@Walking Nature World on the Camino del Norte

[Walking Nature World]

Hello, everyone! We are a young couple who dedicates themselve to creating photo and video content, as well as our own music. Our content is related to travelling and adventures. We are passionate walkers who love hiking, trekking and camping. Our goal is to promote the healthy lifestyle, to motivate people to walk more and care for nature around.

Our first official day started at 9 am when we were woken up by the people and cars moving around in the camping that we found the night before. We slept only for 5 hours, still tired from the yesterday nightmare, but we had nothing to do but start walking and walk at least several kms. Because even though we didn't have a plan to rush we still wanted to be moving everyday and getting closer to our goal. So we got up and tried to pack everything up very quick and went to find a place to cook breakfast and eat it. Finally it was time to eat smth for us! Cause yesterday we didn't have time nor powers to make it happen. So we started walking and saw the ocean for the first time cause yesterday night we just heard it and it was even scary for us being dark and noisy. It was a beautiful moment and it's obviously very hard to evaluate it's extents and measures but we could feel that it was different, different from any sea that we've ever seen before. You could tell it just from the look and the sound of it, it's huge massive waves and tasty smell. What appeared to be scary yesterday today was very attractive. Later in the day we realized that on the map it says Cantabrian Sea to this part of ocean but to us it will always stay Atlantic ocean and our first meet with it. We saw lots of people on the beach swimming so we assumed it was very warm and we thought we may do it as well one day. Also we realized that the names of the villages and some institutions were double and in the unknown Basque language, so we learnt that the French territory also makes part of the Basque country. It is our first time in here so we were excited to learn more about it. So we started the hike from the village of Bidart on the coast walked through the village Guethary and found our camping site Merko further down the coast. So it sums up to just 6 km we made that day but for us it was just enough considering our physical state. The camping was really nice 3 star camping with everything that you need with a good facilities and the little supermarket nearby. The whole area was a compilation of 5 campings, several beaches, couple of bars and restaurants and some shops. The rest of the day we spent just resting, taking a nap and eating tasty fruit that we bought at the local shop(the peaches were excellent!). We met a breathtaking and sensational sunset at the ocean coast and this first sunset we will never forget. We felt so grateful that we got to experience this beauty and for the great warm cloudless weather that we had (we knew that it's not going to be forever).

Watch the full video here:

Hope you enjoyed our video! Leave us a comment if you have any further questions left or just want to share your experience. We would love to read your feedback - it is very important to us!
hike, Camino de Santiago, camino del norte, Northern Way, Spain

 

[Iriebabel]

Thank you for sharing your journey . How many kg is your tent?
Do you feel it was better or easier to camp? Did you do wild camping or rely on camping sites?

 

[Walking Nature World]

Thank you for sharing your journey . How many kg is your tent?
Do you feel it was better or easier to camp? Did you do wild camping or rely on camping sites?

Thank you for taking interest in our trip. Our tent is 1.9 kg, not very lightweight and we are thinking about replacing it in the future. But we like it in general, it has the room for backpacks and shoes but unfortunately it´s not a free standing one. Honestly we don´t have any experience staying in albergues so can´t compare much but we knew from the start that we are going to camp because we always do when we are hiking. And for us even if it was more difficult it was so much more worth it. We did a bit of research on the camping sites befire the trip and there were quite a lot of them. But we had days when we either couldn´t get to campground or there wasn´t any, it was closed etc. Then we did wild camping that was a bit challenging in some urban and populated areas and we had to walk some extra kms to get away from civilization. But again for us it is part of the hiking joy and fun, finding the camping spots and being in nature as much as possible. Speaking about camping sites most of them are open only during the summer months from May to September and if you´re going off season it won´t be an option.

 

[Iriebabel]

Thank you for taking interest in our trip. Our tent is 1.9 kg, not very lightweight and we are thinking about replacing it in the future. But we like it in general, it has the room for backpacks and shoes but unfortunately it´s not a free standing one. Honestly we don´t have any experience staying in albergues so can´t compare much but we knew from the start that we are going to camp because we always do when we are hiking. And for us even if it was more difficult it was so much more worth it. We did a bit of research on the camping sites befire the trip and there were quite a lot of them. But we had days when we either couldn´t get to campground or there wasn´t any, it was closed etc. Then we did wild camping that was a bit challenging in some urban and populated areas and we had to walk some extra kms to get away from civilization. But again for us it is part of the hiking joy and fun, finding the camping spots and being in nature as much as possible. Speaking about camping sites most of them are open only during the summer months from May to September and if you´re going off season it won´t be an option.

