Mary's Musings and More: CAMINO Del Norte - Part 1

Hooray ! Finally, we were once again able to take a camino vacation! Gerry and I enjoy the walking, the scenery, the people, the food and drink, and the excitement and adventure that every camino brings.

This time we decided to do the first portion of the Camino del Norte and planned a trip to walk for 11 days in northern Spain, making our way west from San Sebastian to Santander.

We flew to San Sebastian on Tuesday, August 23 and arrived at the airport in Santiago at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, August 24. We took a taxi form the airport to our lodging, the Pension Koxka, strategically located in the center of Old Town Santiago, about a 35 minute ride. Since I wasn't able to sleep a wink on the long flight, a shower and a nap were in order before we decided to check out the pintxos scene in Old Town.

Pintxos is the Basque Country's answer to the Spanish tapas. There were dozens of pintxo restaurants, cafes and bars to choose from. It was fun to stroll the streets and peek in at the numerous pintxos bars. We finally settled on Casa Vergara, a stylish modern gastrobar.

Many people out and about in San Sebastian !

Thursday September 25 we walked and explored San Sebastian for about 4 hours. (I know we're supposed to rest before the start of an 11-day camino, but there was so much to see and do in San Sebastian. It was humid, partly sunny / partly cloudy and in the mid 70s. We covered 7 miles as we "played tourist".


Plaza de la Constitucion - the largest square in San Sebastian and once a bull ring

We left Old Town and explored some of central downtown Sebastian, enjoying some quiet neighborhood streets with a combination of modern architecture and ancient churches and buildings.


The cathedral at the end of this street is striking

We took some time to explore the Cristina Enea Park and Environmental Resources Center, which we stumbled upon. It's a city park with plenty of shady walking paths. Not many tourists, instead the park patrons seemed to be locals.

Gerry at the entrance to Cristina Enea

We returned to Old Town and then walked along the playa de Ondaretta and also a 2 km stretch of coastline along the lovely La Concha Promenade.

The fine sandy beach below the pedestrian La Concha Promenade

We decided to walk on the beach on our return back to Old Town. We took off our sandals and walked with our feet on the edge of the water.

Refreshing to get our feet wet and join the other beach walkers

We ended our walk on the beach with a view of the main facade of San Sebastian City Hall, which stands on the Concha Bay, with Old Town (and our hotel) right behind it.

The impressive San Sebastian City Hall

After eating pintxos for dinner at a different cafe on Thursday evening, we splurged with cheesecake for dessert at La Vina - 6 euro for a serving which came with two slices. La Vina was literally across the street from our pension Koxka.

People from all over flock to La Viña bar and restaurant who critics claim make the “World’s Best Cheesecake”. La Viña bakes upwards of 100 cheesecakes a day so it’s fair to say they’ve definitely mastered the art of this mouthwatering crustless cheesecake (gazta tarta).

Friday, September 26 - We started our Camino del Norte. To say I was excited (and also nervous) would be an understatement. This first stage of our camino was the walk from San Sebastian to Zarautz, another beautiful coastal town. Our anticipated 10 to 12 mile walk wound up being closer to 14 miles. There were plenty of scenic vistas, but also some challenging downhill segments when I took it very slowly. Ideal temperatures in the mid-70s under partly cloudy skies.

It was a challenging hike and it ended up being a 14 mile day. We left San Sebastian at 8:30 am and arrived in Zarautz shortly after 3:00 pm. The first 1.5 miles of the hike were along the Paseo de la Concha, (very flat) and then we faced a very steep uphill climb for a few miles. This was followed by gradual ups and downs until the 10K point. Then it was another uphill and a steep 2-mile downhill to the town of Orio (mile 11) - a perfect location for a well-deserved gelato before the final stretch to Zarautz! Ah, perfect that our hotel, was an emblamatic family hotel in a wonderful location, just a few minutes from the beach!

A view of the rugged coastline on our walk today

Another view - looking down at farmland and the Bay of Biscayne

So many spectacular views of the Bay of Biscayne on this walk today. I keep gazing to my right to take it all in.

Another perspective a few hours later

There was also some shade today as we walked along trails with dense trees and a variety of ferns.

Gerry, amongst the greenery

We caught glimpses of our destination, Zarautz, when we had about 2.5 miles to go!

Coastal Zarautz is on the left

And soon after we check into the hotel we don our bathing suits and walk two blocks to the beach for a short refreshing swim.


The clouds are rolling in...

Gerry is the first to take the plunge

We enjoyed our dinner at the hotel Zarauz restaurant, though we had to wait until 8:30 pm for dinner. Most restaurants in northern Spain serve dinner between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm. My first course was what can best be described as scrambled eggs with tuna in a light sauce.

