Starting from Irun May 2 - Two Questions

[natefaith]

Hi All,

I will be walking 2 weeks from Irun to Santander (or as close as I can get) starting from May 2.
Anyone else walking around that time?

I've been finding some good resources already through other threads
- the eroski camino webzite - http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/
- gronze.com - new to me, but seemingly really helpful.

I am interested in opinions from those who have done the Norte already.

Guidebooks:
- What guidebook did you use?
- Did you like it?
I was assuming I'd use Anton Pombo's in Spanish. But have heard recently about Cicerone in English. I'd like to hear what else is out there that would be recommended or not recommended.

Bilbao:
- What is your opinion of walking through and experiencing Bilbao? Can it be skipped?
Given time constraints and my expected pace, I don't know that I will actually make it to Santander in the 14 days I have. It strikes me that I have two options - either skip some stages in the middle, or simply walk as far as I can. I'm not a huge crowds and city fan, so had thought that either I'd skip the stage that goes through Bilbao. If I choose to walk continuously through Santander, I recognize I will likely walk as far as I can and get a bus into Santander when I need to catch my train.

Thanks all! I'm looking forward to getting out along the coast!

Nate

 

[wayfarer]

I cannot answer any of your questions Nate but have a great Camino.
Buen Camino.

 

[Rajy62]

Guidebooks:
- What guidebook did you use?
- Did you like it?
I was assuming I'd use Anton Pombo's in Spanish. But have heard recently about Cicerone in English. I'd like to hear what else is out there that would be recommended or not recommended.

Bilbao:
- What is your opinion of walking through and experiencing Bilbao? Can it be skipped?
Given time constraints and my expected pace, I don't know that I will actually make it to Santander in the 14 days I have. It strikes me that I have two options - either skip some stages in the middle, or simply walk as far as I can. I'm not a huge crowds and city fan, so had thought that either I'd skip the stage that goes through Bilbao. If I choose to walk continuously through Santander, I recognize I will likely walk as far as I can and get a bus into Santander when I need to catch my train.
Nate

Cicerone is the best english language guide on Norte. The most unique thing for us non-spanish speakers is the accommodation discussion/recommendation. Non of the other so called guides provides this.

I skip boring town/road walks regularly, specially in an out of major towns like Bilbao. I took a bus into bilbao and train out of bilbao to pobena. You can see how I walked/skipped some of the stages here.

 

[natefaith]

Thanks Rajy for the tip on the guidebook and the link to your personal list on the stages. I'm excited for the "ocean to the right, mountains to the left" experience!

 

[Jan_D]

Hi Nate,

I really don't think you'll have a problem getting to Santander in 14 days. If you look on the Eroski site a couple of 'stages' are only 10km, and the walk from Guemes (with its unmissable albergue) is a relatively short one if you catch a ferry into Santander rather than going all the way round on land. As for guidebooks: they give out a little free del Norte booklet at at any tourist office in the Basque country (which contains basic info about sites and towns, distances - and with a very helpful and up-to-date accommodation guide attached) - much to the envy of those who start in another region!

With regard to missing stages, I'd honestly recommend just 'seeing how it goes': you might meet up with some great people along the way, or you might just have entered into the swing of things, where it feels great to walk in the open air even if the vistas aren't spectacular (getting on a bus can feel quite depressing if you're just 'getting into' your camino…) I remember after recommendations from others I'd planned catch a bus into Bilbao, but then I had one of those days where you wake up and feel full of joy and energy for no apparent reason, so I just kept walking and it was one of my most memorable experiences yet, there was a wondrous sense of beauty and life in everything, from nature to the industrial shipyards (although I must admit the next day's walk through Portugalete was an absolute downer, ha ha… there are no guarantees)

 

[Tia Valeria]

Nate, we would suggest the CSJ guide 'Los Caminos del Norte; Ruta de la Costa A; 1 Irun to Villaviciosa'. It has more information re accomodation and also directions and we combined our last Norte section of CSJ guide with the Cicerone guide. We wrote extras from Cicerone into the CSJ booklet rather than take the whole Cicerone guide which is for all the northern caminos and which we are now using again to help plan the Inglés . On-line we favour the Gronze site as it keeps updated and to us seems more accurate, and better laid out, with its profiles than some.
Buen Camino

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Nate,
Great that you will get onto the Norte this year. That first part to Santander is really very beautiful. I walked in 2006 well before Cicerone was in existence and relied on a much older CSJ guide, which has since been greatly updated. I think that unless you want to have a guidebook, you could easily just rely on the Eroski site. The walking details on their consumer revista site, in my experience, are excellent (that was all I used on the Vdlp and what I will use this year for the Catalan and Aragones).

