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Albergues after Deba?

peregrina2000

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I will be walking the Norte this year and am having a lot of fun looking around at all the changes since I last walked it in 2007. Wow, a decade ago.

I will probably not have a guidebook, unless Dave's new edition comes out before I leave in May, so I am trying to get a sense of the new places that have opened. I have seen a couple of references to albergues that I can't find on the standard go-to online sources like gronze, eroski, etc.

Someone (I think it was @Anemone del Camino) suggested there was now an albergue in Olatz, about 7 km after Deba. I have seen several other references to an albergue near the Calvario de Maia, about 4 kms after Deba.

Anyone have more info on these places?

Thanks, buen camino, and Happy New Year! Laurie
 
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Hi Laurie, listed in Dave’s current guide (2016 with updates) at Ermita del Calvario:
Izarbide Aterpetxea, 450 meters beyond the restaurant (private albergue, 12E, 32 beds, meals available, W/D, 655 459 769.

I don’t remember seeing an albergue at Olatz. I stopped at the taberna there and had a really delicious fish soup.

I liked the municipal albergue at Deba (5 euros). It’s located on the first floor of the railway station! Incidentally, it is easy to take the wrong route out of Deba. I was lucky, as two ladies sitting in a café saw me going the wrong way, and they jumped up and called out to me. You have to cross the railway line AT the railway station (to the RIGHT of the albergue as you face it) and then cross the river. If you don’t, you end up walking a long way up river before there is another bridge to get across, and then all the way back down river again.

Jill
 
Hi Laurie, I checked the excellent Editorial Buen Camino guide (2016). There's no mention of an albergue in Olatz.
Here's a pic of the 'Donde dormir' box for Deba to Markina (page 37):
 

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I will be walking the Norte this year and am having a lot of fun looking around at all the changes since I last walked it in 2007. Wow, a decade ago.

I will probably not have a guidebook, unless Dave's new edition comes out before I leave in May, so I am trying to get a sense of the new places that have opened. I have seen a couple of references to albergues that I can't find on the standard go-to online sources like gronze, eroski, etc.

Someone (I think it was @Anemone del Camino) suggested there was now an albergue in Olatz, about 7 km after Deba. I have seen several other references to an albergue near the Calvario de Maia, about 4 kms after Deba.

Anyone have more info on these places?

Thanks, buen camino, and Happy New Year! Laurie
Laurie, there is another albergue after Deba, but when taking the route along the coast. It's in Mutriku, and is called the Albergue Ilzarahide. Opened in 2014 in an old barn, 3.3 km from Deba. 32 beds, 12€, open all uear, they offer breakfast and dinner. 655 459 769. This is from zeditorial Buen Camino.

The Roher guide I have mentions a place to eat nearbthe Ermita del Calvario, no beds, but this book is from 2012. According to it there were no beds in Olatz either.
 
Hello Laurie,

I have fond memories of the newly kitted-out Albergue at the railway station. The attraction is the beach... as you head inland soon after. If you did stay, bear in mind that there are no cooking or food storage facilities - indeed in 2015 notices that no food could be so consumed on site. The door code and credencial are obtained at the tourist office. Lovely church nearby. Also, there were issues on the way out of yellow arrows having been 'blacked out' due to a local dispute and the tourist office was giving out route maps to help: I certainly needed it!

There were few fright trains during the night...
 
Hello Laurie,

I have fond memories of the newly kitted-out Albergue at the railway station. The attraction is the beach... as you head inland soon after. If you did stay, bear in mind that there are no cooking or food storage facilities - indeed in 2015 notices that no food could be so consumed on site. The door code and credencial are obtained at the tourist office. Lovely church nearby. Also, there were issues on the way out of yellow arrows having been 'blacked out' due to a local dispute and the tourist office was giving out route maps to help: I certainly needed it!

There were few fright trains during the night...
But this is IN Deba, not after it. Or is there another railway station albergue further from Deba?
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
I will be walking the Norte this year and am having a lot of fun looking around at all the changes since I last walked it in 2007. Wow, a decade ago.

I will probably not have a guidebook, unless Dave's new edition comes out before I leave in May, so I am trying to get a sense of the new places that have opened. I have seen a couple of references to albergues that I can't find on the standard go-to online sources like gronze, eroski, etc.

Someone (I think it was @Anemone del Camino) suggested there was now an albergue in Olatz, about 7 km after Deba. I have seen several other references to an albergue near the Calvario de Maia, about 4 kms after Deba.

