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  1. tjz

    Food on Sundays

    I don't remember specific towns, but we have been caught more than once unable to buy groceries on a Sunday. We have always just stopped when convenient the next day and stocked up then. As @trecile mentions, there has always been a bar or restaurant open, though. We've learned to always keep at...
  2. tjz

    Ground conditions - Camino Del Norte

    Sorry, my trail-addled brain has lost the exact spot, but it was somewhere between Gijón and the big turn inland at Ribadeo. Almost certainly the machines have moved on by this time. But as with all things Camino, it's best to be prepared for the worst any given day as things change all the...
  3. tjz

    Ground conditions - Camino Del Norte

    Yes, we had one particularly bad section a couple of weeks back on the Norte where some of the transport machines were on the path which was an incredible mess of mud and debris. Thankfully, the operators were on the lookout, and they stopped and allowed us to slog around the machines. Despite...
  4. tjz

    Irún to San Sebastián first day

    We did the ridgeline route in 2022 in our 50s/60s and reasonably fit. We were not in a hurry and it was one of the best 8 hours and 51 minutes of my life. 😁
  5. tjz

    What are the most beautiful 7 days on del Norte?

    Any stretch is going to have it's mellow and spectacular parts. My "spectacular" favorites are sprinkled throughout: Hondarribia / Irun to San Sebastian is epic The alternate in the Basque Coast Geopark before Deba, especially if the tide is out and you can do the walk around the headland and...
  6. tjz

    Three Variants Worth Considering Near Avilés and Luarca

    We also took the Ruta de la Congrexa option, and it was truly fabulous! I cannot recommend this one enough! Thank you @Dave!
  7. tjz

    Three Variants Worth Considering Near Avilés and Luarca

    We took the track from Tamon, passing by the reservoir, and finishing in Aviles yesterday. It was very nice and peaceful, and I would recommend it! I personally would not do it if you were not using the gpx tracks - it is easy to miss some of the trickier turns. Thank you @Dave!
  8. tjz

    LIVE from the Camino Starting the Camino del Norte January 30th 2024

    Well done, and thank you for the updates and pictures!
  9. tjz

    LIVE from the Camino Starting the Camino del Norte January 30th 2024

    These pictures are excellent, thank you! We'll be back on the Norte in about a month to resume our camino in Gijón. These pictures and my morning coffee get the heart racing every morning when I check on the forum. And yes, respect on that 46km day.
  10. tjz

    Ferry to bypass Irun

    In 2022 we started our Norte in France and walked: Biarritz Airport to Bayonne (lazy afternoon walk after arriving) Bayonne to Guéthary (wonderful town to stay in) Guéthary to Hondarribia (another wonderful town to stay in) Hondarribia to San Sebastion ... We took the ferry across the water at...
  11. tjz

    2024 El Norte to Ribadesella, possible stages.

    In 2022, we started in Zamudio and walked through Bilbao on the "right side of the river" route and stayed in Portugalete. We had a very memorable (fantastic!) lunch in Bilbao on the way. It's all pavement, but we really enjoyed this walk and taking the transporter across the Vizcaya bridge was...
  12. tjz

    Deba options if Albergue is full

    We stayed here along with a half dozen other pilgrims in March 2022 as staying in Deba was not an option. https://doniolaizola.wixsite.com/ingles The hostess was wonderful and we had a marvelous time. Note it is a bit out of town, so if you don't want to back track, just look it up on google...
  13. tjz

    Ruta del Flysch — so close to the Camino!

    Thanks to @Dave suggestion, we took the route around at low tide in 2022 and loved every minute of it, even and especially the climb out at the end. I'm sure if I somehow got my (very) old bouldering mindset back on I could have "friction" climbed it, but at my state in life right now, I was...
  14. tjz

    Walking from Santander on the coast

    You got me thinking about that. I took a look again at my Garmin tracks and compared to the elevation profile. I'm not sure we necessarily took the "usual" route at the end between Liencres and Boo. I'm looking at that hook out towards the coast again at miles 15-17.5 where there's a fair amount...
  15. tjz

    Walking from Santander on the coast

    This Spring it took us 8:43 starting from the furthest we could stay east of Santander (Hotel Chiqui) until we got to the albergue in Boo. Distance was 30.5km but altitude gain was only 668m for all that distance. We are of the middling pace variety, but as others have mentioned, we spent a...
  16. tjz

    Distance between Boo de Piélagos and Santillana del Mar?

    We walked this this March (2023) and measured it as 21.8 by my GPS watch with 315 meters of climbing. As I recall it was a relatively easy walk even after the big day from Santander to Boo via the coast.
  17. tjz

    Train Option on the Norte from Boo to Mogro

    In March of this year (2023) we could find no ticket machine either. If you had a Feve card already, no problem, but no way to get a ticket. One of our fellow peregrinos ran back to the albergue (thanks Paul!) and asked, and were informed passage from Boo to Mogro was free to pilgrims so just...
  18. tjz

    Has del Norte been crowded lately (April 2023)?

    We walked from Laredo to Gijón last month from 3/19 - 3/30. We stay in a mix of private room in an albergue (preferred), hotels, and occasionally bunk beds in mixed dormitory style albergues. We are slow and late arrivers (usually 4-6pm) and encountered "Completo" only once in Pineres de Pria...
  19. tjz

    From Guernica to Bilbao

    Last year we shortened by staying at a hotel in Zamudio, which is just a little further on than Lezama. If you don't mind the expense or isolation of a hotel, I can recommend this as a reasonable option. The next day we did the long hike to and through Bilbao to Portugalete (east side of the...
  20. tjz

    Walking from Santander on the coast

    We just returned Saturday from walking a section of the Norte. There were not a lot of options for us in March, so we opted to stay in the most eastward easily bookable hotel in Santander (Hotel Chiqui), started early, and walked from there along the coast and stayed in Boo de Piélagos (Albergue...

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