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Camino del Norte Stage 10. Laredo to Güemes.

Posted on April 19, 2025April 19, 2025 by mewalsh1

We headed out of Laredo and walked the length of the 5 kilometers beach. It was raining lightly off and on and we saw a beautiful rainbow, which I considered a good omen. At the end of the beach we knew we had to find the boat that ferries pilgrims across the estuary. We followed the arrows to the beach but did not see a dock of any kind. Eventually other pilgrims joined us and soon we saw a small boat coming from the other side. I wasn’t sure if we would have to go in the water to get on but they put ramp down to the beach. A few minutes later we were off to Santana, the city across the water. Santana was smaller than Laredo but seems much more prosperous .

Walking along the Paseo Maritimo and beach for over 4 k

Santana is a lovely town and if I do the camino Norte again; I would choose to stay there instead of Laredo. Outside of town we walked and walked and walked around the El Dueso Prison -one of the largest in Spain with a perimeter of 300,000 square meters and 336 cells. Santons has several beaches and we walked by them as well. There are surfing schools everywhere and there were surfers in the water and on the beach – all wearing wetsuits as it was only in the 60s.

After passing several surfing beaches the trail headed up a steep incline. We were heading over a mountain peninsula that separated several beaches. The climb was steep and difficult as it was wet from the rain earlier that morning. But the cliffside trail had unbelievable views the higher we climbed.

Near the top, Stephanie from Austria and the two Germain girls we met on the boat caught up with us. We all stopped to get our hiking poles out of our packs for the slippery steep walk down. We made it down and started hiking across the very long beaches. Apparently northern Spain has some of the longest sandy beaches in Europe.

We finally made it across the beaches teaming with young surfers attending numerous surfing schools and into the city of Noja where we stopped for a well deserved hamburguesa and fries. There were hundreds of people everywhere, spending the Easter holidays with their families.

After lunch we still had 16 k to go so we trudged on. As we were walking across a field we heard someone yelling to us and it was our old friends (by now) Karls and Mike from Germany. We enjoyed talking with them for a few k but they were stopping at San Miguel for the night. They apparently didn’t sleep well the night before and had also walked 40k the day before. Not to stereotype, but every German we have met have been intense hikers. We had reservation at a Pensión in Guemes 8 more k and trudged on. Soon we started talking to a family from Brussels who were doing 10 days on the Camino. We walked with them off an on until arriving in Güemes were they also were spending the night. One of the nice things about the Camino is talking to others while hiking as it makes the miles or kilometers fly by. Of course our current political situation was a topic of discussion.

Güemes is a very small town with a Pensión and an albergue with two cafes. We had a nice dinner at our Pensión and a great conversation with a couple from France who were basketball fans and knew about Newport, Maine because it is home of Cooper Flagg. The husband told us he attended Olympics in Barcelona in 1992 and saw the Dream Team with Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson etc play. John was happy to talk sports with him. Altogether today we walked 33.6 k or 21 miles. Tomorrow will be a shorter day to Santander.

Camino del Norte – Stage 8. Bilbao to Castro Urdiales.

Posted on April 16, 2025April 16, 2025 by mewalsh1

We woke up woke up sore and aching and decided to take a bus for part of the way to our next destination Castro Urdiales. I had read the first several hours went thru the industrial outskirts of Bilbao and were not very scenic. We were looking forward to getting back into the countryside. Castro Urdiales is a city but much smaller than Bilbao. It had a nice old town. The big industries are fishing and anchovy packing as well as tourism. We are no longer in the Basque Country but now in Cantabria.

Castro Urdiales was first settled by the Romans and still has a medieval Roman bridge. The city stands over the Roman colony of Flaviobriga under the emperor Vaspacian. They are doing some at archaeological work in town with building remnants from the Roman city. Near the Roman bridge is the 13th century gothic church The Church of St Mary of the Assumption and a castle lighthouse from the 13th century.

Inside church of Santa Maria de la Asuncion

We checked into our pension and set out to explore. We walked up to the church and out on the breakwater. The town is on the Cantabria Sea and later in the afternoon we had some rain and the some of the waves waves were crashing over the breakwater.

