All posts by Frances

Camino accomodation, Camino del Norte, Camino hiking

Camino del Norte – Day 1 Irún to San Sebastián

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Cuando el sol es perfecto! When the sun is perfect!

Date: 14th October, 2021

Section: Irún to Donostia – San Sebastián

Region: The Basque Country

Distance: 26 kms

Average temp: 26°C

Time walking: 5hrs 30

Ascent: 865 metres

Decent: 927 metres

Staying: Donostia – San Sebastián

A Room In The City – a private hostel.

Dorm for 6 people, €18 each per night.

Recommend, yes ✔️nice clean beds, lockable pack drawer, nice outdoor terrace area, clean and roomy bathrooms.

Instagram: Link to extra photos and daily caption.

Today:

After a delicious (read: two mates, pinchos, vino blanco, comfy bed and no bunks – yet) overnight in Irún we head out around 9am to begin our Camino del Norte. A quick first morning photo. It’s fair to say our eyes were sparking, our smiles rhapsodic and our steps, well, naturally they were springy with first day enthusiasm. Oh la la adventure! Yes we had those excited feels as we set off in search of our first yellow arrow.

As happens when you stop along a city street on the camino a local will guide you towards where you need to be. Sometimes (often), they will go off their path to walk you to your correct path. Today, it was an elderly Spaniard with all the hand expressions and finger pointing towards the mountains. He wanted to be sure we took the high path over mountain. ‘El sol es perfecto’ he said (the sun is perfect). I actually thought he may well walk with us!

We took the high path. The one with the sign for alpinist pilgrims, ha ha that sounds hardcore adventurous doesn’t it! Our Spanish guide was right is was a beautiful and sunny day. Perfect for climbing and walking in mountains. And there on this first day, in the first few hours we found ourselves straight into the camino mode. The birds were chirping, the space felt infinite, the air fresh and the noise of the world just faded away. I pinch myself – what a privilege it is to be able to walk a long walk. I remind myself – I really must take good care of myself so I can keep doing do this for a looooooong time.

There was a whole lot of belly laughter walking with Fi and a whole lot of (probably more) sweat! My muscles were so warm that at one stage I stretched my shoulders back and my back did a beautiful crack, my favourite Melbourne osteo would have called it a hard crunch! The most satisfying type, similar to what happens when your favourite osteopath or chiropractor realigns your spine. Hmm … possibly there’s something in that, the natural way to align your spine – just get hot, sweaty, carry a pack and add hours and hours of hiking up and down mountains.

You never know what lays ahead along the camino and we were spoilt from the beginning of the day. Not long had we been walking when we come upon a quaint 16th century church and expansive views over the Bidasoa valley. Always, I’m reminded how ancient these paths are as we wander past neolithic dolmans, medieval towers and castle ruins. Mostly though, it was the feeling of traversing the top of a mountain, descending through forest paths, taking a surprise water taxi and Spanish farm life existing alongside the camino – as it probably always has. It is humbling to walk here in Spain. We really are a drop in the ocean, us people and this moment in time.

We didn’t come across many pilgrims today along the path and we didn’t meet any until our arrival in San Sebastián. I arrived in a little earlier than Fi and found my way to the hostel. So far we are sharing with a German pilgrim (Peter) and his daughter (Jenny). Peter had walked the Norte camino before. He was here to walk this one with his daughter for her first time. They seemed very friendly but were heading out into town to explore and eat so we didn’t chat long.

After showering and rinsing my clothes in the shower I did my usual post walk, arrive at my accommodation routine. This was the routine my sister and I did every day on the Camino Frances.

  • Find a place to hang the daily washing and hope it will dry. If not my pack will be a washing line with clothes hanging from it tomorrow
  • Tiger balm my feet, give them a little massage or roll on ball and rest them by keeping them upright until dinner
  • Fill the 1L water bladder and sip it down (maybe add a sachet of electrolytes), eat an orange or a banana
  • Write in my journal, look over my photos of the day, post something and have a read of tomorrow’s stage

I’ve been to San Sebastián before, it’s one of my favourite cities. Definitely top 3 in Europe, perhaps even number 1 in Spain. This wasn’t like a usual San Seb visit. Once Fi arrives back and is showered we head out for dinner. Normally, I am standing in the cobblestone lanes, working my way through delicious pinchos, this is not happening tonight. A. There’s the need to sit, non negotiable for feet that have just hiked 25kms. And B. There’s the real need not to have to make too many decisions! It was a long day.