And I agree about sticking with the plan to just start in Irun and get as far as you get. The walk into Bilbao is actually pretty rural, the walk out much less so, but it's a chance (at least for those of us who don't live in Spain like you) to see the whole range of life in Spain.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[cornishtim]

Used the CSJ guide plus local guides as I went. By Santander I followed my nose and asked questions. Bilbao is a fab city of art and should not be missed. I caught a bus from Guernica to Bilbao ( to avoid lots of rural walking) and bus out of Santander for same reason. Wonderful walk. I felt freed up without the guide book but needed it for the first few days like a security blanket. I have started writing about my trip retrospectively - caminotim.wordpress.com

 

[natefaith]

Thanks everyone for your input. It is really helpful. I like the advice and "cheerleading" from those that have done the walk recently.

I like the balance of having a guidebook so I can make some educated choices, but love the freedom to go with the flow. Someone gave me the excellent idea of leaving a guidebook at home with my family so they can kind of follow the path I'm taking on a (roughly) daily basis. I think that means I'll likely get the Cicerone book and just photocopy any pages that I want to have with me for the journey and allow Faith and the kids to follow the physical book while I'm gone.

I have been using the gronze.com site a lot (big thanks to @Tia Valeria for the first reference when I was researching the Ruta do Mar) in planning and have found it quite helpful. I like to have a few different sources to compare for potential stages. I'm not all that committed to following the 'standard' stages if it makes more sense for me to shorten (or lengthen) some days.

 

[lettinggo]

Hi All,

I will be walking 2 weeks from Irun to Santander (or as close as I can get) starting from May 2.
Anyone else walking around that time?

I've been finding some good resources already through other threads
- the eroski camino webzite - http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/
- gronze.com - new to me, but seemingly really helpful.

I am interested in opinions from those who have done the Norte already.

Guidebooks:
- What guidebook did you use?
- Did you like it?
I was assuming I'd use Anton Pombo's in Spanish. But have heard recently about Cicerone in English. I'd like to hear what else is out there that would be recommended or not recommended.

Bilbao:
- What is your opinion of walking through and experiencing Bilbao? Can it be skipped?
Given time constraints and my expected pace, I don't know that I will actually make it to Santander in the 14 days I have. It strikes me that I have two options - either skip some stages in the middle, or simply walk as far as I can. I'm not a huge crowds and city fan, so had thought that either I'd skip the stage that goes through Bilbao. If I choose to walk continuously through Santander, I recognize I will likely walk as far as I can and get a bus into Santander when I need to catch my train.

Thanks all! I'm looking forward to getting out along the coast!

Nate

Hola

When I walked some years ago I used an earlier version of:
http://www.blogseitb.com/viajescult...naya-touring-para-el-camino-de-santiago-2014/
I can see that they have updated it so I don't know how the new one is, but I liked the 'old' one as it was very small and had maps and useful information.
It is in Spanish but even with my limited Spanish it was easy to extract the needed information.

Regarding Bilbao and skipping it, it makes me think that you may not want to once you get there...
The first week on Norte is quiet a challenge, so when I arrived I needed to wash my cloth and regain my breath
I stayed at the Youth Hostel which was reasonable priced and had good facilities, although it is a bit off center of the town.
I cannot see that it could not be possible to skip it, but for now I'd wait and see how the days turns out.

About pace, I'd go and take it one day at the time.
Maybe you meet good company that you want to follow, maybe something unexpected turns up, so adjust accordingly.
There are good public connection along the coast, so when you feel he need to skip along, it is easily done.

I hope this helps.
Buen Camino
Lettinggo

 

[Anemone del Camino]

10km etapa? Where?! And from Guemes to the ferry to Santander is not just a walk in the park. I was glad when I finally found the dock. And it was nice to have a map to see the two options for the days.

If you want to skip a bit, what about Boo to Santillana? But before that do walk from Santander to the albergue in Sta Cruz de Bezana. And in Boo stay with Piedad. Everything before Santander deserves to be walked.

As for a guide, encourage the local economy and purchase the May 2014 Edicion del Camino: http://guias.editorialbuencamino.com/productos/guia-del-camino-del-norte-costa-y-primitivo, your Spanish by now will make you very at ease with this guide. Norte is not CF, you cannot leave it to the stars to decide where you will sleep.