Teen jumping 40 feet into the ocean off the old Roman bridge.

we decided on pasta for supper and after snort walk around town decided to call it a night. Tomorrow we head to Laredo.

Camino del Norte – Stage 7. Musika to Bilbao.

Posted on April 15, 2025April 16, 2025 by mewalsh1

Heading out from the albergue at 8:00 am

We woke at 6:30 with the sound of bugle Calvery cry from one of our roommate’s phones. He is from Spain but loves the American west. After a breakfast of yogurt , granola and toast we left the Albergue Casiero Pozuenta around 8:00. It had stopped raining but we were still walking in a misty cloud for a while. The scenery was beautiful once the clouds and fog cleared. Once again we walked up and up and up. Every time we thought we were at the top we turned a corner and walked up again.

we finally reached the top and started downhill. Unfortunately we had a lot of mud to contend with going down from yesterday’s rain. We were very glad we had our poles as it was quite slippery.

We finally made it down to a town called Larrabetzu. We passed a lot of graffiti and signs calling for basque independence and the liberation of basque resistance members currently imprisoned. Apparently, this town, not too far from Bilbao, the Basque capital, is one of the most outspoken villages in the Basque fight for independence. The hills around here are full of trenches and bunkers that were designed to defend against the capture of Bilbao by the fascists in 1936. They were unsuccessful.

Church of San Emeterio and San Caledonia, Goikexea, Spain

We were exhausted from our muddy climb down the mountain and decided to take a bus the last 9 kilometers into Balbao. This would also give us more time to explore the city.

After the quiet rural walks of the last couple days, Bilbao was a bit of a shock to our system. We walked out of the metro station to a chaotic and noisy but vibrant city. I was trying to find our location on the map on my phone but the streets were so narrow and buildings so high it was difficult. Out of the chaos an older man came over to us, and in broken English asked if he could be of assistance. He gave us a quick low down on places to see. He also warned about the many pick pocketers. He suggested a paper map as well. 😀. We thanked him and finally found our Pensión for the night which was in a great location just off the busy Plaza Nueva.

After a quick rest and a bite to eat, we headed out to explore. We headed a cross the river and walked to the impressive Guggenheim Museum. It was closed but we enjoyed walking around the outside of the strangely shaped building. We then went to one of the oldest cafes in Bilbao as recommended by out elderly friend. The interior was done in tiles. We then visited the cathedral where we were able get our compestella stamped. We then had a delicious dinner of pintos at the plaza Nutella and called it a night. We were exhausted

preparing float for Semanta Santa procession thru town

Potato with 2 sauces (none ketchup to John’s dismay)

Camino del Norte Stage 4 Zarautz to Deba

Posted on April 13, 2025April 19, 2025 by mewalsh1

We headed out today and started walking up and down hills. It was a beautiful walk- everything was so green and lush and always in the distance we can see the sea.

Nothing better than mineral water with a slice of lemon from the tree in the yard 😊

I had delicious vegetable stew with beans, artichokes, egg and of course ham. John had a pork dish with potsto

We had reservations at an agriturismo and were greeted by the sound of roosters. As often is the case in rural areas in the Basque countryside, the owner of the Pensión did not speak any English. But with Google translate and hand gestures we did fine. We had a delicious dinner with some women Fri women from Germany and a couple from London. I also had a nice conversation about grandchildren with a woman from France as we shared pictures of each others grandchildren. Our lodging was just outside Deba and it was very quiet and peaceful. We had the best night sleep of our trip so far. Tomorrow we head away from the coast for a couple of days until we reach Bilbao.

Camino del Norte – Stage 3 San Sebastián to Zarautz

Posted on April 13, 2025April 16, 2025 by mewalsh1

We ate breakfast on the beach in San Sebastián and then started our long climb out of the city. I never realized the coast of Spain was so mountainous.

Heading out of San Sebastián with extra croissants on my back and a baguette and cheese for lunch

we hiked all day and at a well derserved rest; we met up with a young Germain hiker who was just trying out s couple stages of the Camino while here on a business trip. We also met up with a French couple well into their 70s who were an inspiration They had full backpacks and were much faster than us. I am hoping we will still be hiking in another 10 years like them.

