Starting from Bilbao June 17...

[lambert58]

Did the CDF last year, like to walk, averaged 21.5 miles per day...(only say this because)
Flight arrives in Bilbao at 2:45 on June 17, My Flight leaves Bilbao on July 3rd-7:00PM.
Any suggestions ?....such as....
--Walk from airport to Portuglete?--right off the bat?
--Go see the Guggenheim, spend the night, start on the 18th?
--What sections to skip ?, take a bus around, etc...
--I would "like" to make it to Ribadeo, then all day ( June 3rd ?) bus ride it back to Bibao for my 7:00pm flight.
any info, idea's, etc. thanks, Dave--Chico, CA.

 

[shefollowsshells]

My thoughts exactly!
IF I knew I was not going to end in Santiago I would 100% start in Irun ( actually I would start in Hendaye which is a stone's throw from Irun) and I would walk a few kilometers past Irun and start where I posted a thread that says "Bilbo Baggins lives here" ...
I know not everyone can do this and if the result was to end in Santiago then none of us could really encourage you to do this ... my first four days were my toughest but also defined so much of my experience.
If you had a little bit more time I could recommend what I would skip BUT then you would lose the family that you have developed, with that said you gain a family with any loss of one on the Camino...
that first day was a brilliant experience...

Buen Camino!

 

[lambert58]

Hi lambert58

As you´re not planning on reach Santiago de Compostela in one go but doing it in two or maybe three walks, I would recommend to travel from Bilbo
to Irun and start from there ( the first four days are lovely) . That way you can enjoy the walk and not be pressed to complete it so you avoid the rush.

Now if you still want to start in Bilbo, enjoy you day of arrival ( visit the Guggenheim e.g.) and start the following day following the east side of the river
and stop at the albergue in Pobeña for the night.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Ondo Ibili!

THANKS SO VERY MUCH for your input...are the "tunnels" just past Bilbao ?

 

[Schatz]

Hi Lambert58,
-I'm also arriving to BIO 17/6 at 13.30.

I'll avoid sleeping in Bilbao the first day and take Guggenheim as dessert on my way back because I truly believe I'll-need-a-space between El Camino experience and my way back Home ;-)

I'll leave BIO airport by bus/metro to Las Arenas-Areete and start my Del Norte Walk at the cross of the Viscaya Bridge to head to Pobeña for the night. I'm not sure if the bus passes or not through Artxandra tunnels as u asked because I'm not sure if the ride is direct from airport-Las Arenas or maybe passing Bilbao downtown first.
I've consulted http://www.enterat.com/servicios/autobuses-bizkaibus-horarios.php
My interpretation is that the one for Peregrinos (as stated) is #3321.

PLS, take this info with a nip of salt because I've never been there and can't assure any of this 100%.
My personal choice is to TRY to let-go and let The Way develop its' way-! (a bit scary for me but... it is what it is)

I see you. Buen camino!

 

[lambert58]

Hi Lambert58,
-I'm also arriving to BIO 17/6 at 13.30.

I'll avoid sleeping in Bilbao the first day and take Guggenheim as dessert on my way back because I truly believe I'll-need-a-space between El Camino experience and my way back Home ;-)

I'll leave BIO airport by bus/metro to Las Arenas-Areete and start my Del Norte Walk at the cross of the Viscaya Bridge to head to Pobeña for the night. I'm not sure if the bus passes or not through Artxandra tunnels as u asked because I'm not sure if the ride is direct from airport-Las Arenas or maybe passing Bilbao downtown first.
I've consulted http://www.enterat.com/servicios/autobuses-bizkaibus-horarios.php
My interpretation is that the one for Peregrinos (as stated) is #3321.

PLS, take this info with a nip of salt because I've never been there and can't assure any of this 100%.
My personal choice is to TRY to let-go and let The Way develop its' way-! (a bit scary for me but... it is what it is)

I see you. Buen camino!

Hi, not sure if this reply will get to you...but....Thanks so much for the info, if I feel good after 22 hours of travel I will shoot for Pobena the first day as well, and the museum at the end.
A bus from the airport to the east side of the vizc bridge would be a great start---I think, Dave, Chico, CA. USA

 

[rickster]

My request for info is somewhat related.....I leave for Irun to walk the Norte the first week in September and have four weeks to walk. I understand that five weeks is typically needed and I'm not one to get in to a race, but enjoy taking it all in. Could some of those who have walked this route provide me with some possible stages or places to skip that will allow me to take about a week off of the normal time to walk? I still plan to end up in Santiago. Rick

 

[MKalcolm M]

Hi Rick,

I suggest you start in Irun and walk steady at a pace that is comfortable for you, and soon you will develop a rhythm and an understanding of the camino and then it will be easier to work out your choices in the time you have. I set out to walk the whole way, but teamed up with someone and we got on so well we decided to arrive at Santiago together. As her ticket home was about a week before mine this meant adjusting things, so we walked as far as we could, then took a bus to Barmonde which allowed a last week walking together and to still qualify for the compostella when we got to Santiago. There are a couple of places to miss if time is short, from Santander take a bus to Santilla del Mar, as the route is on roads and not particularly special, equally between Gijon and Avilles it is industrial, so hop a bus for that section. The hospitaleros are usually very well informed about the next days walking and what your options are, talk to the each night and then you have an informed choice about what is next. You will be able to walk the majority of the route in four weeks and possibly it all depending on your pace, particularly if you skip small stages by taking the bus or Feve. Buen Camino!

 

[peregrino_tom]

Dave, I think Mendi and 'shells are spot on - start in Irun. The stretch to Bilbao is fairly hard going in places but worth doing. You'll be able to make up km after Bilbao and your pace will take you on to about halfway through the Norte, around Llanes. Then when you come back, you can do the second half in a couple of weeks.

Rick, five weeks is fairly ambling. I pretty much followed the 31 stages in the Cicerone guide but somehow in those 31 managed a couple of rest days and a few leisurely half days for beach time. You may just need to shave off a couple of stages such as the Santander-Santillana one that MKalcolm mentions. The Gijon-Aviles stage gets a bad press but some of us like it! there is some brutal old industry, but also pasturelands and a country park with dolmens (admittedly mostly buried underground..).

 

[peregrino_tom]

this tunnels business is getting me very confused. I wonder if someone edited something out of an earlier post?
The discussion seemed to start by referring to the Artxanda tunnel complex which runs under the Artxanda hill between the airport and the city -
http://www.balzola.com/en/References/Civil Works/Tunnels/Artxanda Tunnel.html

For anyone picking up this thread in the future and wanting to walk directly from the airport to join the route at Portugalete... you don't need to worry about the Artxanda tunnel as it goes due south to the city and you would be walking West. Dave Whitson put together a useful route on google maps
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=...w&t=h&mra=dpe&mrsp=1&sz=15&via=1,2,3,4,5&z=15
which is on this thread
http://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...alk-from-bilbao-airport-to-portugalete.17752/
it looks like someone did manage to walk from the airport to Portugalete, but their actual route was never confirmed.

As for other tunnels - I don't know about the one Mendi mentions above, but you do go through a short tunnel after Pobeña on the coastal path which is what's left of an old mining railway I believe (edited para)