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Yes, that was my reaction, I guess I'll forget about that one.Yikes!
I have hiked all of the French GR 10 which is the Pyrenees Coast to coast, sections of the Alps, Gorge du Verdon etc. I have also completed a number of Mountain Skills courses. I would not advise it as a Camino route, even for experienced people you would not be advised to do it alone.
Six of us attempted to follow Luka's directions yesterday. At one point the directions state that when you reach the sign that says "Laredo 9 km" to take the trail to the left that goes up the mountain. Well, we turned on that trail, which started out downhill, then flattened out for about one km until it reached a (nudist) beach. At this point, we couldn't see any trail going up, and no way to continue past the beach. Since it didn't match the description in the directions I thought that we must have taken the wrong path, and another woman in the group and I went back to the road. The rest of the group continued on.
We asked a passing motorist if he knew how to get to Laredo from there, and he said that we had been on the right path, but that it was muy peligroso! As this sign had warned us
View attachment 44530
And in fact that his friend had fallen there last year. He drove us back to the highway, where we walked to Liendo, then took the Camino from there. I certainly can't complain about the views that we saw from this very rocky trail.
View attachment 44531
The rest of our group did find the path, but also lost it for a while and had to walk through some sort of thorny brush, because they all had scratched up legs.
We were following Luka's directions and took the path after the bar and roundabout after El Pontarrón. That's when we saw the warning sign. We walked for about 45 minutes or more on a nice forest path then Oriñon and on the green painted pedestrian walkway before we came to the Laredo 9 km/3.15 H sign.Thanks, trecile. Sounds like an adventure!
So, maybe the best advice for this stage for people who want to avoid the national highway but who don’t want to take Luka’s alternative is to do what I did. Take the off-camino loop down through La Magdalena, and then in Hazas/Liendo head up to the coast, past the ermita, and along the ocean till descending into Laredo. It’s all pretty clear on Gronze’s map.
https://www.gronze.com/etapa/castro-urdiales/laredo
@trecile, can you figure out where the turn-off you originally took was? I’m guessing it was on that map, somewhere after Islares but before El Pontarrón.
Though I am not a high tech person by any means, having a GPS for these coastal alternatives was occasionally a godsend.
Thanks for posting this, Chris. I remember reading about that tragedy on the forum. I am pretty sure the trail trecile describes is further to the west. The place where the German fell, near the Punta de Saltacaballo, is very close to Castro Urdiales. This path is beyond Oriñon and closer to Laredo. But it is a caution for all of us nonetheless, since the terrain is very similar. When I originally started this thread before my camino, I had decided to forego that trail — the video I linked to made me very nervous just to watch it! So I waited till I got through Liendo to ascend, which I think is probably good advice for most of us, except for the real mountain goats among us. Until this thread got re-visited yesterday, I hadn’t connected that Luka’s option was the same as the one I had decided against because of the video.I recall hearing of the death of a German man in November 2016 on the del Norte. He fell off a cliff somewhere in the area of Castro Urdiales. I don't know if this is the area being discussed here since yesterday, but I googled the article. It was originally posted as a link by Ivar. I am including a screenshot as unfortunately I do not know how to attach links on this forum.
View attachment 44540
Luka, we didn't see any other possible path.O my, I start to feel guilty now. The path in the video looks like the path I took, but on the video it looks more scary than I recall it.
@trecile I remember the path splits rather soon afer the sign 'Laredo 9k' and we took the wrong path (leading to the beach) first as well.
Yes, reminders to be cautious on the high cliffs of the coastal areas along certain stretches of the Del Norte are always a good thing. I have a couple of my own memories of "hairy" moments experienced on these stretches!Thanks for posting this, Chris. I remember reading about that tragedy on the forum. I am pretty sure the trail trecile describes is further to the west. The place where the German fell, near the Punta de Saltacaballo, is very close to Castro Urdiales. This path is beyond Oriñon and closer to Laredo. But it is a caution for all of us nonetheless, since the terrain is very similar. When I originally started this thread before my camino, I had decided to forego that trail — the video I linked to made me very nervous just to watch it! So I waited till I got through Liendo to ascend, which I think is probably good advice for most of us, except for the real mountain goats among us. Until this thread got re-visited yesterday, I hadn’t connected that Luka’s option was the same as the one I had decided against because of the video.
Following discussions with @Luka we have planned to take this route. We have booked accommodation in Oriñon.
Through references on this forum, I found a GPX track (attached), which we intend to follow.
The alternative is also on Wise Pilgrim Norte guide.
Hopefully with the GPX info we won't get lost...
If @Luka did it, I don't see why we can't do it.
