| bagi3. 07. 2018 21:15:06 |
Every Camino leaves me with certain impressions and this one I'll remember for the endless kilometers of asphalt  . No, no … no blisters at all, not even the smallest ones. No inflamed tendons after weeks of walking, not at all. Just the new shoes were worn down to the base, the tread was taken like last year's snow. Kilometers of asphalt, some rough like gravel, elsewhere smooth and slippery from moisture and moss, elsewhere familiar potholed. Everything left its mark  .
But the people responsible for this path are trying. In many places they've rerouted it away from roads, more pilgrim-friendly . Sometimes you have to do an extra kilometer and climb an additional hill, but so what. Kilometers on such a path mean nothing. There are too many and it's not worth counting them. You walk as long as you can, occasionally seek refreshment in solid or liquid form, and when you've had enough, you think about where to sleep. In between, you walk through new places, marvel at this or that, grumble when something's not right, look at the sky, what creation has destined for you, and above all … enjoy  . You enjoy with all your senses, accept what's given. Only those who have walked something similar understand this and look forward to every such path.
Access to the starting point is easy. The plane lands almost at the starting point, in Irun. This is Basque Country and the locals definitely don't consider themselves Spanish. Almost everything is written in their own unique language, and they speak that way too. It's not at all like Spanish and of course we didn't understand a thing  . We could hardly find the pharmacy if it weren't for the characteristic cross above its entrance.
Our story began soon, right after landing. We stretched our travel-weary limbs, adjusted our heavy backpacks, grumbled a bit about the first markers, and grinned from ear to ear when we finally found them . We started exactly on the bridge that divides Spain and France and set off towards our distant goal … Santiago de Compostela, expecting adventures. We'll walk there for weeks, besides Basque Country through three Spanish regions … Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia. Each has its characteristics, each gave us its story.
The path generally follows the Atlantic and we were quite surprised there  . Right along the Atlantic, there's actually very little path, just a bay here and there, some coastline in tourist and fishing areas, crossings of some bays by boat, and a few cliffs steeply descending into foaming waters. That's all. The vast majority of the path is inland, where you see the sea only in the distance or sense it. No one widely explains this fact, nor the endless asphalt. Mostly only beautiful bays, idyllic fishing villages, and endless ocean blue are presented. Very nice, all that's true, but that's not all . Whoever walks every meter of this path will get the full package.
The path is well marked throughout, some sections have multiple variants, also nicely marked. In the spring season, many refreshment spots along the path are still closed, as are some albergues. They all open in summer, which due to more stable weather is also the main season for Camino del Norte.
On the path we met quite a few pilgrims from places quite distant from us across the big puddle. To my questions why Camino del Norte, most answers were … because the world-famous Camino Francés has exceeded the limits of good taste due to crowds, fighting for accommodations, inflated prices, in short, it became a victim of its own fame. Camino del Norte hasn't been reached by the crowds yet .
We mostly slept in excellent albergues, but avoided some preventively due to dirt and abundant nighttime scratching (read .. bedbugs)  . This is already my eighth Spanish Camino in different directions and I haven't seen so much dirt anywhere. Probably partly due to the milder climate, even more due to general neglect in some coastal areas. Sometimes you get the impression that cleanliness is really their last concern . Caution in choosing accommodations is not superfluous. Anyone setting off on this path can get a list of albergues from me, as well as all other useful information (contact via ZS or email).
Useful links on this topic:
Path map and albergue status … https://www.gronze.com/camino-norte
My bed experience from Corsican GR 20 … https://www.hribi.net/trenutnerazmere.asp?slo=1&gorovjeid=10001&id=7283&stran=1
And finally … let all this not deter anyone who wants to walk Camino del Norte. Just a bit more homework regarding albergues is needed, know what character the path has and it will give much more than expected . More about our adventures can be read in the following photo story ...
Buen Camino …. E&M
And some merciless data from Garmin (Montana 600) ….
Total length of walked Camino del Norte: 852 km
Total ascent on the path: 20,700 m
Walking on asphalt: approx. 700 km
Walking directly along the Atlantic coast: approx. 30 km
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