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Imho it’s very different to the Francés for a number of reasons that for some people makes it harder and they are legitimate reasons for them. Fewer people which can make for a lonelier experience if walking alone, The hard surfaces are more difficult on the body, especially if it’s not so young, There are some long stretches without services , and so on. I walked the Francés last year and the Norte this year, solo and mid sixties. I did find the Norte harder going but had anticipated it and it was easier than I thought it might be, but I kept my stages as close to 25kms and under as much as possible. If you walk alone be prepared for solitude, I found the varied nature and beauty of the Norte to be well worth any difficulties. Home five weeks and missing it enormously, but I was way more emotional at the end of the Norte than the Francés which I put down to weariness and walking in solitude. It felt like a much more significant achievement for me , but every walk is different.Recently I have read quite a few posts stating that the Norte is a difficult Camino. That surprises me. Yes, in a few ways it is harder than the Francés, with all the facilities and the possibility to walk (very) short stages. But hard?
It is true, especially the part from Irún to Bilbao has quite a few ups and downs. But no difficult climbs or descents. And yes, you'll have to walk quite a bit on asphalt, but there are loads of coastal alternatives. There are a lot less facilities and less albergues than on the Francés, but still more than enough to limit your stages and not to carry liters of water. I really believe the Norte has become a well accomodated Camino with excellent marking. Has it to do with preparations or different expectations? Or do some pilgrims compare it too much to the Francés?
Or am I the one with the odd opinion?
Your experience is what I'm anticipating. I, too, am mid 60s and will be walking solo. Thank you for sharing your thoughts...Imho it’s very different to the Francés for a number of reasons that for some people makes it harder and they are legitimate reasons for them. Fewer people which can make for a lonelier experience if walking alone, The hard surfaces are more difficult on the body, especially if it’s not so young, There are some long stretches without services , and so on. I walked the Francés last year and the Norte this year, solo and mid sixties. I did find the Norte harder going but had anticipated it and it was easier than I thought it might be, but I kept my stages as close to 25kms and under as much as possible. If you walk alone be prepared for solitude, I found the varied nature and beauty of the Norte to be well worth any difficulties. Home five weeks and missing it enormously, but I was way more emotional at the end of the Norte than the Francés which I put down to weariness and walking in solitude. It felt like a much more significant achievement for me , but every walk is different.
I’m with you..we start in late August and I’m turning 67 in September. My fourth Camino in four years. I too hope experience and training many miles on hard surfaces will serve me well on the Norte.THANK YOU Luka for your perspective!
I most appreciate your thoughts as my sister and I prepare to walk from Irun in September. We have both logged many K on the Camino Frances and Camino Sanabres. We are hoping that our experience and wisdom will serve us well to make this a positive effort despite my being over 65 and sis having health considerations.
I do!Thank you all! I think my motivation to post this thread came from disappointment that not everyone shares my love for the Camino del Norte...
I have never done the Frances and probably never will as there are far too many people for me! The Portugués was my first and last year the Vis de la Plata which does have quite a bit of road walking, lots of solitude and quite a few hills. I start the del Norte in September. I expect it to be breathtakingly beautiful. Even if I don’t get to share it with someone now and then. I have walked alone but never for longRecently I have read quite a few posts stating that the Norte is a difficult Camino. That surprises me. Yes, in a few ways it is harder than the Francés, with all the facilities and the possibility to walk (very) short stages. But hard?
It is true, especially the part from Irún to Bilbao has quite a few ups and downs. But no difficult climbs or descents. And yes, you'll have to walk quite a bit on asphalt, but there are loads of coastal alternatives. There are a lot less facilities and less albergues than on the Francés, but still more than enough to limit your stages and not to carry liters of water. I really believe the Norte has become a well accomodated Camino with excellent marking. Has it to do with preparations or different expectations? Or do some pilgrims compare it too much to the Francés?
Or am I the one with the odd opinion?
Recently I have read quite a few posts stating that the Norte is a difficult Camino. That surprises me. Yes, in a few ways it is harder than the Francés, with all the facilities and the possibility to walk (very) short stages. But hard?
It is true, especially the part from Irún to Bilbao has quite a few ups and downs. But no difficult climbs or descents. And yes, you'll have to walk quite a bit on asphalt, but there are loads of coastal alternatives. There are a lot less facilities and less albergues than on the Francés, but still more than enough to limit your stages and not to carry liters of water. I really believe the Norte has become a well accomodated Camino with excellent marking. Has it to do with preparations or different expectations? Or do some pilgrims compare it too much to the Francés?