Iglesia de San Nikolas de Ban. Almost all the churches we have been in so far have ships hanging from ceiling as a symbol of blessing for fishermen

we finally came to the town of Orio where we decided to hop on a train for the last 7 kilometers We were exhausted and hot. Zarautz is a surfing town and there were a couple surfers in the water. We checked into our pensionwaled around town and got pizza for supper. We were ready to sleep.

Camino del Norte – Stage 2. Pasajes de San Juan to San Sebastian

Posted on April 12, 2025April 12, 2025 by mewalsh1

We woke up to the sound of a ships horn looked out the window to see a large barge from Portugal passing by. Breakfast was included in our stay and was delicious. We met a wonderful couple from Switzerland at breakfast and after talking with them for a while about our families, our travels and politics and tariffs that were still on at that point, we realized that when I was in Switzerland two years ago I actually walked by their house. We even found a picture of their house in my photos. While they disliked current American politics, they were quick to assure me that despite their displeasure with the US they didn’t hold the current situation against us. In fact they even invited us to visit them 😊

While this was supposed to be a shorter day, it still was intense with a lot of up’s and downs before our final descent into San Sebastián. We had some views of the city early on but then view was impaired by mountains we were walking over. It was so peaceful and quiet it was hard to believe a big city was just on the other side of the mountain

in order to start our walk today we needed to take a short pedestrian ferry across the harbor to San Pedro. From there we have another big elevation gain and another day of hiking up and down.

Looking at our pension from the other side

On our way down we ran into a couple (Jodi and Matt) from Massachusetts – Matt was grew up in Pittsfield, my home townon Adelaide Ave, and went to Pittsfield High School. He graduated 10 years after me but it was fun reminiscing about growing up there. They were out for a day hike and mini vacation on their way to visit their daughter who was studying in Barcelona. We finally made is down to sea level and it was a bit of a jolt to have the mountain trail we had been on turn into a sidewalk inn a busy city. We stopped for a bite to eat and a coffee and set off to find our pension.

After a shower and washing our clothes, we set out to explore San Sebastián. It is a really cool city with beautiful beaches and it so clean. The food was delicious as well. I definitely will return if I get the chance.

Stage 1 Camino del Norte – Irun to Pasajes de San Juan

Posted on April 11, 2025April 11, 2025 by mewalsh1

After breakfast, we headed up to Santuario de Guadeloupe where we met up with the Camino from Irun. It was a steep climb up to the church which was built in the 16th century and is home of the black virgin found on the hillside by two children.

From the Santuario we had two choices – the “official” Camino route or the Purgatorio Route which is much steeper and goes along the ridge line to a height of 645 meters at the peak of Mount Jaizkibel. I had read the views this way were spectacular so this was the route we chose – and very very glad we did. While it wasn’t much steeper than our hikes in the white mountains’ there were a lot of ups and downs and it was more difficult with our packs. The views were stunning every way we looked.

We met some nice young people from Germany at top

Finally arrived in Pasajes de San Juan – tired but feeling good

We were very happy to finally walk into Pasajes de San Juan after a few wrong terns. This part of the Camino has several variations and sometimes they aren’t as well marked with the traditional yellow arrows. John and I got into the spirit of the Camino with the earrings we chose to wear for our trip 😊

We did our nightly laundry, took showers, and then headed out to find the one bar (by bar I mean restaurant) 😊 that was open before 7:30 pm and had an early dinner. Tomorrow we head to San Sebastián!

Heading out for pintxos in Pasajes de San Juan

Hondarribia, Spain

Posted on April 10, 2025April 11, 2025 by mewalsh1

Today we arrived in Irun and the official start of the Camino del Norte. We were only in Irun a couple minutes when we were wished Buen Camino from a fur riding a bike pulling a trailer on his way back to Britteny, France and o other guy walking by from Irun. It made us feel good. We walked thru town to the town of Hondarribia where we booked a pension for the night. Hondarribia is a beautiful town where the old town is a walled city and the newer part is along the ocean. The main industry is fishing. We were happy our pension was in the center of the walled old city.