Because tonight we are staying in a hostel and not a pilgrim’s albergue there’s no curfew. Still, we are tired so after dinner, a lovely sit down plated affair we head back for an early night. Everyone else is already back in the room and already quietly in bed. I’m happy there are no party animals who will arrive in later. Now I can crawl my contented body into my bunk bed, draw the little privacy curtain and close this day. Ear plugs in, eye mask on – it’s time to sleep.

Highlight:

Knowing that there were a million reasons not to say yes to this spontaneous and unplanned adventure but deeply glad that I did. The kids will be fine, traveling is happening again (we have vax QR codes to make it happen ;)) and a long walk combined with the ease of the camino, feels like right where I need to be.

Today’s ho hum:

Ok, so I thought we’d booked a female only room. When I saw Peter in the room I mentioned that to him. Then I went straight down to reception and checked. It was a mixed dorm. Did I have to say something, did it even matter? I mean honestly dorms are rarely separated on the camino or in hostels. I didn’t feel unsafe. When I returned I think he was a bit nervous, he really wanted me to know he was here with his daughter and for me to meet her. I could have handled that better, just quietly gone and checked at reception. Hmm … maybe a bit of cooped up covid tension to address.

All Camino routes (resources), Camino del Norte

A Camino In Stages, Camino del Norte

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“Not all who wander are lost.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

Yes, we’re overly familiar with this quote. And yes, it’s an overused cliché in travel writing. But as I begin packing for another camino it speaks to me. I am both parts excited and nervous as I prepare for the next stage of my adventure. Soon, I will again be traversing the north coast of Spain along the Camino del Norte. Soon it will be just me, my thoughts, the trail and all I need in my backpack. Starting each day in one place and ending it in another. Lost in the days as they unfold. Lost in my love of wandering. Lost in a long walk. A camino. Aaah. Good lost.

This long walk began one late September afternoon in 2021. A friend, Fi and I were chatting about life and how we needed something. The world was opening beyond the covid times and we needed to find who we were in this new time. We had both walked a long camino before, the Camino Frances. Fondly we had shared the stories of our camino adventures. “Why don’t we just go and walk a week along the Camino del Norte next month” I ventured. To which she replied “sure, why don’t we”! That was the moment my walk along the Camino del Norte in stages began. A spontaneous why don’t we to friend who said YES let’s!

It isn’t always easy to be spontaneous, to leave my family for a week, to find the space and to just go for walk, a long walk. A walk that follows the arrows. For me it is a call. A call I have learnt to answer. It is who I am. It has become normal in our home for mum to go and walk a camino. It has become my thing. It isn’t that I don’t enjoy other hiking, I do. Very much. The camino just makes it easy to spontaneously go. The infrastructure is there, beds, meals, the many route options. I can hike my pace and be on my own which I enjoy. There are also many opportunities to meet interesting people. Those people that just seem to find you on a camino. The ones who become part of your camino, your life story.

Sometimes, the best plans are the ones you spontaneously say yes to. The ones you don’t even have the time to second guess – because that ball. It.Is.Already.Rolling. How lucky I am it was Fi who I shared my lunch with on that September day. That ball we kicked free has brought me here, to this space. Writing and once again packing. I have been lost in my journal of the first two stages of my Camino del Norte, writing them up to share with yourselves, the camino lovers. I have felt all the feels as I’ve reflected on those days wandering the camino. The time I spent with me, the people I met and the landscapes that became a part of me. Expanding with each step I walked. How grateful I am for having found the camino. Or was it the camino that found me?!? I hope you enjoy my Camino del Norte stories as they land here daily over the next weeks.

Camino packing, Camino planning

Camino Packing – My Camino Shower Kit

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Where I last left the Camino del Norte in Santander I dipped in the ocean for a salty cleanse at the end of a long, hot day/week of walking. Pure luxury! As is the shower you take when you arrive at your accommodation each day. Heaven.

As I am currently packing my shower kit and trying new things here is a post for those of you who are also planning your camino. Toiletries are the achilles heel of my packing. What can I say? I, unashamedly, love a product. I like to keep my face cleansed and my skin moisturised! Oh and I wash my hair every day on the camino, hours of walking and sweating I can’t not! However, I do want to get more minimal and I want to be as sustainable as I can and avoid throw away plastic.

So this is what I will go with …

  • 1 x Lush soap bar that also moisturises in tin
  • 1 x Lush shampoo and conditioner bar in tin
  • 1 x Lush face cleanser bar in tin
  • 1 x Bottle of face rose-hip oil
  • 1 x Deodorant
  • 1 x Razor
  • 1 x Comb plus spare hair tie
  • 1 x Toothbrush, floss and mini tubes collected from hotels and flights
  • 1 x Quick dry towel (140 grams) because I am doing or aiming to do Albergues
  • 1 x Fold away mini pack (50 grams) to use to go to the shower (also used on plane or when out and about after a day of hiking)

Camino Tip! Wear your clothes in the shower and wash them first then take them off and wash yourself. Or you can do it in the wash sinks if provided. I prefer to do it as I shower and then it’s done and I can get my feet up and resting.