Soup for Gerry and scrambled eggs for Mary

I chose the fresh catch fish of the day for my entree, which was served with roasted potatoes.

It tasted better than it looks

We always have room for dessert and most days have gelato in the afternoon, too.

Tonight it was a delicious flan

Saturday, September 27 - My problematic right knee was still sore and swollen this morning so we decided to forego the camino today. Instead, we hiked roughly 6 miles. Four miles were relatively flat along the coast near Zarautz in the morning. We then took a taxi to the Farmhouse hotel Donibane, an Agroturismo where we are staying this evening. We took a short walk in this rural area about 5K away from the town of Deba.

Clear skies and a nice coastal view

The green hillside in the opposite direction is also nice

I was tempted to walk a few more miles to this town up ahead, but decided it best to just turn around instead. My logic was not to overdo it today.

We'll have to visit this town some other time

The skies can suddenly change. It looked like we were in for a storm. But it never did rain today.

We welcomed the cool, cloudy conditions

It cleared up in the afternoon and we enjoyed a nice late afternoon walk near our Agriturismo. Our hostess doesn't speak English, but she's an excellent cook. So we lucked out once again.

The view a mile from the agriturismo

Another hillside view

I forgot to take my Iphone to dinner so no pictures. Darn. Our first course was a rich generous cup of lentil soup, topped with croutons. Our entree was Beef Bourguignon with a potato quiche and grilled pedrono peppers. It was quite the gourmet, filling meal. Glad that dessert was light - cooked sliced apples with cinnamon.

Sunday, September 28 - Our hostess served us an omelette filled with sliced sausage, a basket of melba toast with three different homemade jams - apple, peach and kiwi. We also were served a pitcher of pear-kiwi juice and coffee. We left Donibane well-fortified.

We hiked 10.8 miles today on our own, only some of the miles were on the camino. We started with a steep mile or two descent toward Deba. I'm glad this steep descent was at the beginning of the hike. We walked through Deba and over to the sandy beach.

The central plaza of Deba is not too busy on a Sunday morning at 10:00 am

A mile or so after Deba we approach a nice beach. A colorful mural caught my eye.

Makes me want to surf!

We didn't stop and swim at this sandy beach. We saved our swimming for later on when the temperatures would soar to the mid-80s!

the sandy beach below the town of Deba

We like this brick building with the town logo in tiles as we head out of town and head for the hills. Always a nice reminder to know where you've been!

Adios, Deba

It doesn't take us long to be high above the water.

We have the trail all to ourselves today

Gerry came up with today's plan, which included a swimming stop at the beach in the lively port town of Mutriko. We approached Mutriko and first passed by the port with many boats docked.

A view as we near Mutriko

There is an expansive beach at Mutriko. With the weather in the mid-80s, it is no surprise there are plenty of sun bathers and swimmers.

There's enough room on the beach for everyone

Lots of families with small kids

We came prepared with our bathing suits. We enjoyed this fabulous outdoor pool of sea water. It's about 50 feet long, the length of an Olympic-sized pool.

I love natural outdoor pools

It felt refreshing to swim some laps after hiking six miles earlier in the hot sun!

A smile upon my face, post swim

After we dried off and changed back into our hiking clothes we went into the town of Mutriko and found some Spanish-speaking young men to help call a taxi for us. We needed to get to Markina Xemian, the town near the end of today's segment on the camino. It was a bit of a challenge to get a taxi on a Sunday afternoon, we soon found out. But we did it! It was a 20--minute ride to the town center of Markina Xemian.

The town center on a peaceful Sunday afternoon

Our home for the evening is the Ikestei rural house. We had to walk another three miles from Markina Xemian to get there. The sun was intense and we were pooped when we arrived.

We've arrived at the Ikestei rural house

Dinner was another gourmet meal. We sat outside (bottom left side of the photo above). We were served a delicious bottle of red wine and a basket of bred. Our first course was a bountiful mixed salad with tuna, hard-boiled egg, and asparagus in addition to the typical lettuce, tomato, onions and shredded carrots. Gerry ordered the beef steak and I ordered the delicious pescado - rape (pronounced ra-pay) a specialty of the Basque region.

A healthy fresh salad

My entree of delicious rape aka monk fish

Gerry's beef steak and fries

Monday, August 29: We walked 5.5 miles on the official camino route, instead of the full 14 miles. With our "plan B", we had more time to explore our destination town of Gernika and still walked more than 7 miles today, which is somewhat sane.

We walked from our Casa Ikestei to the tiny village of Munitibar. It was a pleasant day of hilly walking in rural countryside, through forests and past flowing streams. A highlight was the climb to the beautiful Zenarruza monastery before the final descent to Munitibar.

Gerry leading the way on this gentle downhill path

Soon, we're fairly high up and can see for miles in very direction.