Anyone have more info on these places?

Thanks, buen camino, and Happy New Year! Laurie

Laurie:

I walked in 2014 and recall this section being a long day. I believe this is the etapa where a local paints over all the yellow arrows. I stayed in the small Albergue along the tracks. Maybe the smallest Albergue I have ever been in. Two triple bunks a double and a small bathroom. I understand there is a larger Albergue they open during busier times. I also agree it can be a little confusing leaving Deba.

I do not know if this is the place you are talking about but there was a barn like metal structure, an hour or so after Deba, where I bought a soft drink. While talking to the attendant I found out it was an Albergue that had just opened. A very short while later there was a small church and restaurant.

These are my memories so they could possibly be off a bit.

When are you walking?

Joe
 
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
But you realise you will be on the alternative route? The one along a busy road, the one for cyclists.

Well, no I didn't realize that. o_O But I'm confused because the page Nuala posted says that the albergue is "a pie de camino" and Joe remembers passing it. He said it was a barn-like metal shed, and the Spanish description says it's in an old cow barn.

Looks like there are two albergues, the one Jill refers to from Dave's camino book, which is on the camino and the one that Anemone and Editorial Buen camino described. So long as there is one there, I will probably walk on to check it out.

But I do see the two routes on the Eroski map http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/etapa-de-deba-a-markina-xemein

I stayed in Deba in a pension on the beach the last time I walked, and in the spirit of mixing things up a bit, would like to try something different if possible. At the time, the only albergue was the one Joe describes, and when we arrived, my walking partner took one look, saw three bicycles stuffed in the impossibly small space and said no way.

When are you walking?

Joe, I'll be walking the Baztan to Pamplona starting on May 17. Then up to Irun for the Norte, late May. Last time I walked the Norte, it was a few weeks later and we had great weather, so fingers crossed. I remember that you were quite lucky in April, too.
 
IMG_0683.webp IMG_0684.webp
Well, no I didn't realize that. o_O But I'm confused because the page Nuala posted says that the albergue is "a pie de camino" and Joe remembers passing it. He said it was a barn-like metal shed, and the Spanish description says it's in an old cow barn.

Looks like there are two albergues, the one Jill refers to from Dave's camino book, which is on the camino and the one that Anemone and Editorial Buen camino described. So long as there is one there, I will probably walk on to check it out.

But I do see the two routes on the Eroski map http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/etapa-de-deba-a-markina-xemein

Laurie,

I,think I understand the confusion.

Unfortunately in Cicerone, the start of that etapa is the start of what Editorial shows as the start of the alternativa. Look at the two pictures below: Ciceron & Editorial BC. "The way", according to Editorial, is the yellow path, the orange one is the alternative for cyclist, and that is where the albergue you are thinking of is. I think. Cicerone leaves the alternative around Mutriku to merge inti the "original".
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Laurie, not knowing that there is a coastal route we just followed the camino signs out of Deba. Arrived at Ermita Calvario, and about one km after that is the Albergue Izarbide, where we stayed. Very nice place, in the middle of absolutely nowhere. The camino goes right by it. It's well outfitted and they provided a very good communal meal. Place names in this area vary a bit - this locality is named Ibiri in the Gronze guide. Here's what it looks like as you approach it.
 

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3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
albergue Izarbide is right on the camino, just as Donovan says. in a former goat shed, with separate dorms for women and men, microwave and fridge, washing + drying machine + free centrifugadora, little pigs and ponies running around in their enclosures, and a nice green area with sunbathing chairs and a view of the sea. opens at 15h. the name of the place I found is caserio Ibiri-Eisagirre, it's the last house of the scattered village.

I saw no sign of an albergue in Olatz.
 
I will be walking the Norte this year and am having a lot of fun looking around at all the changes since I last walked it in 2007. Wow, a decade ago.

I will probably not have a guidebook, unless Dave's new edition comes out before I leave in May, so I am trying to get a sense of the new places that have opened. I have seen a couple of references to albergues that I can't find on the standard go-to online sources like gronze, eroski, etc.

Someone (I think it was @Anemone del Camino) suggested there was now an albergue in Olatz, about 7 km after Deba. I have seen several other references to an albergue near the Calvario de Maia, about 4 kms after Deba.

Anyone have more info on these places?

