Del Norte in Spring 2018

[Jeri]

Seeking advice/information on Camino del Norte mid April to JunE 2018. Have you done the camino st this time of year? What is typical weather? Recommended clothing? Albergue/lodging availabity? Were there blankets available at the albergues? Bar/restaurant availability? Words of wisdom/caution? Recommendations of what not to miss? How much time to allow? I walked the camino Frances in Spring 2016 in 43 of 45 days. What should I anticipate for this route? Thanks for sharing your experiences!!!
Jeri

 

[grayland]

Welcome to the forum, Jeri.

That is a lot of good questions in one post and it may be difficult for anyone to try to address them all.
Maybe some members will attempt to answer them one at a time...or direct you to other threads with some of the information you need.

I am sure that there are more folks reading your post and hoping for some replies also.

 

[Jeri]

Welcome to the forum, Jeri.

That is a lot of good questions in one post and it may be difficult for anyone to try to address them all.
Maybe some members will attempt to answer them one at a time...or direct you to other threads with some of the information you need.

I am sure that there are more folks reading your post and hoping for some replies also.

Thanks. I really am looking for a data dump.

 

[grayland]

Thanks. I really am looking for a data dump.

. You may have to work a little harder than that.

A big part of preparing for a Camino is digging and researching the answers to your questions. Every question have several answers and every Pilgrim will happily offer a different opinion.

Have fun in your preparation.

 

[peregrina2000]

Seeking advice/information on Camino del Norte mid April to JunE 2018. Have you done the camino st this time of year? What is typical weather? Recommended clothing? Albergue/lodging availabity? Were there blankets available at the albergues? Bar/restaurant availability? Words of wisdom/caution? Recommendations of what not to miss? How much time to allow? I walked the camino Frances in Spring 2016 in 43 of 45 days. What should I anticipate for this route? Thanks for sharing your experiences!!!
Jeri

Hi, Jeri, Let me add my welcome to the forum. I think you will find that if you go to the Camino del Norte subforum https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/el-camino-del-norte.21/ and do some searching, you will find more than enough to constitute a "data dump." One of the advantages of going to the subforum is that you will see that there are some "pinned" threads, those that are of general interest and tend to address the kinds of general questions you pose. I am NOT saying that we don't want to deal with questions that have already been asked before, but I do think you will get a lot more out of our responses if your questions are a bit more specific. Buen camino and happy planning. Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

Seeking advice/information on Camino del Norte mid April to JunE 2018. Have you done the camino st this time of year? What is typical weather? Recommended clothing? Albergue/lodging availabity? Were there blankets available at the albergues? Bar/restaurant availability? Words of wisdom/caution? Recommendations of what not to miss? How much time to allow? I walked the camino Frances in Spring 2016 in 43 of 45 days. What should I anticipate for this route? Thanks for sharing your experiences!!!
Jeri

So, here are a few reactions to your questions.
1. Typical weather. Sadly there seems to be very little of that. Be prepared for early spring temps to hot. I have walked the Norte in May-June and June-July and had a little bit of everything
2. Recommended clothing -- layers are always a good idea. But everyone's temperature comfort zone is different. I am one of those who always wears a sweater in air conditioning, so I tend to the cold and have always used a sleeping bag and a fleece. Others who are always sweating find a liner and lightweight clothing to be perfectly adequate
3. Albergue and lodging availability -- you are in full Camino season, all will be open.
4. Blankets -- I don't remember and try not to use them because of bed bugs.
5. Bar/restaurants -- again, everything is open.
6. Words of wisdom -- my own particular soap box is that it is oh so worth it to get off the camino and follow the many coastal paths that are nearby. The camino is always near the coast, but frequently it takes you on the side of a highway about a km away. One of the pinned posts in the subforum lists all the coastal alternatives that I found. Each one of these is IMO a million times more beautiful than the camino alternative.
7. Time to allow -- I would look at the number of days on gronze, mundicamino and eroski, and get an average and then add a few for padding.

Hope this helps, Jeri. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Marc S.]

hi Jeri. My "words of wisdom" would be: Take your time - the first days from Irun are stunningly beautiful, but there is a lot of ascending and descending, so it would be a pity to ruin your legs by starting too fast. Other than that - al;ways keep the sea to your right, enjoy the seafood, and try not to compare your second camino with walking the Frances - the Norte is a different (but beautiful) experience. Hope this is helpful. Marc

 

[Jeri]