Glad you will be walking this route. Cannot imagine any of you being able to relate to those who walk these oute otherwise at Pilgrim House.

 

[Tia Valeria]

If you use the Gronze site and its list of places/accomodation it is fairly easy to make stages of approx 10kms , then use the other guides for the directions.
We skipped Santander to Barreda to avoid walking through the industrial zone and the dangerous rail crossing or long walk round at Mogro. Walked from Barreda onwards. The whole stretch from Santillana to Ribadasella is lovely and much is across tracks and fields with the sea and mountains in sight much of the way.

 

[Jan_D]

@ anenome del camino - the original poster was simply wondering whether he could do Irun-Santander in 2 weeks. Although this is listed in the 'official stages' as 14 days, I pointed out that some of these 'official stages' are very short (one 11km, another 12km), and as nobody sticks to these stages anyway, I think the distance is easily doable in under two weeks. Not sure how your other suggestions fit in, as they all only apply after Santander. But anyhoo...

 

[Tia Valeria]

I forgot which of the '2-3 week Norte' threads I was on - hence my comments from Santander westwards . Never mind, no doubt it will help some-one.

 

[Jan_D]

lol, for what it's worth I was replying to anemone-del-camino... and your suggestion has already been helpful, I discovered the Gronze site thanks to you! muchas gracias

 

[Anemone del Camino]

@ anenome del camino - the original poster was simply wondering whether he could do Irun-Santander in 2 weeks. Although this is listed in the 'official stages' as 14 days, I pointed out that some of these 'official stages' are very short (one 11km, another 12km), and as nobody sticks to these stages anyway, I think the distance is easily doable in under two weeks. Not sure how your other suggestions fit in, as they all only apply after Santander. But anyhoo...

Jan_D, I looked at the Erosk site and see only see 2 'etapas' that would be around the 10km mark: Lezama to Bilbao and Portugalete to Pobena. Problem is that the Lezama albergue does not open until June 1st. Also, the albergue in Portugalete is closed in May, opening July and August only. In that case the walk would be Bilbao to Pobena is 20km (Bilbao to Portugalete via the 'high road'), plus another 13 to Pobena.

Mind you, one can always stay in pensiones, case rurales, you name it, but in that case anything can count as an etapa. That's the trick with this Camino, complete infrastructure options are only available for a short period in summer time, and then you also have to share with non-pilgrims as many of these are open to anyone.

 

[TerryB]

Mind you, one can always stay in pensiones, case rurales, you name it, but in that case anything can count as an etapa.

Exactly so!

Blessings on everyone's planning!
Tio Tel

 

[Tia Valeria]

Yes. Maybe that is why we like the CSJ guides as they do not give 'etapas' for the Norte but distances and let you work out your own stages. The on-line sites need to create breaks to fit pages, but these need not be stages either. Please don't let us make a set of 'rules' for stages and what makes a 'true' start of this Camino as happens so often on the Francés. Please let it continue to be a chance for people to walk with freedom to start where appropriate for them, to make what length 'stages' per day suits their walking pattern and to stay in the type of accomodation that makes that possible too.
As Terry says - blessings on everyone's planning
Buen Camino

 

[natefaith]

Thanks again for the lively discussion. I agree that flexibility is the name of the game. I did find a few of the ~10km stages to be somewhat confusing, and very much subscribe to the 'make your own stages' theory. That is how I'm approaching this. Thus, I'm not going to force stages to make it to Santander by X date. I'll do some more of this research to be educated on the options, and get as far as I can in the time I have.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Thanks again for the lively discussion. I agree that flexibility is the name of the game. I did find a few of the ~10km stages to be somewhat confusing, and very much subscribe to the 'make your own stages' theory. That is how I'm approaching this. Thus, I'm not going to force stages to make it to Santander by X date. I'll do some more of this research to be educated on the options, and get as far as I can in the time I have.

Tia is right, plot out the albergues that are OPEN in May and then figure out your stages depending on what you think you can walk in a day. On CF, next time I go, there is as you make the trek to the Alto del Perdon. Next time I am staying there and that will get me into different towns and villages that the last times I walked there. But CF offers so many more options.

