Yes! My 1st camino was the Frances with my second from Lisbon and onto the coastal from Porto. While I found amazing adventure on the Portuguese I was so happy to go back to Spain to the Camino del Norte. It had the magic of the Frances for me plus the stunning scenery. Camaraderie was much...
I did the Camino del Norte in 2018 at 59 years of age. It certainly was the most picturesque as well as challenging Camino so far although I will be embarking on the Podiensis in a few days time. The thing to know about the Norte is, it being on the northern coast, the towns and villages are...
We walked this variation on October 5 in 2018. The owner of the albergue was reputed to have had a hand in creating the coastal route known as the Ballota route in order to direct pilgrim traffic to more commercial ends. The official route over the mountains was supposed to be way more scenic so...
Yes the deviation on the GR65 to the Bufones was lovely even though the tide was such that there was no water shooting through the holes. Good mention.
If you think of the high cliffs of northern coast of Spain it makes sense that most towns and villages are down where rivers and streams run into the Atlantic. Then you have to hike up and over the steep headlands and back down. For me the most spectacular Camino to date!
Didn't walk the Primitivo but did walk the Camino del Norte from Irun. It is many steep inclines and declines. Being on the rugged northern coast of Spain most towns are on inlets and where rivers and tributaries dump into the ocean. So descending into and climbing up out of every town, city...
When we walked at the beginning of September 2018 they were already beginning to shut albergues because I have been told the Northern coast is largely a summer tourist destination. I would venture to say a winter Camino would require some planning.
The alternative route from Castro Uridales to Laredo over the headlands is spectacular but not for the faint of heart. Also you should be very fit before attempting it..
We walked the Norte in 2018 so keep in mind. Yes it is physically demanding but if you are in reasonable shape you will be fine. We walked 24k from San Sebastian to Zaragoza and there were plenty of other pilgrims in early September. We stayed that night in an agroturismo for 60€. Next night...
We found this to be true on the Norte in September of 2018 also. We actually had to taxi forward out of Gernika to the next albergue. The Norte towns and cities caters to summer tourists and lots of albergues are not pilgrim only. It seemed to level out as we went forward. Good luck!
We took the high route in September 2018 and we were late 50s but trained in our hometown in Colorado so we were ready for the "muy duro" very difficult according to Pablo who we met in Irun. At the Santuario de Guadeloupe up the trail we met him again at a mass going on and tried to get us to...
It is physically demanding but with training you should be fine. Imagine the Norte for what it is. Along the northern obstacles of Spain where you walk over headlands and typically down into a town, village or city where a river meets the ocean and then back up over the headland and down to the...
Yes, Casa Carmina was awesome. I will never forget the dessert we had with our dinner there queso de vaca, cheese from the cow, was a yogurt type dessert with honey drizzled on top that was so fresh it tasted like all the cow lined paths we had walked this far. Hard to descend delicious! My...
Is it "hard" is subjective. What kind of fitness level do you have? How old are you? How many Caminos do you have under your belt? What kind of training have you done? I have done the Frances, Portugese Coastal from Lisbon and lastly the Norte from Irun last fall. I was 59. I live in Colorado...
Stay off the alternative route out of Castro Uridales and into Laredo. Not for the faint of heart. If you are in good physical condition and don't mind heights with sheer cliffside drop offs, it's absolutely gorgeous.
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