Maybe we are foolish (and I'm happy to take that criticism), but in the first few stages of our walk we had some pretty steep narrow paths, and part of our training in Australia included walking some of the harder trails around Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, which were pretty steep.
P.S.: I hope what I'm considering is what @trecile tried to do. Otherwise, ignore my ramblings...
It looks gorgeous, and it's good to know your limits. Anyplace named 'el Ojo del Diablo' is likely named that for a reason. I've been in places (not on the Camino) where we were lucky to arrive safely at the end of the day, having walked into situations where the only option was to keep going forward - as it got gnarlier and gnarlier.Javier just posted about a rescue on the Norte near Liendo. I’m wondering if this segment is the one that @trecile described above. I only walked the coast after Liendo, so I don’t know this section, but it sounds like we now have a few data points to suggest it might not be the best idea.
https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/34...iado-acantilado-gracias-mensajes-con-guardia/
AJ, I am waiting for you to totally rewrite the coastal alternatives thread with much better info and tracks. Can’t wait till you get to the Norte, but I am enjoying following your walk in France as well!
Laurie, "totally rewrite": that's a big task!!!
I have been walking with a French couple who walked from Irun to Santillana. Their advice was to seek GR paths, and stay away from the Camino markings.
We'll see!
Well, that is very clever! So am I right that you went up to about the 3 on the black route and then back down and then the next day you passed the spot where that black route, which turns black and orange, merges with the yellow route that you were then on? A bit confusing, but with this map, it's pretty easy to see. And it was probably shorter than the N634 into Isequilla would have been, so that is an advantage too. Now you are in Laredo, lots of good food to be had in that town as I remember. And I got a great haircut as well! Buen camino to you two, you are so so lucky! I know I've said that a thousand times, but I can't help myself.
From Liendo, some people stay on the road, but the arrows will take you up to the headlands for a non-scary beautiful walk.So... leaving Liendo should one just stick to the "official route?" I'm all for coastal walking but I am not up for hiking along a cliff face holding onto a guide wire LOL! Also: As much as I hate road walking I hate l-o-n-g days ever more. 25 km is my "wall". If I leave Castro Urdials and then gasp take the "highway variant off of El Pontarron will that keep things under 30 km for that day? Has anyone done that and if so, got any pointers for me?
Totally agree, @Teresita16 !I have just returned, yesterday, from walking from Irún to Santander and wanted to share my experience of the "hairy scary" path up Monte Candina on the Paso de Presa.
So, my advice to anyone is DO NOT take that black marked path, it is for serious climbers only or people in really good stong shape with experience. On a positive note I did get lots of great pics and the views were incredible, I was taking pics at first until I realised how dangerous the situation was.
Totally agree, @Teresita16 !
On the same positive note, we went up to where we thought it was getting too dangerous, and turned back to Oriñon, not without taking some great photos.
Thank you for the write up on your experience, @Dave .
It confirms we did the right thing last year.
I wonder whether another year you might try our alternative (post #31 above)
This is my blog post (johnstravels.co.nz) for 2nd June 2019, day 55 on the Camino.
“ What a day. Good execution overcomes shocking planning. A nice 27k walk with a cliff top path. I should have known when I went to leave this morning and my phone hadn’t been charging overnight; I should have known when the other phone had zero charge; I should have known when the turn for the coastal alternative was unmarked; I should have known when there was no signage of a Camino; I should have known when the wise pilgrim app took me down an unmarked track through gorse and blackberry; I should have known when a woman yelled out to me to say I wasn’t on the Camino de Santiago. “This is not your day, John.” But by then I had that horrible sinking feeling that I knew exactly where I was, I had seen pics of it on the forum and made a mental note that you wouldn’t find me dead there. As Liam would say “This is a REALLY bad idea, Poppa”. But by then I was committed, 6km from the turnoff and a 40km day if I was to go back. I looked ahead and saw a shear face with a faint sign of a track and the sea steeply below. It was gentle at first, but slippery with sand, then steep and finally towards the top, hand over hand, (I didn't take any photos here) all four limbs climbing. And I didn’t dare look down. I’ll let the pictures do the rest. I’ve not been breathless at all on this Camino but at the top I was very distressed. Then coming down was hard too. There’s a picture looking back at a mountain, I went around the cliffs on the left and then down the face that is facing the camera. I’m in Laredo, in a nice two star hotel. Some French people want me to join them for dinner but I think I’m too tired, I’ll have something to eat close by. Before I finish I must get it on the record that Castro Urdiales is an absolute gem. Plenty to see, beaches and hundreds of bars and restaurants. And virtually no foreigners except a handful of pilgrims. This will be the day I remember the Camino by. ”
John
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