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Camino accomodation, Camino del Norte, Camino hiking

Camino del Norte – Day 4 Mutriku to Ziortza Bolibar

July 3, 2023 Frances 1 Comment

Nothing is forever – Nada es para siempre.

Date: 17th October, 2021

Section: Mutriku to Ziortza Bolibar

Region: The Basque Country

Distance: 25kms

Average temp: 26°C

Time walking: 6 hrs

Ascent: 711 metres

Decent: 839 metres

Staying:

Albergue Usandi – private albergue.

Shared private room with Fi €25 each.

Recommend, yes ✔️roomy, cute, chalet like, you do need to cook, washing facilities, great place to chill and relax.

Instagram: Link to extra photos and daily caption.

Today:

The reward of yesterday’s extra hiking to stay in the mountains just kept giving! This morning it gave in the form of a sunrise hike. This morning was our earliest start along this camino and it was dark. I find it so much easier to get out early when you’re in a dorm room, everyone starts shuffling early. I forgot to pack my head torch. Gosh I’ve made a few rookie packing mistakes so far, out of practice! I even forgot a towel. No wonder my pack is super light. I’m keeping notes for next time, fold away bag, a towel and the head torch because it gives you the freedom to leave early!

Once again I am caught out by the lack of infrastructure on the del Norte. Don’t get me wrong it is GREAT to not have the sounds or bustle of of people highways and towns for km after km, in the case of today 18kms of silence (and no toilets)! But for sure it would have been nice to have an extra banana or a juicy Spanish orange in my pack. I had an apple and some almonds in my pack so this kept me going. However, the morning coffee eluded me! I had to hike far to enjoy the pleasure of my breaky caffeine and tapa today.

Today I felt so strong. I powered through the walk on my sturdy legs. Post covid time they aren’t in the same shape they used to be. I so often get annoyed with my legs, but the places they can take me. I should appreciate them more. It was mostly a solo walking day for me. I enjoyed the time to walk my fast pace and to be amongst this privileged experience.

I still hike faster than most people and it always become somewhat of a joke along my caminos. Jo is determined to out walk me! Ha ha good luck, he’s not the first. 😜 No doubt the run streak has helped this time. The hiking in The Netherlands is flat and my Aussie mountain strength will surely wear thin at some point without the same terrain to train and walk in daily. For now though, I’m still a mountain goat.

I thought a lot about home (dutch home) and my family today. After spending so much time together over the past corona years I miss them more than normal when I’m away. I do however think it’s important to get out again, to begin live without fear and do physical things to shift the energy of this time. The camino with the people you wouldn’t normally meet and the expansiveness of this route certainly takes you out of small spaces and small thinking. The trail is divine today. And amongst nature, without a soul insight or any distraction all I can do is walk. After a fun night of chat, this is my jam.

Tonight we had plans to stay at a monastery with the crew. It would be a ‘something different’ experience. As the day drew on I didn’t feel the desire to stay there. It was hot and sweaty and I needed to get myself organised with some space and facilities. Just before the monastery I found a small private albergue that reminded me of a ski chalet. I decided to check in as it was early afternoon and to make use of the facilities. There wasn’t a restaurant in town that was serving dinner nor was there an open shop. It is out of season and still quiet because of corona. Luckily, there was a vending machine with some snacks, two minute noodles and dehydrated pasta dishes. Not the best of food, I know! But better than nothing when you have hiked all day.

I let Fi know and she agrees this sounds just like what we need. She will meet me here rather than the monastery. It has been a big day. I enjoyed the extra long shower, I washed absolutely everything and I pottered around comfortably getting my few things organised. The bar across the road let me bring a glass of beer over as long as I promised to return the glass. LOL. No meals or food but drinks are being served. So, I sat on the terrace with my journal and guide book as I wait for Fi.

In the meantime I hear from Jo! He is up at the monastery but he also wants a bit more comfort. He hikes back down to stay with Fi and I. We are our little crew within a crew. I return the beer glass and grab a bottle of wine for us to share over dinner. With my energy restored Fi arrives. Time for her to have the nicest, longest shower and to leave her washing to for me to put in. We are in this together. I wash her clothes and later she cooks for me.

