Romanian Pilgrim
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino del Norte (2016)
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Welcome to the forum and the Camino.
First thing first, most people walking those routes will do so with under 30€ a day: 10 for a bed in an albergue, 10 for a menu del dia or pilgrim menu and 3 on cafe con leche and then a bocadillo, some fruit, what have you for food outside of than main meal. Even when staying in a pension your budget will only go up bt 10 or 15€ more. Yes you could stay in hotels, but outside of largish cities like San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander the hotels you are most likely to find on the Camino will be of the more simple kind not costing you 100€ plus.
And speaking of the menu del dia: on the norte always opt for that rather than an evening meal: that is the main meal of the day in Spain and the quality will be much better than any evening meal you would be able to find.
Walking distances: walking 10km a day on the Frances will not be a problem except in a fre places where there are no other options than to walk 15 or 20km between any sort of accomodation or place to call a taxi. But on the Norte distances will be greater. Things have greatly improved in terms of pilgrim accomadations since I had first wanted to walk the Norte and 2007 but passed because I knew I would not be able to walk the 30+km needed back then, but still 20km a day is likely to be the minimum average between albergues. Take a look at the Eroski website to see the route, suggested stages, and albergues along the way. Groze website lists other types of accomodations as well.
July and Augusr are a bad idea in my opinion to walk Caminos due to the heat. I walked part of the Norte in Sept-Oct.and still got 34C days! It was unusual but it can happen. This being said there is no bed race on the Norte so no need to get up in the middle of the nignt and walk in the dark missing all you came to see.
35 or 40 litter backpack max, you should be able to carry all you will need in a maximum of 8kg, yes to 2 walking sticks, ues safe for women which is not a license not to take normal precautions as you would at home, yes to keeping your valuables on you for safe keeping. Most importantly: good shoes you are comfortable in and you have tested to ensure they do not cause you blisters, to be worn with either merino whool or double layer synthetic sox, but again with the socks, try them at home as some wick moisture more than others.
Enough from me, many others will chime in my their tips. Hope this is helpful.
Welcome!
If you're walking for the beautyful landscape, Norte is lovely, but requires stamina.
Walking in July will be much hotter than walking in May. How are you with heat, and can you carry enough water?
Your budget is enormous. You will be able to live at Paradores (luxury hotels in old monasteries and castles) and eat like a king. There is a lot of good seafood in Spain!
Luggage: only you can know what kind of backpack to take. Go to a shop with a big selection, get someone in the shop to help you find some good possibilities and adjust them properly, then put something heavy (a couple of tents and some free weights should do it) in the packs and march around the shop, feeling very silly, until you find the best choice for you. Think about size first, though, some of us are micro-packers and make do with 30 l or less, some bring everything but the kitchen sink and need 70 l or more.
There are many kinds of lodging on the Norte. Please read this forum. There you will also find people who have different opinions about temperatures - personally, I start slowing down at around 20 C and refuse to move at 30... If you're staying at hotels instead of albergues, you will be allowed to sleep later, but in the summer heat, it is common to get up very early indeed.
The Camino is generally very safe. There are reports of a flasher once in a while, but thousands of people, many of them women, walk alone every year. If you would like more company, Francais is much more populated.
Hi @Romanian Pilgrim and welcome to the forum. I walked the Norte last year with my husband and part of the way with some rriends. We stayed in various forms of accommodation. We walked in May and that is a good time, although it was early in the season and sometimes a bit cold and rainy. Our friend who walked the Norte the previous year at exactly the same time had warmer weather. The flowers are stunning on the Norte in spring.
Taking your questions in turn:
1. Sounds like you are fairly fit but I do not think you would be able to walk from Irun to Santiago in 30 days; or at least I would not advise it. We do have some very fast and athletic walkers on this forum who might differ, but 840km is a long way. If you want to get all the way to Santiago perhaps you could plan to start further along. Alternatively start in Irun but plan to finish the trek in two stages.
2. €50 a day will see you living in luxury.
3. Get a comfortable backpack. See the "tag" cloud on the forum front page - just hit the word "backpack" and you will get more information than you need. The Norte is no different to the Francés - a 40 litre pack, with total weight kept as far under 8kg as you can. Search the forum for advice on shoes (I wore sandals, my husband shoes, my friend wore boots - it depends on what suits you) . Good hiking socks. Yes to sticks for me.
4. There is plenty of accommodation of every sort.
5. It is as safe for a woman to walk as anywhere. I have not heard of any problems with thieves although I would take the usual precautions and always keep my passport and wallet secure.
Hi, Romanian Pilgrim,
Wishing you a great Camino del Norte. Your decision on whether to dip down and get on the Primitivo after Villaviciosa or to stay on the Norte may seem like a difficult decision now, but in my experience, the decision usually makes itself once you're on the way. It will probably depend on what your "camino family" is thinking, on the weather, and on your gut and what it tells you at that time. There are lots of threads describing the differences, but my advice would be to just forget about it now, and I'll bet you have an easy choice when you are a couple of days away from the split. Buen camino, Laurie
Yes, I'm with Laurie on this. We set out on the Norte with the intension of turning onto the Primitivo, but when we got there it was not right for our companions so we stayed on the Norte. And had never a regret!
Hi, Romanian Pilgrim,The only detour I want is a day in Picos de Europa.
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