Trip Report: July 2013

[Dave]

Hi everyone,

I just made it back to the US after two months of Camino-ing. I started in Le Puy, followed the GR 65 to St. Jean, then turned right and followed the GR 10 to Irun. Once there, I was joined by a group of my students and we followed the Camino del Norte until transitioning to the Primitivo. After Santiago, we continued on to Muxia and Finisterre.

We were on the Norte from July 15-31. Some observations follow...

Albergue stuff:

• By design, we stayed in a lot of albergues that I hadn't before. Ultimately, we stayed in a number of privates because we feel like we should take the more expensive option when possible (we don't want people to hate us). Most popular among the students was Albergue Intxauspe in Markina. It's on the edge of town, but not inconveniently located. The albergue's yard is pretty spectacular, with lawn chairs and a fantastic view. Albergue Villa Luz in Zumaia is also lovely, though you might hope for more than one shower when paying more for a private.
• The stretch after Santander and before the Primitivo split has seen a dramatic increase in albergues. People raved about the two immediately after Santander in Santa Cruz de Bezana and Boo de Pielagos. Even more dramatic is the spike after San Vicente. Buelna has a large new albergue (run by the same group as Santander's) and little Pendeueles has three! We stayed in one of them, Albergue Aves de Paso. I really recommend it. For those who have stayed in Bodenaya, it will feel very familiar, because it is run by a protege of that hospitalero--donation-based, dinner and breakfast included, use of the washing machine, and so on. Given the sudden glut of albergues, Javier (the hospitalero) also allows reservations now.
• I was impressed by how effectively the Norte was able to absorb a record high in pilgrims. When we slept in Deba, the hospitaleros said there were more pilgrims than ever before - around 90! However, nearly all found space in the new albergue, located near the entrance to town. Indeed, there was only one place on the Norte where there was a problem - Pobena. However, even there the overflow (us and others) was allowed to sleep on the church porch, so things worked out. I suspect we'll see even more private albergues pop up over the next year, though, as the demand has grown considerably.

Route stuff:

• Some have mentioned this before, but there is a new route waymarked between Miono and Castro-Urdiales. It's fantastic. The waymarks take you off the highway 500 meters before Miono, though it is possible to enter town and then head to the beach. All told, it's about 4.5km from there to the center of Castro and the views are outstanding.
• Walking with the group, we had the opportunity to split and follow multiple route variants at the same time. Among other things, this allowed me to re-walk two routes we didn't recommend in the Northern Caminos book - the longer "official" Camino from Onton to Castro via Otanes and the longer "official" Camino from Mogro to Requejada. With those fresh in my mind, I can reiterate my recommendation of the alternative routes--Onton to Castro via Miono (even better now, given the route just mentioned) and Mogro to Requejada via Mar. Neither longer route has much of a case.
• On the flipside, I think we should have offered a stronger recommendation for the coastal variant between Zumaia and Deba. That is a gorgeous walk.
• Locals have been sabotaging the waymarks leaving Deba. The turismo in Deba will provide you with materials to ensure that you don't lose your way. We do recommend the coastal variant from Galizano to Somo and I'll reiterate that here. It's a must-walk.

I'll post notes on the other routes in their appropriate sections. Overall, though, it felt great to be back on the Norte. There was definitely more of a pilgrim crunch this year than the last time I was on the Norte, but it felt good to have a stronger pilgrim community on the way. If I were walking this route alone next year, I'd be inclined to book more private albergues in the Basque Country (many walk only this leg and the public albergues tend to not open until 4pm). Otherwise, though, I wouldn't change a thing.

We are preparing a list of updates for the Northern Caminos this week, in support of the second printing. Have you used the book? If so, we'd love to get your feedback. Just message me here.

Regards,
Dave

 

[Dave]

One thing I meant to mention: one of the most striking changes to me in the two years since I last walked the Norte was the resurgence of the Asturian language. Two years ago, many road signs were targeted by graffiti, with locals changing o's to u's, among other things. Now, it seems to have been made official, with new road signs in many places. Sebrayo is Sebrayu, Grado is Grau, the bathrooms read Homes and Muyeres, and so on. I asked a couple of hospitaleros about this and they were quick to criticize it, describing it as the continued "Balkanization" of Spain and the rise of a "Torre de Babel."

In any case, Castilian is becoming a bit endangered on the Norte! With Euskera in the Basque Country, Asturian in Asturias, and Galego in Galicia, Cantabria is the last region that is exclusively Castilian...

(For anyone concerned: not to worry. You'll be fine with just Spanish. Plenty get by comfortably without that, too.)

Dave

 

[angulero]

Estate tranquilo, que en Asturias el castellano no está en peligro. El asturiano o bable no es lengua cooficial en España, ni siquiera lo es en Asturias (aunque haya gente luchando porque sí lo sea), salvo unos pocos municipios. Normalmente, cuando se pone el nombre de una población en bable, también se encuentra en castellano, aunque a veces es verdad que no es así. Esta no es una Comunidad Autónoma que quiera independizarse ni nada de eso, pero tampoco queremos perder nuestras raíces y costumbres. No hay nada malo en eso. Si en algún pueblo alejado de Asturias y sobre todo de Galicia, te encuentras con gente mayor a la que te cuesta entender, es más que probable que no sepan hablar de otra forma debido al aislamiento de esas poblaciones hasta no hace tanto tiempo.

