- Time of past OR future Camino
- Via Gebennensis (2018)
Via Podiensis (2018)
Voie Nive Bidassoa (2018)
Camino Del Norte (2018)
We're in Bilbao, having spent a rest day after walking 89 days and 1444km from Switzerland (Via Gebennensis, Via Podiensis, Voie Nive Bidassoa).
Since starting the Norte on 2 September, it has been a beautiful experience to date, with only a couple of incidents.
We're following the Camino signage with the coastal alternatives explained by @peregrina2000 (Thanks Laurie!!!).
The "Ruta Alpinista" up to Jaizkibel was fantastic, and as we had plenty of training on the Gebennensis and the Podiensis, we didn't find it hard at all. If you're going to start in Irun, I suggest you do a bit of training beforehand. That will ensure you enjoy the stage even more, as the views are exhilarating!
The GR121 from Pasajes to San Sebastian is really worth it. Again, fantastic views, and a beautiful path along the coast.
We had 2 days rain by the time we took the Ruta del Flysch, so after the first 'beach', going back up the slope was very slippery. And that's where the first incident happened, I slid down the slope to my wife's horror ( she thought I was going over the cliff). In hindsight, we could have tried taking the beach all the way, but I didn't know the state of the tide. On a dry day, the Ruta del Flysch is a must, but after a few rainy days, I would say be very careful.
On that same day, I had a second incident. The path between the Deba water treatment station and the footbridge over the N634 is very steep, and again it was very slippery. There are a couple of cables/ropes that were installed to help climb that rise, but they were useless, as they were on the ground.
The rest of the stages have been great.
We have been pondering the Castro Urdiales to Laredo stage. We were going to break it into two stages, no matter what, and the idea was to take the cliff route from Oriñon done by @Luka and which @trecile attempted, but we might have a few days rain before we get there, so I think we'll give it a miss and work on a plan B. It would be very slippery, and a fall here could be fatal.
We have enjoyed meeting lots of other pilgrims: contrary to comments made elsewhere, the Norte is not a lonely route, or at least it hasn't been lonely for us.
The Basque Country is beautiful, and if you try to learn a few Basque words, the people open up and are extremely friendly.
Buen Camino !
Since starting the Norte on 2 September, it has been a beautiful experience to date, with only a couple of incidents.
We're following the Camino signage with the coastal alternatives explained by @peregrina2000 (Thanks Laurie!!!).
The "Ruta Alpinista" up to Jaizkibel was fantastic, and as we had plenty of training on the Gebennensis and the Podiensis, we didn't find it hard at all. If you're going to start in Irun, I suggest you do a bit of training beforehand. That will ensure you enjoy the stage even more, as the views are exhilarating!
The GR121 from Pasajes to San Sebastian is really worth it. Again, fantastic views, and a beautiful path along the coast.
We had 2 days rain by the time we took the Ruta del Flysch, so after the first 'beach', going back up the slope was very slippery. And that's where the first incident happened, I slid down the slope to my wife's horror ( she thought I was going over the cliff). In hindsight, we could have tried taking the beach all the way, but I didn't know the state of the tide. On a dry day, the Ruta del Flysch is a must, but after a few rainy days, I would say be very careful.
On that same day, I had a second incident. The path between the Deba water treatment station and the footbridge over the N634 is very steep, and again it was very slippery. There are a couple of cables/ropes that were installed to help climb that rise, but they were useless, as they were on the ground.
The rest of the stages have been great.
We have been pondering the Castro Urdiales to Laredo stage. We were going to break it into two stages, no matter what, and the idea was to take the cliff route from Oriñon done by @Luka and which @trecile attempted, but we might have a few days rain before we get there, so I think we'll give it a miss and work on a plan B. It would be very slippery, and a fall here could be fatal.
We have enjoyed meeting lots of other pilgrims: contrary to comments made elsewhere, the Norte is not a lonely route, or at least it hasn't been lonely for us.
The Basque Country is beautiful, and if you try to learn a few Basque words, the people open up and are extremely friendly.
Buen Camino !
)