We heard that Day 1 of the Camino Norte is difficult so we decided to have one of our packs transported. We booked it online with Correos, the Spanish post office. They emailed us a luggage tag which we had to print and attach to outr pack. We went down and found the person who checked us in and tried to explain what we wanted. She didn’t understand. I used google translate from English to Spanish but still no luck. We later found out most of the people there speak French or basque even though we were in Spain and that was the case with the woman at the pension. We headed to the visitor center and they directed us to a print shop and luckily we were able to print for 10 cents. We looked around town and checked out the church at the docks. It was very cool all in a fishing theme with fishing vessels hanging from ceiling.

We heard that Day 1 of the Camino Norte is difficult so we decided to have one of our packs transported. We booked it online with Correos, the Spanish post office. They emailed us a luggage tag which we had to print and attach to outr pack. We went down and found the person who checked us in and tried to explain what we wanted. She didn’t understand. I used google translate from English to Spanish but still no luck. We later found out most of the people there speak French or basque even though we were in Spain and that was the case with the woman at the pension. We headed to the visitor center and they directed us to a print shop and luckily we were able to print for 10 cents. We looked around town and checked out the church at the docks. It was very cool all in a fishing theme with fishing vessels hanging from ceiling.

Inglesia De Santa Maria – in fishing quarter

After dinner of tapas we headed back to Pensión and decided to sit outside and have a beer. I noticed a guy with a backpack and asked if he was doing the Camino. He was not but we started talking and we invited him to join us. We found out his name was Allen and that he was a retired bus driver from Montreal who spends the winters in Laos driving around on a motor cycle. He just came back from Laos and was stopping in France and Spain for several weeks to visit friends. He told us how Laos is a great place to winter away from cold Montreal winters and very cheap. His motto is no wife …no kids…no house…no problems. He also traveled around US in a camper during Covid and found most Americans are actually nice. This was good to hear as he was not happy with current state of politics between our countries. He said he always had the idea that most Americans were rough and not very nice. His camping trip changed his v

Paris (Day 2)

Posted on April 9, 2025April 10, 2025 by mewalsh1

I woke up Saturday morning and headed to Jardin du Luxembourg for a quick morning walk. The gardens were only a block from our hotel. They were created in 1612 by Marie de Medici, the widow of King Henry IV who also had the Luxembourg Palace built as her residence. The palace is now the home of the French Senate. The gardens have over 100 statues and fountains. It was fun to walk thru I left the gardens and headed up to see the Pantheon a monument built between 1758 and 1790. From there i headed down to buy some croissants from La Maison d’Isabelle. I had read they were the best croissants in all of Paris the they did not disappoint. They were delicious, really flaky and buttery. I headed back to the room and we ate the pastry and then headed out for coffee.

We had the whole day in Paris before us and we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower to help us get in shape for our walk that was starting tomorrow. We walked along the Seine, and bought a sandwich for lunch along the river, strolled past the Louve, the palace and the National Gallery. Unfortunately I tripped on one of the cobblestones and twisted my ankle but was still able to walk.

We decided to take the train back but after only one stop there was an issue with the train so we got off and walked back. We walked a total of 33,000 steps and were exhausted. But, we had tickets that evening for The Paradis Latin, a burlesque style show, so we took a nap before heading out to dinner and the show. We didn’t know how we would stay awake for a show that started at 9:30 pm (way past our bedtime) but it was a great show and very entertaining as well as a bit risqué. If you are looking for something unique in Paris I would recommend it.

Dressed up for a night in Paris “Camino style”

WALKING CAMINO DEL NORTE: On our way to walk the Camino del Norte

Posted on April 3, 2025July 29, 2025 by mewalsh1

April 3, 2025

John and I will be walking the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primativo after a brief weekend in Paris. We would love to have you to follow our adventures as we blog our way across the northern coast of Spain. We will take the train from Paris to Bayonne on in southern France and walk for 40 days. We plan to walk a total of 830 kilometers. We will average about 23 kilometers a day with several rest days built into our schedule. We will be staying in a combination of albergues (hostels), pensions (bed and breakfasts) and inexpensive hotels. We are looking forward to seeing beautiful scenery, checking out the historic and cultural sites on route, eating delicious food and most of all meeting and talking to fellow pilgrims from all over the world! We invite you to check back for updates as we trek across northern Spain.