Te dejo un enlace con la Ley del uso del bable, que por cierto, es del año 1998.

Rest assured, that is not in danger Castilian in Asturias. The Asturian or Bable is no official language in Spain, even it is in Asturias (although there are people fighting because yes it is), but a few municipalities. Normally, when you put the name of a town in Bable, also in Castilian, but sometimes it is true that it is not. This is not an autonomous region that want independence or anything like that, but we do not want to lose our roots and customs. There is nothing wrong with that. If at some remote village in Asturias and Galicia especially, you find older people to whom you can not understand, is more than likely not otherwise be able to speak due to the isolation of these populations until not so long ago.
I leave a link to the use of Bable Act, which incidentally, is the year 1998.

http://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-1998-10126

 

[Dave]

Thanks for filling me in, Angulero. Just in case it didn't come through in my message, my intent wasn't to criticize the resurgence of the language, but simply to note what I saw and the views of two hospitaleros. There were definitely some cases, though, where only the Asturian spelling of town names was used. Still pretty similar to the Castilian, though!

 

[angulero]

Tranquilo, me imaginaba que era un comentario sin mala intención, pero te respondí para que nadie lo pudiera interpretar mal.

Quiet, I figured it was a comment without malice, but I answered to no one could misinterpret.

 

[ivdhoek]

Hi everyone,

I just made it back to the US after two months of Camino-ing. I started in Le Puy, followed the GR 65 to St. Jean, then turned right and followed the GR 10 to Irun. Once there, I was joined by a group of my students and we followed the Camino del Norte until transitioning to the Primitivo. After Santiago, we continued on to Muxia and Finisterre.

We were on the Norte from July 15-31. Some observations follow...

Albergue stuff:

• By design, we stayed in a lot of albergues that I hadn't before. Ultimately, we stayed in a number of privates because we feel like we should take the more expensive option when possible (we don't want people to hate us). Most popular among the students was Albergue Intxauspe in Markina. It's on the edge of town, but not inconveniently located. The albergue's yard is pretty spectacular, with lawn chairs and a fantastic view. Albergue Villa Luz in Zumaia is also lovely, though you might hope for more than one shower when paying more for a private.
• The stretch after Santander and before the Primitivo split has seen a dramatic increase in albergues. People raved about the two immediately after Santander in Santa Cruz de Bezana and Boo de Pielagos. Even more dramatic is the spike after San Vicente. Buelna has a large new albergue (run by the same group as Santander's) and little Pendeueles has three! We stayed in one of them, Albergue Aves de Paso. I really recommend it. For those who have stayed in Bodenaya, it will feel very familiar, because it is run by a protege of that hospitalero--donation-based, dinner and breakfast included, use of the washing machine, and so on. Given the sudden glut of albergues, Javier (the hospitalero) also allows reservations now.
• I was impressed by how effectively the Norte was able to absorb a record high in pilgrims. When we slept in Deba, the hospitaleros said there were more pilgrims than ever before - around 90! However, nearly all found space in the new albergue, located near the entrance to town. Indeed, there was only one place on the Norte where there was a problem - Pobena. However, even there the overflow (us and others) was allowed to sleep on the church porch, so things worked out. I suspect we'll see even more private albergues pop up over the next year, though, as the demand has grown considerably.

Route stuff:

• Some have mentioned this before, but there is a new route waymarked between Miono and Castro-Urdiales. It's fantastic. The waymarks take you off the highway 500 meters before Miono, though it is possible to enter town and then head to the beach. All told, it's about 4.5km from there to the center of Castro and the views are outstanding.
• Walking with the group, we had the opportunity to split and follow multiple route variants at the same time. Among other things, this allowed me to re-walk two routes we didn't recommend in the Northern Caminos book - the longer "official" Camino from Onton to Castro via Otanes and the longer "official" Camino from Mogro to Requejada. With those fresh in my mind, I can reiterate my recommendation of the alternative routes--Onton to Castro via Miono (even better now, given the route just mentioned) and Mogro to Requejada via Mar. Neither longer route has much of a case.
• On the flipside, I think we should have offered a stronger recommendation for the coastal variant between Zumaia and Deba. That is a gorgeous walk.
• Locals have been sabotaging the waymarks leaving Deba. The turismo in Deba will provide you with materials to ensure that you don't lose your way. We do recommend the coastal variant from Galizano to Somo and I'll reiterate that here. It's a must-walk.

I'll post notes on the other routes in their appropriate sections. Overall, though, it felt great to be back on the Norte. There was definitely more of a pilgrim crunch this year than the last time I was on the Norte, but it felt good to have a stronger pilgrim community on the way. If I were walking this route alone next year, I'd be inclined to book more private albergues in the Basque Country (many walk only this leg and the public albergues tend to not open until 4pm). Otherwise, though, I wouldn't change a thing.

We are preparing a list of updates for the Northern Caminos this week, in support of the second printing. Have you used the book? If so, we'd love to get your feedback. Just message me here.

Regards,
Dave

Starting our walk on the 21 st September.. very exited and yes... got your book and will be using it 'every now and again!' Just to keep us on track. I love to find out for myself where to go and what to do! I was very critical about our German Peregrino's on the Camino Portuguese who could not walk without the famous guide in their hands. They missed half the beauty of the countryside! Thanks for the update..Looking forward to the Norte.