Thanks, buen camino, and Happy New Year! Laurie
 
I walked Sept 2016.
Stayed in Deba at the municipal albergue on the second floor of train station. Clean and comfortable. ..but, there us no outdoor place to hang clothes to dry, so one must machine wash and dry. One cannot use the dryer if you hand wash.
Since I did not want to make the very long and steep walk from Deba to Markina, I broke it up into two stages and took a short but steep 5km walk to Albergue Ilzarahide, just past Ermita del Calvario. Enjoyed a nice breakfast at the restaurant behind the Ermita. The Albergue Ilzarahide is just 1km past the Ermita and is the restored barn and it accepts reservations. They offer a lovely dinner and a bagged breakfast. tel655459769 or 655479146
The next day, continued to Markina, a very beautiful but difficult steep section with no services. Upon descent to Markina, I was so exhausted that I called the number on a flier for an albergue that said "we'll pick you up" Albergue Intxauspe 652770889 658756617 and it was wonderful with great dinner and breakfast.
I'm returning this September to continue where I left off in Bilbao.
Buen Camino.
 
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
I was so exhausted that I called the number on a flier for an albergue that said "we'll pick you up" Albergue Intxauspe 652770889 658756617 and it was wonderful with great dinner and breakfast.
I'm returning this September to continue where I left off in Bilbao.
Buen Camino.
I highly recommend Intxauspe as well. Dorm is in the old bird coop, and they offer pension in the home. Communal meal prepared by the family but most charming is spending the later afternoon lounging on the garden lawn chairs with vistas of the hills and cows. It's just outside of town, in the direction of the Camino, a 3 minute walk into town.

It's the son who manages most of it in his mother's home. His wife works elsewhere but participates in all things albergue when she gets back home. Mom is there keeping an eye on things and working in the garden. The dogs are super friendly.
 
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Laurie,

I,think I understand the confusion.

Unfortunately in Cicerone, the start of that etapa is the start of what Editorial shows as the start of the alternativa. Look at the two pictures below: Ciceron & Editorial BC. "The way", according to Editorial, is the yellow path, the orange one is the alternative for cyclist, and that is where the albergue you are thinking of is. I think. Cicerone leaves the alternative around Mutriku to merge inti the "original".
Hi there, I was looking at your pictures and am wondering what book that is from. I will be walking the Norte with my husband in May and June and have been trying to find a good book with maps like above so we don't get lost however I have read several poor reviews of most so don't want to waist money if not needed but would like an informative book with maps of the trail. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Hi there, I was looking at your pictures and am wondering what book that is from. I will be walking the Norte with my husband in May and June and have been trying to find a good book with maps like above so we don't get lost however I have read several poor reviews of most so don't want to waist money if not needed but would like an informative book with maps of the trail. Thanks in advance for your help.
Picture on the top is from the Ciceron book, in English, the one on the bottom is from Editorial Buen Camino, in Spanish. You are not likley to get lost, but when in doubt I like having a guide. I also like knowing how much further I have to walk to get to a coffee or loo. The Spanish one shows you steep ascents and downhills. It's not a small book, but I take pictures of the pages with my smart phone and use that during the day. At night I make notes in the book itself. Ciceron is a fat but compact book, that does not lie flat and since the pages are small you require lots of pages for 1 etapa, or a whole lot of pictures on the smartphone.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
The plot thickens. I just saw that Gronze had released its 2017 updates online, and they do not show the Albergue Izarbide (4 km beyond Deba). And a google search brought me to a "permanently closed" notification.

So does that mean that there is no way to continue on for a few km past Deba (without sleeping outside, I mean :))?
 
I will be walking the Norte this year and am having a lot of fun looking around at all the changes since I last walked it in 2007. Wow, a decade ago.

I will probably not have a guidebook, unless Dave's new edition comes out before I leave in May, so I am trying to get a sense of the new places that have opened. I have seen a couple of references to albergues that I can't find on the standard go-to online sources like gronze, eroski, etc.

Someone (I think it was @Anemone del Camino) suggested there was now an albergue in Olatz, about 7 km after Deba. I have seen several other references to an albergue near the Calvario de Maia, about 4 kms after Deba.

Anyone have more info on these places?

Thanks, buen camino, and Happy New Year! Laurie
Last spring when doing the Norte I stayed in Ermita Del Calvario at alburgue Izarbide Aterpetxea. It is located 3 km before Olatz and was very nice. We stayed in Zumaia the night prior. That made for a very doable walk of 17.2 km that day.
 
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We site is still up with contact information:

http://izarbideaterpetxea.wixsite.com/izarbide

I've written to the "contact" email address and will let you know what I hear. Thanks!

