation was hit or miss; first come first serve always lends itself to a bit of panic when there is only one albergue
In Depth
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Finally, I was able to have a peaceful night sleep in the hotel in Santiago after finishing the Camino Frances up with my dear friends Kim and Alex. A busy day was in order because of my plan was always to do two Caminos. After the Frances, I would travel to the Del Norte and starting in San Sebastian. I had a bus that evening scheduled for San Sebastian for an overnight trip of around 13 hours. Before then I had to do several chores concluding buying new trail shoes as the ones on the Frances were worn out after 500 miles. Also, I desperately needed to do laundry particularly with my bed bug revelation.
All six women, including Alex‘s friends, had glorious breakfast at the hotel. I then went to Decathalon to get those new trail shoes and though there were limited options, I did find something in my size generally wide enough to work. It was then already time to pack up and get out of the hotel which is also where I said goodbye to Alex. As she is now living in Colorado I will see her later in the year!
Kim and I then went on a successful adventure to do laundry. Afterwards, went into the actual St. James Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. I had not yet been in yet as I had missed the Pilgrim Mass from the day prior and oh my, the cathedral was magnificent. It hard to describe the enormity of the structure and the intricacies of all of the sculptures and details inside. I am not religious, but it was a powerful place to be in. My goal would be to attend Mass after I complete the Camino del Norte
After a quick (sad) goodbye with Kim I went out to lunch and then got ready for my long bus ride. Thought I arrived at the bus station early, the window seat in (which I paid for extra) had already been taken. So myself and the woman sitting next to me then got a quiet standoff for the first two of this 13 hour bus ride. When she went to the bathroom at a stop, I switched seats and I got the window seat. Suddenly, she had nothing to say when she came back and the seat was full.
This bus ride was particularly uncomfortable because my small backpack was too large to fit in the overhead storage area, but too small for them to put it in the underside of the bus. Therefore, it was at my feet and I had a scrunched footrest for 13 hours.
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Accommodation: Hego Haize Albergue-Hostel
Distance: 14.1 miles / 22.7 kilometers
Elevation Gain: 1947 ft
Elevation Loss: 1940 ft
After 13 very long hours, I arrived in San Sebastian at 5:45am. I had planned to hike that day and booked accommodation so I was committed, but of course, nothing was open at that time. As if I hadn’t been sitting and waiting around long enough at this point, I got to sit and wait in the bus station.
Eventually, I made my way out when the sun rose while walking along a beautiful beach. First, breakfast and coffee were in order. I made my way to the tourism office to get my first stamp for the trail! Again, all pilgrims have a passport/credential that shows that they are a pilgrim on a camino. The pilgrim get stamps along the way and this is what gives you your Compostela upon arrival into Santiago.
My few hours in about Sam Sebastian were a little chaotic; I tried to pull out cash from ATM and got approached by someone with a weapon. I had to break into a public bathroom to switch into hiking clothes from my bus clothes because the tourism office bathrooms were closed and the café did not have any bathrooms available. I went into a church to see more Gothic architecture, but stumbled on the end of choir practice and got yelled at. So on all in all San Sebastian was beautiful, but I did not have a good experience.
I started the hike which began along the beach watching surfers catch the waves. It was a Saturday so it was very busy on the promenade and I was very tired/deeply inflamed from the trip. My legs were so swollen from the awkward bus angle and lack of hydration that my legs physically hurt because the skin was being pulled so tightly.
The climb out of San Sebastian was steep, but pretty quick. It was very busy as it was a weekend and there were some hiking tour groups, some school groups, and other folks just out for a beautiful Saturday. There were already sweeping views of the coast and had a decent amount of actual trail rather than road for the day.
I saw a sign for the Yellow Deli. And if you know, you know.
With the last few miles to go to Zarautz, I ran into an American mom and daughter, duo, Trish and Greta, and their company made the rest of the day fly by. I would continue to see them for the next two weeks!
I got to my accommodation and it was self check-in and it was.. not great. San Sebastian accommodation was wildly expensive, which is why I hiked out and even this was expensive for what you got.
I’m unsure if it was the lack of sleep, extreme inflammation, or a disappointing hostel but day 1 on the del Norte was not a good day for me. I was texting friends asking them “Do I even wanna be out here?”.
Despite the many snores, I slept all right.
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Accommodation: Pilgrim Hostel of Deba
Distance: 13.8 miles / 22.2. kilometers
Elevation Gain: 2665 ft
Elevation Loss: 2672 ft
After a quick grocery store breakfast, I left the hostel and set out for the day. Zarautz was a surfing area so again I got to watch surfers as I exited town and the trail took an alternate along the coast which I opted for. Around 3 miles in, I stopped to get a coffee and met some folks that I would be with for the week. Primarily, Steve (Ireland) as we ended up hiking the whole day together! Steve is an accomplished endurance athlete that was spending a week on trail.
The day was mostly up and down through farmland wiggling along the coast providing ample views. As this was a Sunday, there were many families out enjoying the beautiful weather. Great farm animals that made some of the climbing seem not as steep.
The descent into Deba was brutal. Had it been raining already at this point, I am unsure how I would’ve walked down it, but rather I would’ve sat down and scooted the whole way. There is really only one accommodation in Deba, which is the municipal albergue and it is first come first serve. There’s also a weird check-in system regarding the tourism office to get a ticket but because it was a Sunday, it was allowed to just show up directly to the albergue. So it was a bit of a chaotic queue and took about an hour for check-in. The space filled up though, and left some people out in the rain, and eventually that either slept on the floor of the albergue or the floor of the church. The evening had several bouts of intense rain, so I was immensely thankful to be out of that.
After an unexpected nap, Steve and I went to grab a quick drink on the beach. As mentioned, this was a Sunday, which meant a lot of things were closed and dinner was a task. We went to a convenience store and I got the bare minimum to eat snacks for the evening.
There were some proficient snores in this room, but eventually, I drifted it off.
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Accommodation: Albergue de Peregrinos de Markina-Xemein
Distance: 14.9 miles / 24 kilometers
Elevation Gain: 2896 ft
Elevation Loss: 2633 ft
This day was slated to have a lot of elevation gain and some harder trail. Steve and I started out with a coffee and breakfast at a café that was open relatively early. Temperatures were predicted to be hot later in the day so we wanted to get going to enjoy cooler morning hiking.
Eventually, we met up with Jan (Ireland) who we had spent some time with the past few days. Her partner Andrew had hurt himself on the descent from Deba so I was taking a day to rest. I hiked with Steve and Jan for the whole day and it was a delight. There were sweeping views of farmland and lots of great farm animals. This was a bit of a dry stretch with water as the restaurants that you passed were closed on Mondays, but there were a few taps that we were able to get water from sparingly.
There was again a very steep descent to Markina where we ran into three American women that had previously completed the Camino del Norte 10 years prior after living in Barcelona first semester. We would continue to hike with them later!
This was an interesting albergue as well in that it was also first come first serve. It was in an old monastery, so it was a unique space. The volunteers were absolutely wonderful and were so welcoming. It was clear they truly enjoyed serving the pilgrims.
A group of us went out for dinner that night in town; myself, Steve, an Italian gentlemen, a Czech couple, and David from Utah! It was a Pincho place and everything was delicious. After having snacks for 48 hours, it felt nice to have a full meal.
The rest of the evening was spent chatting with folks and eventually I made my way to the dorm like bed (pictured below). More snorers this evening, but what’s new?
GALLERY