In the end no one else arrives at the albergue and we could have taken a cheaper bunk bed in an empty dorm room. Nevermind, the vending machine food was cheap. The three of us share a meal, talk all the things, fix the world’s education system and giggle at Jo’s ‘just in case I might need it’ packed essentials. In all fairness his in case he needed it dried stock did add flavour to the packet risotto dish!

Highlight:

I am glad I didn’t push on today and made the choice to do something different to what I thought I should experience. I am sure one day I will stay at a monastery, tonight wasn’t that night.

Ho hum:

On my last camino we ate loads of big meals and pastas most days. This camino it doesn’t feel so necessary and it is definitely a more vigorous hike. It helps that there is far more seafood and tapas on offer here. I ponder this, how often do I find myself doing what I think I should or what is habit.

Handy gear tips:

Not so much gear but food supplies. Fresh food supplies don’t hurt along this camino. You never know how far you will be without somewhere to refuel or buy/pick your fuel! I’m now never without an orange, apple and mixed nuts!

Camino accomodation, Camino del Norte, Camino hiking

Camino del Norte – Day 3 Getaria to Mutriku

July 2, 2023 Frances 5 Comments

If friendship is a treasure, thank you for being part of my fortune – si la amistad es un tesoro, gracias por ser parte de mi fortuna.

Date: 16th October, 2021

Section: Getaria to Mutriku

Region: The Basque Country

Distance: 24kms

Average temp: 26°C

Time walking: 6 hrs

Ascent: 949 metres

Decent: 749 metres

Staying:

The Izarbide Hostel/AlbergueIizarahide – private albergue.

Shared dorm room €30 including bunk bed, dinner and breakfast.

Recommend, yes ✔️roomy, mountainous, bar and restaurant on site, pilgrim meal and breakfast available, washing facilities, great vibe to sit and chat or enough space to chill on your bed.

Instagram: Link to extra photos and daily caption.

Today:

Another day of climbing mountains and spectacular views in rural, green North Spain. It has been quite a physical walk so far. I am enjoying the challenge but I can’t say I expected this. I’m glad I spend most of this year collecting days in a run streak! My streak started early in the year when I was missing home. Due to restrictions, getting back to has been Australia hard, impossible actually. I had this wacky idea I’d run (minimum) a mile or 1.6kms a day until I could return home to see my mum. I was inspired by Shiva who had been running everyday since 2015. Yes! Every.Single.Day. She’s still going. I ran a total of 223 days until a rolled ankle (the casualty of living in a renovation) ended my streak. Those 223 days opened the door to this hike. Once my ankle recovered I was ready for a new challenge and to move.

I digress, back to the camino! I walked with Jo a bit this morning and also some of the trail alone. We walked a strong pace and we chatted about big things in a relaxed way. It was a nice morning. After some of our chats I would take the time walking alone to ponder what we’d talked about.

Fi and I have a loose plan of staying in Deba this evening. Just before Deba I met up with Jo again and we walked into town together. He has such an interesting and layered story as to why he is walking. Once again I am reminded just how little we can know someone until we actually talk, really talk to them. It can be so easy to think you can know someone even by the briefest of interactions. I am so good at putting people in a box! The camino always reminds me how often I get this wrong. The camino has this way of cutting out the crap talk and just getting close to people. #CaminoMagic

Once we arrive in Deba, a classic 1343 historical, gorgeous and European feeling town. Jo and I take a break in the lively plaza to have a coffee and some lunch. As we soak in the atmosphere sitting out in the sun amongst the locals, we are still pilgrims/hikers. 😂😂😂 Jo starts to change his socks and do his foot care routine.