Or am I the one with the odd opinion?
Thank you all! I think my motivation to post this thread came from disappointment that not everyone shares my love for the Camino del Norte...
Recently I have read quite a few posts stating that the Norte is a difficult Camino. That surprises me. Yes, in a few ways it is harder than the Francés, with all the facilities and the possibility to walk (very) short stages. But hard?
It is true, especially the part from Irún to Bilbao has quite a few ups and downs. But no difficult climbs or descents. And yes, you'll have to walk quite a bit on asphalt, but there are loads of coastal alternatives. There are a lot less facilities and less albergues than on the Francés, but still more than enough to limit your stages and not to carry liters of water. I really believe the Norte has become a well accomodated Camino with excellent marking. Has it to do with preparations or different expectations? Or do some pilgrims compare it too much to the Francés?
Or am I the one with the odd opinion?
I’m seriously thinking of doing the Norte next June/July and from the profile it does look bumpy, definitely not the Portugués coastal route, and I can see how one might compare to Francés, however the parts that seem to be more like the Francés is a few days away from start in Irún. By then, I would assume one is fit enough to be easier than it looks. The first few days out of SJPP on Francés were tough, even with intense training. I’m 66 now, so I’m training like I did for Francés, but I don’t expect it to be as hard. By the way, what time of year did you go? And how was the weather? That concerns me more. Thx, KathieHmmm,
Hi Luka; thanks for your perspective. I will be walking the del Norte starting in early Septiembre and I am very much looking forward to it (even the challenging parts). You mentioned alternative routes along del Norte; where would I find out about such routes? Do these alternative routes have albergues o only hotels and the like? I have not walked the CF, but during my walk of the VDLP, I noticed (some) Pilgrims often compared it to the VDLP. I think the beauty of Los Caminos is that they each have their own unique beauty - whether that be solitude o picturesque o whatever. UltreiaRecently I have read quite a few posts stating that the Norte is a difficult Camino. That surprises me. Yes, in a few ways it is harder than the Francés, with all the facilities and the possibility to walk (very) short stages. But hard?
It is true, especially the part from Irún to Bilbao has quite a few ups and downs. But no difficult climbs or descents. And yes, you'll have to walk quite a bit on asphalt, but there are loads of coastal alternatives. There are a lot less facilities and less albergues than on the Francés, but still more than enough to limit your stages and not to carry liters of water. I really believe the Norte has become a well accomodated Camino with excellent marking. Has it to do with preparations or different expectations? Or do some pilgrims compare it too much to the Francés?
Or am I the one with the odd opinion?
I can guarantee that the first few days of the Norte from Irun are tougher than the first few days of the Frances.The first few days out of SJPP on Francés were tough, even with intense training. I’m 66 now, so I’m training like I did for Francés, but I don’t expect it to be as hard.
What's a hard or easy camino is so subjective that it is nearly meaningless without context or hard data. For example . . .
I just got back from doing the Primitivo. Is it hard? Not at all. But here's the context. I started in Toulouse - Chemin d'Arles to Camino Aragones to Camino Frances (Obanos to Leon) to Camino de San Salvador and finally Primitivo to Santiago. Right after Salvador, the Primtiivo was exhilarating, fun and surprisingly easy. Now the Salvador. That is one tough mofo.
You are not. It was my first and I enjoyed it even the “hard” challenging parts. I also found lovely company and places to stay.Recently I have read quite a few posts stating that the Norte is a difficult Camino. That surprises me. Yes, in a few ways it is harder than the Francés, with all the facilities and the possibility to walk (very) short stages. But hard?
It is true, especially the part from Irún to Bilbao has quite a few ups and downs. But no difficult climbs or descents. And yes, you'll have to walk quite a bit on asphalt, but there are loads of coastal alternatives. There are a lot less facilities and less albergues than on the Francés, but still more than enough to limit your stages and not to carry liters of water. I really believe the Norte has become a well accomodated Camino with excellent marking. Has it to do with preparations or different expectations? Or do some pilgrims compare it too much to the Francés?
Or am I the one with the odd opinion?
@Luka , we share your love of the Norte.
In fact it is thanks to one of your posts that we discovered Monte Candina from Oriñon. Not the way you walked it, but through the southern part. That would have been one of the many highlights of our Norte.
Thank you for sharing your love of the Norte!
Hi Kathie, here is the most recent thread about the weather:By the way, what time of year did you go? And how was the weather? That concerns me more. Thx, Kathie
Hi Dominick, you'll find all the information about alternative routes in this thread:You mentioned alternative routes along del Norte; where would I find out about such routes? Do these alternative routes have albergues o only hotels and the like?