 

[Inga Finch]

Hi! My wife and I will also be walking from Irun starting on May 2. Maybe we'll see you there! I'm new here on the forum so I wanted to say HI! I have been researching and the guide that I opted for is by Cicerone. I haven't walked yet but it has very detailed information and I have seen it recommended all over the place.

 

[natefaith]

Good to hear from you Inga, and welcome to the forum! I look forward to meeting you both in May!

May 2nd is suddenly feeling very close!

I also ordered the Cicerone, and plan to check a couple of the websites as necessary from my phone.

Nate

 

[jpflavin1]

Hi All,

I will be walking 2 weeks from Irun to Santander (or as close as I can get) starting from May 2.
Anyone else walking around that time?

I've been finding some good resources already through other threads
- the eroski camino webzite - http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/
- gronze.com - new to me, but seemingly really helpful.

I am interested in opinions from those who have done the Norte already.

Guidebooks:
- What guidebook did you use?
- Did you like it?
I was assuming I'd use Anton Pombo's in Spanish. But have heard recently about Cicerone in English. I'd like to hear what else is out there that would be recommended or not recommended.

Bilbao:
- What is your opinion of walking through and experiencing Bilbao? Can it be skipped?
Given time constraints and my expected pace, I don't know that I will actually make it to Santander in the 14 days I have. It strikes me that I have two options - either skip some stages in the middle, or simply walk as far as I can. I'm not a huge crowds and city fan, so had thought that either I'd skip the stage that goes through Bilbao. If I choose to walk continuously through Santander, I recognize I will likely walk as far as I can and get a bus into Santander when I need to catch my train.

Thanks all! I'm looking forward to getting out along the coast!

Nate

Nate:

I find guide books for the most part to be additional weight if you are already bringing a smart phone or Ipad. Both Gronze and Eroski sites are online and more current with accomodation than a guide book. They also do a good job of listing the alternate route options. I used to plan my next day walk the night before on my Ipad. You do not have to follow the recommended etapas. There are many very reasonable hotels and private Albergues along the route.

I actually found Bilbao a very interesting city. While I did not stay there, I did stop and have a nice lunch with Mendiwalker, a forum member. He will meet with you and walk through the city with you. Lezema Albergue, as mentioned, is only open during Summer months. If you want to look at some of my old posts from last year on the Norte, you will find I posted pretty often on my stops and accommodations along the way. Shefollowsshells did the same. It is a great walk if you enjoy ocean views.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[PeterBarry]

Hi,
Great discussion going on here.
Just back from Norte.
Did irun to Santander in 10 days, although I had a time constraint.
Cicerone guide is available in kindle or iBooks format to load onto your phone.
Download the Eroski consumer app and it gives access to all data maps and alburge contact numbers offline(no wifi connection required once you download the app)

Bilbao is worth staying overnight if only to catch your breath and wash cloths.
I bussed into Bilbao from Lezama.
I also took a train from Bibao to Portagalette.

Some stages were made longer as the albuergues were not open.
Pobena closed. Markina g closed day after I passed thru.

Great walk and very beautiful.

Have a great time.

Been Camino

Peter

 

[natefaith]

I bought the Cicerone book, photocopied the 11 stages they have marked out to get to Santander. Not as tech savvy as the app, but it should do.

A friend had a great suggestion that I leave a guidebook at home for the family to be able to track along with my walk. I'll leave the guide for them, and use my phone to supplement the photocopied pages I brought. (It appears Eroski's app is only for iPhone?)

 

[mspath]

...(It appears Eroski's app is only for iPhone?)

Their app may be only for iPhone
but you can use this Eroski info re albergues and monuments in Android.

Buen camino!

MM

 

[GeraldD]

Thanks again for the lively discussion. I agree that flexibility is the name of the game. I did find a few of the ~10km stages to be somewhat confusing, and very much subscribe to the 'make your own stages' theory. That is how I'm approaching this. Thus, I'm not going to force stages to make it to Santander by X date. I'll do some more of this research to be educated on the options, and get as far as I can in the time I have.

Hello Natefaith,
I'm starting the Aragones on the 1st of May.
As the weather can vary enormous in the North of Spain, and I don't like to walk in the heavy rain: my plan is to take a bus on the really rainy days and depending on the fellow peregrino's one will meet.
Bon Camino,

 

[mel0525]

Hi All,

I will be walking 2 weeks from Irun to Santander (or as close as I can get) starting from May 2.
Anyone else walking around that time?