We all have our own routines. Me, I never take my shoes off until the end of the day’s walking. I am sure I wouldn’t want to put them back on if I did! While we are sitting there we meet two Dutch pilgrims. These poor guys were looking at a ‘camino over’ on account of debilitating blisters. They were only here for a week to hike but after three days their feet are in bad shape. In this BIG world, what a SMALL world the camino can be. One of these guys comes from a village next to mine in The Netherlands, his wife works for the school group my kids go to! She is English. #CaminoMagic

Coffee, tapa and foot care sorted, we head out of town to look for the Deba Albergue. It has good reviews and sits above the train station. We can’t seem to find how to get in or where to find the hospitalero. Then, as it happens on a camino … we see Jenny and Peter. They are now walking with Ulises from The Canary Islands. They’ve all booked an albergue 5 kms up the mountain out of Deba. Ulises phones for us to see if there are 3 more beds, we are in luck. I call Fi, luckily she is in within network range. I explain the situation and I’m sure I can hear her eyes rolling. An extra 5kms can be a lot if you’re not planning them and it is a hot, hilly day. Fi loves a camino experience and knowing our new friends will be there and the albergue serves up a pilgrim meal she rolls with the change. A day that continues to unwinds itself in its own way. #CaminoMagic

Once we arrive up at our albergue I know we’ve made the right choice. It’s past life was a dairy barn so it isn’t the fanciest. But my gosh it has those luxurious after hike, chill out vibes. We are in the countryside with an expansive landscape, the beer is cold and the showers are warm. I nab myself and Fi a bottom bunk. Ha ha the joy of arriving early. I always try to avoid the top bunk! After the post hike rituals shower, washing, foot care, organising water for tomorrow etc I settle down with my journal, a cold beer and some chat with my new mates.

As the afternoon progresses Fi joins us as well as a few new friends from around the world. Ricky from Japan who is on a gap year, he is here to practice his Spanish. Lydia from America (originally Poland) also arrives. I have seen her on the trail before but I haven’t met her yet. She is actually the life of the dinner. She has walked tons of caminos, dreams of retiring in Spain and is attentively interested in everyone. She is also very good story teller, Fi thinks she has a secret story, maybe a Hollywood actress or something. I like indulging in this intrigue.

Highlight:

It is hard to pick one, so I won’t. These past three days have been nothing I expected and everything I needed. So yeah that is the highlight for me, a day where all the magic unravels.

Ho hum:

How little I need. A backpack, a few essentials, great trails, the right people. At the moment, I do carry more than I need in this life.

Handy gear tips:

I didn’t bring a spare bag to take to the shower or for towns. Fi does this, an ultra light shopping bag that rolls into a small pouch. It is a good idea and one for next time!

Camino accomodation, Camino del Norte, Camino gear, Camino hiking

Camino del Norte – Day 2 San Sebastián to Getaria

July 1, 2023 Frances 5 Comments

Life is full of moments that are opportunities to share and smile – La vida está llena de segundos que son oportunidades para compartir y sonreír.

Date: 15th October, 2021

Section: Donostia – San Sebastián to Getaria

Region: The Basque Country

Distance: 27 kms

Average temp: 25°C

Time walking: 6hrs

Ascent: 827 metres

Decent: 804 metres

Staying: Getaria

Hotel Itxas Gain – a small hotel. Everything else is closed.

Double room, shared with Fi €60 for the room.

Recommend, yes ✔️nice clean, great location, everything is close, your own bathroom so walking around in whatever is acceptable!

Instagram: Link to extra photos and daily caption.

Today:

We set off around 8am this morning and grabbed a coffee and croissant at a cafe on the way. The cafe was also serving the smartly dressed locals on their way to work, such a contrast. A harmonious contrast. The camino paths are a part of Spain’s essence and as such its people. They hold space for us as we wayfarer through their towns, soaking in the pleasure of our experiences along these ancient paths.

I walk a different pace than Fi so we decide to walk our own walk today and meet along the way, or wherever we land at the end of the day. This is the beauty of a walking a camino the with someone who has also walked one. We know the drill, how to find our own way.

Two people can walk a camino at the same time and the camino will be walked and experienced differently. We are all here with different intentions, pace and way of doing and being. To me this is one of the most important and respectful things to ‘get’ about a camino. There is no right or wrong way. We all get to be us and that’s rather magical as we can learn from each other. Learn about ourselves and others. Humanity.