So, here are a few reactions to your questions.
1. Typical weather. Sadly there seems to be very little of that. Be prepared for early spring temps to hot. I have walked the Norte in May-June and June-July and had a little bit of everything
2. Recommended clothing -- layers are always a good idea. But everyone's temperature comfort zone is different. I am one of those who always wears a sweater in air conditioning, so I tend to the cold and have always used a sleeping bag and a fleece. Others who are always sweating find a liner and lightweight clothing to be perfectly adequate
3. Albergue and lodging availability -- you are in full Camino season, all will be open.
4. Blankets -- I don't remember and try not to use them because of bed bugs.
5. Bar/restaurants -- again, everything is open.
6. Words of wisdom -- my own particular soap box is that it is oh so worth it to get off the camino and follow the many coastal paths that are nearby. The camino is always near the coast, but frequently it takes you on the side of a highway about a km away. One of the pinned posts in the subforum lists all the coastal alternatives that I found. Each one of these is IMO a million times more beautiful than the camino alternative.
7. Time to allow -- I would look at the number of days on gronze, mundicamino and eroski, and get an average and then add a few for padding.

Hope this helps, Jeri. Buen camino, Laurie

Thanks Laurie, this was very helpful. As of right now, I plan on packing the same for this route as I did for 2016 Frances.

hi Jeri. My "words of wisdom" would be: Take your time - the first days from Irun are stunningly beautiful, but there is a lot of ascending and descending, so it would be a pity to ruin your legs by starting too fast. Other than that - al;ways keep the sea to your right, enjoy the seafood, and try not to compare your second camino with walking the Frances - the Norte is a different (but beautiful) experience. Hope this is helpful. Marc

Thanks Marc. Looking to do shorter days in the beginning. Looking on line, lodging is expensive at least for first few days.

 

[backpack45]

Indeed there is so much to say that I am writing a book about it Yes, a sleeping bag. The weather is so changeable that the locals know to take it with a grain of salt. We had predictions of rain during our May/June times there probably the majority of days, but few actual rainy days--plenty of fog, however. I highly recommend some layover/zero days in such places as Bilbao and Santander. Likewise don't miss the tapas in the Basque country and the apple (hard) cider (sidra) in Asturias. The trail is more up and down/difficult than the Frances--especially at the start. Hiking poles are very handy--especially on slippery slopes. There's a lot to see along this route--enjoy!

 

[Jeri]

Thanks Backpack45! When do you anticipate I can buy your book?

 

[Jeri]

. You may have to work a little harder than that.

A big part of preparing for a Camino is digging and researching the answers to your questions. Every question have several answers and every Pilgrim will happily offer a different opinion.

Have fun in your preparation.

I made my flight reservations and have definitely begun to work hard. It is my impression that preparation for this camino, even with Dave Whitson's guide, will be immense. Am I right, this won't be as simple as taking Brierly along and planning it a day at a time? Thanks for all the help. I will be a voracious reader of these posts. All it took was making the reservations and my mind spun, I had very little sleep last night!!

 

[Jeri]

So, here are a few reactions to your questions.
1. Typical weather. Sadly there seems to be very little of that. Be prepared for early spring temps to hot. I have walked the Norte in May-June and June-July and had a little bit of everything
2. Recommended clothing -- layers are always a good idea. But everyone's temperature comfort zone is different. I am one of those who always wears a sweater in air conditioning, so I tend to the cold and have always used a sleeping bag and a fleece. Others who are always sweating find a liner and lightweight clothing to be perfectly adequate
3. Albergue and lodging availability -- you are in full Camino season, all will be open.
4. Blankets -- I don't remember and try not to use them because of bed bugs.
5. Bar/restaurants -- again, everything is open.
6. Words of wisdom -- my own particular soap box is that it is oh so worth it to get off the camino and follow the many coastal paths that are nearby. The camino is always near the coast, but frequently it takes you on the side of a highway about a km away. One of the pinned posts in the subforum lists all the coastal alternatives that I found. Each one of these is IMO a million times more beautiful than the camino alternative.
7. Time to allow -- I would look at the number of days on gronze, mundicamino and eroski, and get an average and then add a few for padding.

Hope this helps, Jeri. Buen camino, Laurie

Laurie -
I spent all day today working on your alternatives. Tell me about Wikilocs. What kind of device would you recommend to take advantage of these GPS coordinates? Thanks.
Jeri

 

[peregrina2000]

Laurie -
I spent all day today working on your alternatives. Tell me about Wikilocs. What kind of device would you recommend to take advantage of these GPS coordinates? Thanks.
Jeri

Hi, Jeri,
I use a Garmin Dakota GPS. I am not a techie, and I know how to do one thing only with it. But that one thing is enough. I transfer the tracks to my computer and then to the Garmin, and I know how to pull them up and follow them.

If you want help with tracks and how to use them, you should start a new thread with a title that will attract the tech savvy forum members. I have gotten a lot of help from them on this forum.

Buen camino, Laurie