Walking Camino del Norte

[sboardgrl]

My friend and I are walking the Camino for the first time for one week in June, on the northern route. We are starting in Irun...which seems logical. I am guessing the beginning section has a nice atmosphere? After about a week we will find a city that has a bus to take us to Pamplona.

I have been struggling a bit over this walk, because it is so hard to find information on it! Does anyone know if it will be simple to just wait and buy a book/guide (english) in Irun? Do you also know if there is a possibility of reaching Biblao in a week? Is there ANY site that gives a km or mile distance between cities? Any other advice?

Thank you so much,

Sierra

[bobo]

Hi

I did the Camino Frances a couple of years ago, and I'm now doing the Camino del Norte a week at a time. For the first week we got as far as Gernika. Like you we started in Irun. Nice easy train journey from Biarritz (5 euros) to Irun to get started. Large clean youth hostel in Irun serves as albergue. Hondirrabia is really nice town with great fish restaurants. Get the little boat across from Pasaia Donibane to Donastia/San Sebastian. In Orio we stayed at a particularly nice albergue run by a charming woman called Rosa who makes evening meals. She recommended that we stopped with her friend Josefran for the next night in Urain and he was waiting for us when we arrived. Tiny little albergue in Deba is a bit grim - standing room only between bunks. We finished in Gernika, and got the bus into Bilbao to fly home to England.

Its a bit harder going than the Camino Frances, with lots of descending into little harbour towns and climbing up out of them again. And it rained - a lot. But Basque people were friendly and great views of the sea.

Bob

[bobo]

Here's where we stopped:
Flew London Stansted to Biarritz
Day 1 Irun
Day 2 Hondirrabia
Day 3 Donastia/ San Sebastian
Day 4 Orio
Day 5 Urain
Day 6 Deba
Day 7 Markina
Day 8 Cenarruza (stayed in the monastery)
Day 9 Gernika
Bus to Bilbao to fly back to London Stansted

Hope this gives you some ideas.
Bob

[cricklewood_graeme]

Like you I found it difficult to obtain any information about the Camino del Norte. The only guide available that I could find was the Confraternity of St James Pilgrim Guide to Spain #4: A: Ruta de la Costa. I purchased Part 1: Irun - Villaviciosa. We went for just a week 1-7 April 2009. Flew to Bilbao and walked as far as Laredo. The guide (2007) was a tiny bit out of date but not enough to render it useless. Weather was good. Only one slightly damp day experienced.
I really enjoyed the walk. We only met a few other pilgrims when we got to the only municipal albergue between Bilbao and Laredo situated at Castro Urdiales. This purpose built albergue (16 places) is very new and did not feature in the guide. Otherwise the route was very quiet and we stayed in sports halls, private albergues and hotels. The hardest thing was to find a decent meal. Forget breakfast! Tapas just isn't enough when you are exerting energy. My favourite section was walking through the Liendo valley.
One curiosity which I am still puzzling over was the name of a restaurant discovered at the Playa del Arena – next stop after Portugalete. It was called the Waitaki which being a Kiwi made me think some fellow New Zealander had set up shop here. I was told however by the Venezuelan owner that it was named after a river in his home country. Very curious! Any Maori will tell you that place names beginning with Wai indicate a river.

Here is where we stopped:
Bilbao – Hotel Bilbi
Baracaldo – Hostal Maite
El Haya (near Onton) hotel
Castro Urdiales – albergue next to plaza de toros
Hazas – sports hall (get key from bar next door)
Laredo – Albergue El Buen Pastor

[Iassak]

Myself also doing Camino Norte as far as Oviedo then the Camino Primitivo..yes very hard to get info I believe because not too many doing it on account of the difficulty. Nevertheless I plan on doing it and take it one day at a time and time will tell. Did Camino Frances last year so a change is good..enjoy everyone.
I

[frescotours]

For good info on the Camino Norte, have a look at
::: MUNDICAMINO ::: los Caminos de Santiago

First on top, click in English.
Then click on the right: The North Way

Here you'll see the various stages and when you click on a stage, you'll have more options for info that will appear on the left.

Here are some pictures from Hondarriba to Deba:
Collection: Basque Country Tours
Good luck and buen camino!

[frescotours]

Here is a better, easier to read / print information on the Camino Norte in the Basque Country.

FolletosMenu - folletos

See the following brochure, which you can download in PDF format:

THE ROAD TO SANTIAGO, TWO ROUTES THROUGH THE BASQUE COUNTRY
The Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, pilgrimage route used by pilgrims in the Middle Ages to reach Compostela (Galicia, on the peninsula's north-west), has two main routes in our community: the coast route between Hondarribia and Balamaseda; and the inland route, that passes through Alava. The former is a local route, built by the daily relationship between neighbouring villages. The second route is much older and was deliberately built to join the central plateau and the Basque and Pyrenean mountains.

Good luck and enjoy - an amazing and beautiful area!