Update: I decided to call, since I have a very cheap calling card. Spoke with the owner, who told me that yes they will be open very soon. I told him I had seen something saying "permanentemente cerrado" and he said he knew that for whatever reason that is what google maps brings up when you google the albergue. But, not to fear, they are NOT closed! So now I wonder why Gronze removed it from its website.

I am hoping to be there in late May, the 26th to be exact.
 
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Picture on the top is from the Ciceron book, in English, the one on the bottom is from Editorial Buen Camino, in Spanish. You are not likley to get lost, but when in doubt I like having a guide. I also like knowing how much further I have to walk to get to a coffee or loo. The Spanish one shows you steep ascents and downhills. It's not a small book, but I take pictures of the pages with my smart phone and use that during the day. At night I make notes in the book itself. Ciceron is a fat but compact book, that does not lie flat and since the pages are small you require lots of pages for 1 etapa, or a whole lot of pictures on the smartphone.
I took pictures of all the pages in my Ciccerone guidebook of the Norte and because of the rather "squareish" shape, two pages fit nicely on each snapshot. I liked the book, but missed the simple maps Brieley uses. Too bad he never did a book on the Norte!
 
I took pictures of all the pages in my Ciccerone guidebook of the Norte and because of the rather "squareish" shape, two pages fit nicely on each snapshot. I liked the book, but missed the simple maps Brieley uses. Too bad he never did a book on the Norte!

So true! I managed with the Cicerone guide, but really missed Brierley, especially the elevation map at the beginning of each stage. Yeah, I can read contour lines, but it’s not the same as seeing at a glance how much up and downs you’ve got coming to you. Jill
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
So true! I managed with the Cicerone guide, but really missed Brierley, especially the elevation map at the beginning of each stage. Yeah, I can read contour lines, but it’s not the same as seeing at a glance how much up and downs you’ve got coming to you. Jill
Yes, I love Brierley's elevation charts, too. It helped me decide daily how far I wanted to walk...the higher the elevation, the shorter MY stage! :)
 
So true! I managed with the Cicerone guide, but really missed Brierley, especially the elevation map at the beginning of each stage. Yeah, I can read contour lines, but it’s not the same as seeing at a glance how much up and downs you’ve got coming to you. Jill
I loved Brierley's elevation maps, too. I looked at them every day to help determine how far I wanted to walk...the higher the elevation, the shorter MY stage was going to be! :)
 
Laurie:

I walked in 2014 and recall this section being a long day. I believe this is the etapa where a local paints over all the yellow arrows. I stayed in the small Albergue along the tracks. Maybe the smallest Albergue I have ever been in. Two triple bunks a double and a small bathroom. I understand there is a larger Albergue they open during busier times. I also agree it can be a little confusing leaving Deba.

I do not know if this is the place you are talking about but there was a barn like metal structure, an hour or so after Deba, where I bought a soft drink. While talking to the attendant I found out it was an Albergue that had just opened. A very short while later there was a small church and restaurant.

These are my memories so they could possibly be off a bit.

When are you walking?

Joe
Hi Joe,
I stayed at the metal "barn like" albergue Izarbide Aterpetxea in April 2016. It is very nice and out in a rural area, but right near the trail. Yes, located 5 km beyond Deba.
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
I walked Sept 2016.
Stayed in Deba at the municipal albergue on the second floor of train station. Clean and comfortable. ..but, there us no outdoor place to hang clothes to dry, so one must machine wash and dry. One cannot use the dryer if you hand wash.
Since I did not want to make the very long and steep walk from Deba to Markina, I broke it up into two stages and took a short but steep 5km walk to Albergue Ilzarahide, just past Ermita del Calvario. Enjoyed a nice breakfast at the restaurant behind the Ermita. The Albergue Ilzarahide is just 1km past the Ermita and is the restored barn and it accepts reservations. They offer a lovely dinner and a bagged breakfast. tel655459769 or 655479146
The next day, continued to Markina, a very beautiful but difficult steep section with no services. Upon descent to Markina, I was so exhausted that I called the number on a flier for an albergue that said "we'll pick you up" Albergue Intxauspe 652770889 658756617 and it was wonderful with great dinner and breakfast.
I'm returning this September to continue where I left off in Bilbao.
Buen Camino.
Hmmm. This albergue you are referring to sounds just like the one I stayed at in April 2016 called Izarbide Aterpetxea, in a metal barnlike structure. They provided a nice dinner as they were in the country, 5 km past Deba...Possibly they've changed owners and thus a new name?
 

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