The Camino del Norte has long, long stretches without towns, which means no coffee stop for hours. I was glad for the 2L platypus water bladder I have on my back and the additional 1L platypus soft bottle. (Gear tip: these are light, packable, reusable and easy to use – links below.) Of course drinking so much means a lot of toilet stops. The camino is not great for public toilets at the best of times, let alone these long stretches. So FYI future walkers, you do have to be ok with finding a tree or a shrub.

After what felt like a long, physical, yet blissful time walking without a soul in sight I entered the small port town of Orio. In the piazza on an outside table in the sun I found Peter and Jenny. We enjoyed some lunch together. When in Spain and when on the coast I’m going to eat seafood, so it was calamari for me. Peter and Jenny had the traditional tortilla de patatas, a Spanish potato omelette. I had wondered if we’d meet again. They were up and gone earlier than us this morning. Perhaps I will meet them again, perhaps not – as is the way of the camino.

After refuelling, Jenny and Peter were on their way again. I sat a little longer and pondered how mesmerising a camino day can be. It brings you to so many places: small towns, kind locals who leave a first aid kit open for pilgrims, tests of your stamina, your resilience, connections with others – your fellow pilgrims/hikers, time for you.

I set off again with another water taxi ride to continue along the trail across the inlet. Then a Camino del Norte treat arrived, coastal walking, which meant walking with shoes off and my feet in the sea. WOW. How is that for something magical on a unplanned Friday afternoon in October.

I arrived in Getaria after taking the high path rather than the coastal road, I had the energy. It was well worth it. However, by the end I was spent and ready to put my pack down and feet up. This was proving a little tricky. The albergue had not reopened since covid closures (common in this time) and the recommended pension was closed for a family celebration. Ooops. There was no way I was walking on, nor was I going back so I decided to find a hotel room and hope Fi would be ok with it.

If I am honest I don’t mind a private room. My sister and I ended up booking private rooms a lot along the Camino Frances. These were often attached to private albergues so not much more expensive when travelling with two. Fi was having trouble with her phone and would only randomly get sms texts from me when in range. In what is usually a hyperconnected world we were often without contact.

Our walk has become a walk where I walk ahead and hope I make a destination and accommodation decision that works for both of us. To be sure, I prepared a sweetener for her arrival. I popped down to the supermarket and stocked us up with a picnic for her arrival. Aquarius (the classic camino hydration drink), fruit, chocolate, some salt (crisps) and nuts for tomorrow. Lucky! She approved of both, thehotel and the picnic 🙂 Ph-ew.

Along the last 5kms of her walk today Fi met Jo from Belgium. I think she is better at meeting people along the way than me. I am always so focussed on walking and walking past people. I do walk fast and I do like to be at my accommodation earlier in the day. I can then take a long stop there rather than lots of little breaks. It’s the same with airport departures, I just need to get to check in. It doesn’t mean I miss things. I am usually solo so I see it all. I take photos, I think a lot and I breathe it all in, deeply. I still flow. I just do it my way.

We ran into Fi’s new mate Jo as we hit the laneways for dinner and together we spend a few cozy hours of sitting, chatting, nibbling pinchos and sipping a glass of white wine. How absolutely perfect. A great day of hiking and this, an unexpected evening of great company and story sharing. We enjoyed it all amongst the vivacious Spanish way of living in this traditional, picturesque fishing village. Spaniards will usually move from bar to bar, whereas we, with our tired feet and grateful souls were happy to sit at the one that had a free outside table and just chill. While the camino is about the walking, it is also about this, unexpected connections and foodie experiences. I will sleep happy.

Highlight:

All the different elements of this unplanned day. The beautiful long uninterrupted walk, beginning to meet up with people, barefoot walking along the ocean and the joy of having a great mate to share this week with.

Ho hum:

As I wander through farms and countryside I begin to wonder do I still dream of this kind of life? A country life. Do I have it in me? Another reinvention or has time, this unplanned, unexpected year of pandemic life changed things, changed me? Who am I now?

Handy gear tips:

2L Platypus sort water bladder.

1L Platypus soft bottle.

All Camino routes (resources), Camino pilgrim stories

Which Camino Route, Which Section? Endless Options!

June 28, 2023 Frances 8 Comments

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.