My Camino Shower Kit

Weighing in at 400 grams

Other essentials: i.e. sunscreen, tiger balm I pack in My Camino FirstAid Kit which weighs in at 300 grams.

It is basically 1kg of my packing weight! Plastic bags have been suggested for the soaps but I really want to avoid that kind of convenience. The plastic ones I use for my sandals and the towel have been reused many times! If I use some for soap I am not sure they will go the distance. Any thoughts?

I may also pack a lipgloss and some mascara for the city stay at the end!😉

All Camino routes (resources), Camino pilgrim stories

Which Camino Route, Which Section? Endless Options!

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If you’ve started your camino research, it’s likely you’ve realised that your camino options are endless. You can find almost 300 listed caminos criss crossing countless countries. You can choose from any one of these routes, walk the entire route, choose a section of a route, bus some or even come back next time to where you left off. Mountains, oceans, forests, inland, coastal and urban trails, wine regions, tapa regions, quaint villages, farmscapes, popular or more desolate paths. The options are endless. Traditionally, a pilgrim began their camino from home, some pilgrims still do!

While walking the Camino Frances I met Miriam from Amsterdam. For the past 14 years she has set off for two weeks in April to walk her camino. Each year she picks up where she last left off, each time getting a little closer towards Santiago and to gaining her compostella. Funny story, she also lived most of her life in the same village we currently live in. We had trained walking in the same forests. A classic camino/travel coincidence! This was back in 2018 in Cirauqui, one of the quaint hilltop Spanish villages along way to Santiago de Compostella. I guess she has walked into Santiago by now.

Perhaps Miriam will even walk back to Amsterdam from Santiago!?! This is also not completely uncommon. Last year along the way I met John, an American who had learnt Spanish during the covid lockdowns. When the camino opened again he decided to walk it to practice his Spanish. John, a retiree with time on his hands, decided upon his arrival in Santiago to turnaround and walk back to St Jean Pied de Port (SJPDP). Naturally, he is fluent now. Clever John, I did not learn a language during lockdowns! I am trying again now though John. Meeting these characters and hearing their interesting stories is one of the reasons I keep going back. You never know who you will meet and who will inspire your life along the camino.

The most popular camino with its brilliant pilgrim infrastructure is the Camino Frances and the most beautiful is thought to be the Camino del Norte, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Camino Primitivo is the most challenging and the Camino Ingles is where the English and Irish pilgrims would traditionally begin after crossing the channel into Spain. Or, perhaps walking the Portugese coast interests you. Walking your camino is now more popular than ever with 2022 recording the highest number of pilgrims in the past decade. A camino, it seems is high on many people’s ‘wish to experience in life’ list.

Of course, it isn’t doable or even desirable for many to start from home like Miriam, or to walk to and from SJPDP like John. So it’s a choice of which route, or which section along the camino. When you come from a long way, like OZ or the Americas it isn’t always easy to dedicate the 4-5 weeks required to walk the entire length of the camino. Depending on time available or distance desired many choose to start at Sarria. This is the last 100kms point and is the distance required to gain a compostella certificate. Some, like sweet Al (above) from Canada choose to walk from a bigger city such as Leon. Or, like my mates Jenny and Piet (below) from Sydney, whom I met last year when I was walking the first section of the Camino Frances with my son, a combination is better. They started in SJPDP, walked a few weeks, took a bus through a few sections and hoped back on the trail later. Your camino is a real life ‘choose your own adventure’ story.

Personally, I have competed a full Camino Frances, the shorter Camino Finisterre and Muxia and have four other caminos on the go. Yes, four! (There’s apparently a term for that … a camino tragic.) I am nearly ready to complete the third section of the Camino del Norte. I am one section into the Camino Frances with my son. We will return later this year for the next one. Also, later this year my bestie from Oz is coming to do the last couple of hundred kms of the Camino Frances with me, or more I am going with her! And like Miriam, I also began walking from my home. My from home camino is to Rome and it follows European camino paths. lt’s a slow boiler this one, I seem to struggle to fit this camino in! I am looking forward to sharing these caminos with you in these pages.

Basically! Your camino begins wherever you choose to start! The one you plan and travel to or simply when you put your shoes on and walk outside.