Very green landscapes

We walk by some jackasses (we think) or maybe they are just donkeys. Not sure.

They seem to be happily grazing

The Monasterio de Zenarruza was beautiful, and worth the steep uphill climb to see it.

I wouldn't mind staying here for a few days of solitude...

We arrived in Munitibar before noon. We caught the 12:20 pm bus from Munitibar to Gernika, our destination for the day. It cost a whopping $1.50 each for the 20 minute ride on a clean and comfortable bus. Public transportation in northern Spain is great, but it's not available in some of the towns we pass through.

We walked around in Gernika for awhile before we checked into our lovely hotel here, the Hotel Gernika.

A main city square in Gernika

There are colorful murals on most of the buildings. Also many streets with shops and cafes. It was fun to explore this interesting city on foot.

We had dinner on our own here. We found two bars next door to each other a short distance from our hotel. Both served offerings of pintxos and beer. We tried both of them and were not disappointed.

Pintxos and beer round one

Pintxos (and beer not pictured) round two

And, gelato once again for dessert. (not pictured).

Tuesday, August 30 15 miles - We actually decided to do the entire camino route today, and walked from Gernika to Lezama. There was a significant amount of climbing, but we took our time and allowed for several rest breaks. Unexpected surprises along the way...

Colorful flax along the side of the trail is always a pleasure to see

We were happy to hike on the trail in the morning in the fog before the fog lifted and the temperatures soared once again. I had anticipated rainy weather on this camino. It didn't happen. Actually the weather was ideal. Beautiful beaches welcomed us at the end of our hikes most days.

Gerry on the trail right before the fog lifts

So rural; beautiful views and only a handful of hikers

It was rural and beautiful and then we approached the town of Larrabetzu and stumble upon the "janak" which is a week-long Basque festival. Who knew? There are larger than life characters followed by a bag-pipe band of musicians and singers.

Okay....I guess our timing worked out for this unexpected surprise

The camino is often full of surprises, which makes it so much fun! We stopped here, took off our socks and shoes, bought a beer and ate our large baguette drizzled with olive oil for lunch, along with a packet of nuts and cranberries.

We arrive at the church near Lezama at the end of today's trek, roughly 3;00 pm.

But I'm "toast". Feeling really tired and just want to check in to our accommodation, the Madarian. Another couple was sitting in the outskirts of this church and told us that they are also staying at the Madarian this evening, but we can't check in until 4:00 pm. Darn. Well, I guess it's time for a nap. After nearly 15 miles I deserve it.

Yep, I'm zonked out for an hour.

We arrived at Madarian shortly after 4:00 pm.

A nice, comfy room on the upper floor

Dinner was "take out". We had a gourmet pizza, "seafood theme" with calamari and shrimp delivered to us here at 8:30 pm, along with a mixed salad and a bottle of wine. All is good. It was a fine day on the camino.

Wednesday, August 31 7.5 miles. Lezama to Bilbao. Once again, we did the entire stage of the camino, a relatively short 7.5 mile stage. We walked under cloudy skies with some light drizzle in 70ish temperature which is much cooler than it has been. The camino was 90% pavement and industrial, and not very scenic the first few miles. But then we were up in the hills for a rural stretch before we descended to the city of Bilbao.

We leave Madarian under ominous skies

We pass by some healthy looking goad shortly after we reach the hills

A very rural area

There were many lovely uphill stretches through the woods.

And we have the trail to ourselves

I make sure to take plenty of breaks. We're in no particular hurry to get to our destination. Might as well take our time and enjoy the walk.

Time to rest for a few minutes

We approach Bilbao and a long descent awaits us. Bilbao is the de facto capital of Basque Country, with a skyscraper-filled downtown. It’s famed for the Frank Gehry–designed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Bilbao has a population of close to 350,000 people.

I hope we'll be able to easily find our hotel!

A magnificent church welcomes us as we enter the city.

We walk a bit farther, and down several flights of stairs and then we are in the main square of the city.

Gerry is in the forefront, hiking pole in hand

It isn't even 12:00 pm yet and our rooms at the Casual Gurea aren't "available for distribution" until 2:00 pm per the Casual Gurea website so we have plenty of time to explore old town, the neighborhood of our hotel.

We walked over to La Ribera market, an excellent place to get acquainted with Bilbao's famous food scene. It is the largest indoor covered market in Europe. On the ground floor are fishmongers, the first floor is home to butchers and meat-related stands, and those selling fruit and vegetables are based on the second floor.

The rape or monkfish that I had for dinner a few nights prior

Later in the evening we walked from the Casual Gurea in old town to the center city area of Bilbao, and the commercial district. It was very busy with blocks of high-end retail shops and people milling about.