Hello!
I will be starting in Bilbao on May 8th so we might cross each other's road!
I'm reading everyone's comments with attention, thank you all for your time!
Melodie

 

[natefaith]

Hello!
I will be starting in Bilbao on May 8th so we might cross each other's road!
I'm reading everyone's comments with attention, thank you all for your time!
Melodie

Cool Melodie - perhaps our paths will cross. I'm not making very concrete plans for stages, but am pretty sure I'm splitting what most people do on the first stage out of Irun into two stages. So I won't promise I'll catch up, but it is entirely possible.

Either way - Buen camino!
Nate

 

[natefaith]

Their app may be only for iPhone
but you can use this Eroski info re albergues and monuments in Android.

Buen camino!

MM

Thanks for the link MM. I will definitely be accessing both the Eroski and the Gronze sites from the browser on my Android phone.

 

[natefaith]

Hi all. Just got back on Thursday from my camino. It was challenging but absolutely beautiful. As always, I enjoyed getting to know some great fellow pilgrims along the way.

A few notes:
- So glad I split the 1st traditional stage into two. Most lists I looked at had 27k to San Sebastian the first day. I stopped in Pasajes (17k) the first night, and did a mere 10 into San Sebastian on day two. I found this a fantastic way to break into the camino routines. I was still plenty worn out as each of those days had a good climb and descent involved. It had the added bonus of leaving me some good time to enjoy San Sebastian. If you are like me and know you are not in great walking shape, don't be afraid to break up the start of the Camino Norte.
- You don't have to walk 34k in one to to arrive in Bilbao as the Ciccerone guide has it. The hospitalero in Markina-Xemein was really helpful in this regard. Gernika also has limited albergue space until summer, so he laid out a three-stage walk from Markina to Bilbao stopping at smaller villages/albergues. OR, if you are like me and don't have qualms about skipping a bit here and there, you can take the bus from Gernika or Lezama into Bilbao.
- Likewise, I was glad I took the metro from bilbao to Portugalete. Not one person who walked that stretch seemed glad to do it. If it is important to you to walk every step - by all means do it. Given my time limitations I feel I made the right decision to skip some urban walking so that I could enjoy the beautiful coast walking the last couple of days into Santander.
- Make sure you know which albergues are open - @Anemone del Camino, among others, gave that great advice for those walking in any month other than July or August, and it is true. While not as many housing options are available as on the Frances, there are plenty around. Just plan a little bit ahead so you are not caught off guard.
- Guemes - The albergue in Guemes was truly fantastic. Inspiring. I love the hospitality on display there. I hope that spirit they have in welcoming and serving pilgrims can grow and spread along the camino. If you walk the Norte, make it a point to stop there. (funny side note, the Ciccerone guide doesn't even print the name of the albergue - La Cabaña del Abuelo Peuto).
- It was challenging, especially the first week, but the beauty was fantastic. I really loved what the Camino Norte had to offer. (Aside from the fact that there was more pavement walking than I would expect).
- Guides - I travelled with the Cicerrone guide, and Gronze and Eroski on my phone. I ended up using the paper guide the most, Gronze sometimes when looking for housing options, and hardly ever the Eroski site. Cicerone wasn't bad, but I didn't love it either.

Side note: I met a girl who was helping translate the German Camino Frances guide by Raimond Joos into english. It should be avialalbe in english in a few months. Potentially interesting development for english speaking pilgrims who would like German-level detail in their guidebooks.

 

[Anke w]

Hello Nate, the girl from the Camino saw your quote . The e-book version about the Camino Frances from Raimund Joos is available from June/ July 2015 on. After many English speaking pilgrims were asking over and over again if an English Version of the famous yellow german OUTDOOR book about the Camino Frances is available with all the detailed information about preparing for the Camino and on all the overnight stays on the Way including price and opening times etc., Raimund finally fulfilled that wish together with three English speaking pilgrims from the USA and Germany . The updated 2015 German version was translated into English. It is currently only available as an e-book. Just follow this link, to get an idea of the result...


http://camino-de-santiago.de/e-book.htm

 

[natefaith]

Hi @Anke w, So great to hear from you. Sorry for the ridiculously slow response!!! It is an incredibly busy season here. You probably know that Raimond called Pilgrim House one morning and I had a chance to talk with him for a bit. It was a bit of good luck that I was here when he called. I enjoyed chatting with him. It's great to see that this is together. I'm sure there are many on this forum who would be interested to learn it is available.

I'll send you a personal message.

Nate