Thank you for sharing your experience. It takes self insight to be able to look at it this way. And I think that this is where a lot of Camino days go wrong: expectations. That is my big Camino lesson: take it as it comes and adjust to the circumstances instead of expecting the circumstances will adjust to you.No, I didnt expect rose petals and parades in my honor, I just didnt feel the same sense that Spain was helping us on our way as I had previously on the Frances. None of this, I will add, is Spains problem. It was MY problem, and I simply failed to adjust.
Gracias!Hi Dominick, you'll find all the information about alternative routes in this thread:
Most of these alternative routes will end up at the Norte again before the day is over. This means less facilities while walking (carry water and some food), but you will end most of you detour days in a Camino del Norte albergue.
Unfortunately not, we'll be walking the Cape to Cape in WA.Will you both be at the MEL Camino dinner next month?
Re the downhill into Deba: in 2017 we had to end our walk at Deba (injury). We resumed in 2018 at S Sebastian. At Deba, where the billboard announcing their carefully conserved section of original Roman road is, there is asphalt, kinda steep looking, going to the left and curving. If your knees are goners, or like me you have bad memories of that bit of Roman road, take the asphalt and follow the street and a few relict arrows. You will find the famous elevator! Actually it is a pair of elevators. And they are wonderful. I was so happy that I got to ride in the famous elevators, a once in a lifetime thing for me, taking the old way into the center of town.I started following this thread early on with great interest. Now that I just finished (Last week) The Norte from Irùn to Santiago I can give a first hand recent account of what the Norte was like for a couple that are in their sixties (I’m 68, my wife 63), and have walked the Frances twice (2016,2017) and Portuguese (2018). We walk a lot, not just on Caminos. We train, I was in full pack training four months before we left for the Norte. We were in decent shape. We took it slow, 41 days walking with four rest days. Okay, that being said, this my humble opinion about how hard it was for us. No doubt the beauty of Spain’s headlands and beaches are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Being a guy that has lived in California all my life that is saying a lot. I did love walking in all the forest and farmland at first. But I have to admit that I did get a bit tired of the farmland towards the end. Second, yes there is more asphalt walking than most people would like. To me is was not the asphalt that was tough but there were more times than I liked when the road was mixed with fast moving vehicles and tight curves. Was it hard? For us, Irùn to San Sebastián was probably the hardest physically day walking! I laugh now when I think back to my first Camino and I thought walking from SJPD over the Pyrenees was hard. Yes we took the high road at the split but it was the stairs and the hills (after the ferry) the last four miles into San Sebastián. Okay I’m not the first one to make this claim about day one, but all the days to Bilbao we’re almost as tough. The downhill into Deba, after a long day, there are hundreds of stairs to descend. The accent out of Deba going to Markina-Xemein made it a very long tough day. We made some great Camino friends during these stages, most fit, in their thirties and early forties and they too admitted that these stages were hard! So it was not just this old guy’s brain working against him. After Bilbao it gets a little better because you get what I call your Camino Legs, but it stays hilly and there are some difficult days ahead like the 30k day coming into Gijón. No choice but to do 30k that day with one very steep rocky climb that is about 3k long. Three other days come to mind after Gijón. The day after Soto Del Lauina to Cadavedo. Check the elevation on that up and down day. Also this first two days after leaving Ribadeo, a couple very good climbing days! I felt, as we got near the end of the Norte, the last three or four days before the Camino Frances, were a bit uneventful. The stages were not tough, just a tad boring. Maybe because we were anxious to get it done. In closing, I write this because the Camino Norte is still fresh in my brain. I do not wish to discourage anyone from attempting this great Camino. I only wish to give my point of view as a 68-year-old man who just completed this beautiful but at times difficult task. A point I must make in closing, no matter how difficult the stage on the Norte, when the day was done and my wife and I sat with a cold beverage in our hand, we laughed, gave thanks for a safe day and were amazed at the day we had just completed! If you would like to read a day by day account of our Norte it is on Instagram @ t_vela_aka_lbpilgrim
I am always bemused by the people who plan their Camino walk so tightly, with a very short stay in Santiago, and with no spare days in case something happens. Perhaps it's because I'm becoming old, but we always build in some extra days and some rest days, just in case. If you get a trip-ending injury you're still out of luck, but if it's only needing a day to rest you're good. And those extra days that didn't get used give you a bit of space to get the Compostela if you're wanting it and to perhaps see something that otherwise you couldn't. But that's just me, YMMV, and all that.I also have just finished walking all the del Norte as well. I finished on the 9 th October and I agree with you. I have also done a few other Caminos and this one was by far the most physically challenging. The day walking into Gijón was a killer! It is relentless, day after day of hills until almost the very end. However the scenery is breathtaking. I carried my pack all the way and had my 67th birthday in Camillas - a most enjoyable experience.
