Without a cell phone!

[ritaj]

Three weeks and counting till we start walking on May 1. We have walked from Le Puy to Santiago and we never had a cell phone. In Spain we never needed reservations. In France we did but we were able to make them easily, three days in advance, from tourist offices or from the gites with the help of our hosts. What has been the experience on del Norte? Are there some of you who have walked del Norte without electronics and how did it go?

Ritaj

 

[Alan Pearce]

No mobile phone, no trouble.

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

P.S. If you want to stay at the Confraternity of St James albergue at Miraz [highly recommended], it is best to be early as there are only 26 beds, and it is a 26 km walk to the next albergue at Sobrado.

 

[Dave]

Yup, you'll be fine. I make a number of reservations on the Norte, but in nearly all cases I do so via email (addresses primarily found on the Eroski/Consumer site, though sometimes elsewhere). And, in May at least, you'll probably have little need for a reservation.

That said, I've been able to purchase phones/simcards for crazy-cheap prices in Spain at both MoviStar and Vodafone, so you could consider whether the convenience might be worth 15-25 euros for you. The primary uses for a phone in May would be a) to call ahead to confirm that the albergue has reopened for the season and b) to get someone to come over with the key if you find the albergue locked (occasionally, you'll just find a sign with a phone number on the door).

Keep in mind that in May a number of albergues de peregrinos will still be closed, particularly on the first leg of the trip. That said, it's a great time to be on the route!

 

[ritaj]

Thank you Alan, thank you Dave. Those were quick responses! I hadn't thought that albergues might not be open in May. Yikes.

Ritaj

 

[Dave]

Yep, it's a little tricky! Here's the schedule for Bizkaia openings:

ALBERGUE DE MARKINA del 13 de mayo al 30 de septiembre.

ALBERGUE DE LEZAMA del 1 de junio al 30 de septiembre.

ALBERGUE DE BILBAO (Altamira) del 1 de junio al 30 de septiembre.

ALBERGUE DE PORTUGALETE del 1 de julio al 31 de agosto.

ALBERGUE DE POBEÑA del 1 de mayo al 30 de septiembre.

Info from here: http://alberguesperegrinosbizkaia.blogspot.com/

 

[ritaj]

At the risk of overplanning, those opening dates are making me think I should be looking more carefully for alternatives to our initial plan. Thanks for the heads up Dave! Here's a few questions that come to mind given this information. Do you know if the Convento de los Padres Carmelitas in Markina is open in May? Also if the Albergue Juvenil in Bilbao will be open? And are there alternative places to stay in Santa Maria de Lecama and Portugalete? Although we love the albergues and refugios and have always stayed in them, we are willing to stay in other places if they are there but we are in our 70s and walking 20 or a few more kilometers a day will be enough! Any more information would be much appreciated. Otherwise, we will have to figure it out as we go. Years ago on our first camino we were told "trust the camino." We did and it was trustworthy, but that was the Frances and there were way more options and shorter distances.

Ritaj

 

[Dave]

I'd definitely take some care with the opening stretch. As you move along the Norte, you'll find that more and more of the albergues are open. But, between San Sebastian and Pobena in particular, it's easy to get caught by surprise.

The Convento is the albergue mentioned in that post, so you can't expect it to be open. I'd suggest walking from Deba to the Casa Rural Intxauspe (which has a pilgrim discount) and then walking the next day to Zenarruza where you can stay in the monastery. The Deba-Markina walk can be pretty demanding, but this will break it up more easily.

The Albergue Juvenil will be open in Bilbao, but I'd strongly advise against it. It's on the outskirts of town, not near anything of interest. Youth Hostel Akelarre is in a better location, on the other side of the river, and can set you up well for a superior, shorter alternative route to Portugalete. There's also a new youth hostel in the old town (Ganbara Hostel).

In Portugalete, I'd suggest Pension La Guia for a cheap, clean bed. Alternately, you could consider staying in Bilbao for two nights. On the second day, you could make the walk to Portugalete and then take the metro back into Bilbao. It's cheap, quick, and easy.

Not a ton of other options in Lezama, but Casa Rural Matsa is pilgrim friendly.

The Eroski Consumer site is worth a look (if you haven't already), just to get a sense of some of your other albergue options: http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los ... del-norte/

 

[Anniesantiago]

We walked without a phone and were fine...

 

[MikeJS]

I had my phone but never needed to book ahead in Sept. In fact there were a number of places that I am glad were not booked as we could keep walking. Be wary of the Miraz section as there is no food at Miraz so you need to bring your own. Also, they do not open until 2 pm which can mean a long wait around owing to the short previous leg.

However, I did use my phone a few times for google maps as we lost the path occasionally and found it invaluable to get to where we wanted. If you have no phone ensure you have some good up to date maps especially to get past the various diversions owing to the road works.

That said, don’t overly plan. Enjoy the walk and there are plant of inexpensive Pensions to stay in.

 

[Alan Pearce]

The bar at Miraz now has basic foodstuffs available. It may not be enough to provide you with a gourmet meal, but you will go to bed with a full belly. And the kitchen at Miraz has a full range of kitchen utensils, unlike many of the albergue kitchens that I encountered on the del Norte in 2009.

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

 

[mikevasey]

Hi i think you will be fine walking in May, there is lot of private albergues which do not seem to get mentioned anywhere. San Sebastian has the American Christian run establishment before you go into the town, it is open all year and they welcome pilgrims, donativo. Then you have the private place in Orio and other private albergues all the way to Deba. For the next stage to Markina i would walk 5-6 km past Deba untill the little chapel at the top of a long climb, then get a taxi back to Deba and stay in a private albergue there, it is not listed on any website, some pilgrims stayed in it when i was there, then get the taxi back out to where you stopped the previous evening, that will leave about 16 or 17 km along mostly glorious trail. What i have found both times on the Norte is that there are little pensions which you come on unexpectedly which offer discounts to pilgrim. Try the tourist info offices as well they may be able to give you places to stay that are not listed anywhere, you may if you want be able to book ahead.

I did not take a phone with me on my 1st camino(the norte), i did not even miss it. If you do not want to take yours you should be fine in May, only August is where it is probably better to take a phone so you can book ahead.

Good luck

Mike

 

[ritaj]

Thanks again to all who have responded in support of no cell phone. And I love hearing about the albergues and alternatives that are out there. Am taking notes! Life is indeed joyous, Alan, and we'll try to be brave.

ritaj