Disappointingly I have left without a Compostela. I arrived at the pilgrim’s office at 2 pm only to be told that they had stopped giving out numbers for the day and to come back tomorrow. That was out of the question as I had an early flight out of Santiago. No amount of pleading helped. Having come from Australia and walked from Irún I left without one.
The last 100 kms was a race - well it seemed like one with those only doing 100 kms and many not carrying a back pack at all. They beat me to the pilgrims office, got their Compostela and were off rejoicing.
to say I was disheartened is an understatement. This will be my last Camino, it’s just too touristy!
I did eventually heard about the elevator long after we passed Deba. Glad you got to use it! I would of if I had known!!Re the downhill into Deba: in 2017 we had to end our walk at Deba (injury). We resumed in 2018 at S Sebastian. At Deba, where the billboard announcing their carefully conserved section of original Roman road is, there is asphalt, kinda steep looking, going to the left and curving. If your knees are goners, or like me you have bad memories of that bit of Roman road, take the asphalt and follow the street and a few relict arrows. You will find the famous elevator! Actually it is a pair of elevators. And they are wonderful. I was so happy that I got to ride in the famous elevators, a once in a lifetime thing for me, taking the old way into the center of town.
And, looking back, I really wonder if there is an elevator in Bilbao that could be connected up to. I think I saw a tower that might be one.
Ribadeo also seemed to have an elevator, but it wasn't located anywhere near where we walked across the long bridge--pedestrian pathway, no problem--so we only looked at it and said, will you look at that!
Buen camino to all.
I started following this thread early on with great interest. Now that I just finished (Last week) The Norte from Irùn to Santiago I can give a first hand recent account of what the Norte was like for a couple that are in their sixties (I’m 68, my wife 63), and have walked the Frances twice (2016,2017) and Portuguese (2018). We walk a lot, not just on Caminos. We train, I was in full pack training four months before we left for the Norte. We were in decent shape. We took it slow, 41 days walking with four rest days. Okay, that being said, this my humble opinion about how hard it was for us. No doubt the beauty of Spain’s headlands and beaches are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Being a guy that has lived in California all my life that is saying a lot. I did love walking in all the forest and farmland at first. But I have to admit that I did get a bit tired of the farmland towards the end. Second, yes there is more asphalt walking than most people would like. To me is was not the asphalt that was tough but there were more times than I liked when the road was mixed with fast moving vehicles and tight curves. Was it hard? For us, Irùn to San Sebastián was probably the hardest physically day walking! I laugh now when I think back to my first Camino and I thought walking from SJPD over the Pyrenees was hard. Yes we took the high road at the split but it was the stairs and the hills (after the ferry) the last four miles into San Sebastián. Okay I’m not the first one to make this claim about day one, but all the days to Bilbao we’re almost as tough. The downhill into Deba, after a long day, there are hundreds of stairs to descend. The accent out of Deba going to Markina-Xemein made it a very long tough day. We made some great Camino friends during these stages, most fit, in their thirties and early forties and they too admitted that these stages were hard! So it was not just this old guy’s brain working against him. After Bilbao it gets a little better because you get what I call your Camino Legs, but it stays hilly and there are some difficult days ahead like the 30k day coming into Gijón. No choice but to do 30k that day with one very steep rocky climb that is about 3k long. Three other days come to mind after Gijón. The day after Soto Del Lauina to Cadavedo. Check the elevation on that up and down day. Also this first two days after leaving Ribadeo, a couple very good climbing days! I felt, as we got near the end of the Norte, the last three or four days before the Camino Frances, were a bit uneventful. The stages were not tough, just a tad boring. Maybe because we were anxious to get it done. In closing, I write this because the Camino Norte is still fresh in my brain. I do not wish to discourage anyone from attempting this great Camino. I only wish to give my point of view as a 68-year-old man who just completed this beautiful but at times difficult task. A point I must make in closing, no matter how difficult the stage on the Norte, when the day was done and my wife and I sat with a cold beverage in our hand, we laughed, gave thanks for a safe day and were amazed at the day we had just completed! If you would like to read a day by day account of our Norte it is on Instagram @ t_vela_aka_lbpilgrim
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