Thank your for your reply. I have a tent for 1 person it is 1.6 kg but unsure wheather to take it since I am a solo traveler. Albergues are good but you must compromise with some aspect of life among many people in big open space or sometimes smaller compacted spaces but one good thing is hot showers and most have kitchens so i dont need to carry cooking gear. I don’t mind the albergues I did the Frances last year April/may and it was tolerable because off season has less people. I am considering just taking my emergency bivy just in case and using the albergues...I have severe knee problems so I dont walk as fast as many and I must plan for sontingency. Muchas Gracias. I enjoy your videos. I will stil consider the tent as it gives great flexibility during the off season. I will be taking the coastal alternatives to stay off the roads as much as possible.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Thank you for taking interest in our trip. Our tent is 1.9 kg, not very lightweight and we are thinking about replacing it in the future. But we like it in general, it has the room for backpacks and shoes but unfortunately it´s not a free standing one. Honestly we don´t have any experience staying in albergues so can´t compare much but we knew from the start that we are going to camp because we always do when we are hiking. And for us even if it was more difficult it was so much more worth it. We did a bit of research on the camping sites befire the trip and there were quite a lot of them. But we had days when we either couldn´t get to campground or there wasn´t any, it was closed etc. Then we did wild camping that was a bit challenging in some urban and populated areas and we had to walk some extra kms to get away from civilization. But again for us it is part of the hiking joy and fun, finding the camping spots and being in nature as much as possible. Speaking about camping sites most of them are open only during the summer months from May to September and if you´re going off season it won´t be an option.

If you haven't thought of doing so, you might check with the albergues at your daily stopping point and ask if they allow tents on their property. Many albergues along the Camino Frances allow this. You would pay the fee or donativo amount, but also have access to the facilities for washing and showers, etc.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Thank your for your reply. I have a tent for 1 person it is 1.6 kg but unsure wheather to take it since I am a solo traveler. Albergues are good but you must compromise with some aspect of life among many people in big open space or sometimes smaller compacted spaces but one good thing is hot showers and most have kitchens so i dont need to carry cooking gear. I don’t mind the albergues I did the Frances last year April/may and it was tolerable because off season has less people. I am considering just taking my emergency bivy just in case and using the albergues...I have severe knee problems so I dont walk as fast as many and I must plan for sontingency. Muchas Gracias. I enjoy your videos. I will stil consider the tent as it gives great flexibility during the off season. I will be taking the coastal alternatives to stay off the roads as much as possible.

For my backpacking trips, including my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike, I use a Zpacks Duplex tent. It is a bit spendy, but the space in the tent is terrific. It only weighs 596 grams. Part of the weight savings comes by using your trekking poles for tent poles.

For those who live in the EU, the tent can be purchased there as well.

 

[Iriebabel]

For my backpacking trips, including my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike, I use a Zpacks Duplex tent. It is a bit spendy, but the space in the tent is terrific. It only weighs 596 grams. Part of the weight savings comes by using your trekking poles for tent poles.

For those who live in the EU, the tent can be purchased there as well.

Thanks I will take a look ...its the military in me I must look at the contingencies

Update: Nice... but yes a bit pricey. Definately a really great option. Thank you

 

[Walking Nature World]

Thank your for your reply. I have a tent for 1 person it is 1.6 kg but unsure wheather to take it since I am a solo traveler. Albergues are good but you must compromise with some aspect of life among many people in big open space or sometimes smaller compacted spaces but one good thing is hot showers and most have kitchens so i dont need to carry cooking gear. I don’t mind the albergues I did the Frances last year April/may and it was tolerable because off season has less people. I am considering just taking my emergency bivy just in case and using the albergues...I have severe knee problems so I dont walk as fast as many and I must plan for sontingency. Muchas Gracias. I enjoy your videos. I will stil consider the tent as it gives great flexibility during the off season. I will be taking the coastal alternatives to stay off the roads as much as possible.

Yes, obviuosly there's some advantages and disadvantages that every person has to evaluate for himself. And the off season is great, we did enjoy going in September-October with few people everywhere. That's exactly what we like the most about our tent is flexibility, no matter what you're going to be ok in your own little shelter. And as the Norte especially at the start is a bit challenging it may be very handy. Happy for you that you are willing to take harder coastal alternatives, now we definetely know that our way would be much more boring and less emotional without them. Hope you will take some ideas from our videos for your Camino

 

[Walking Nature World]

If you haven't thought of doing so, you might check with the albergues at your daily stopping point and ask if they allow tents on their property. Many albergues along the Camino Frances allow this. You would pay the fee or donativo amount, but also have access to the facilities for washing and showers, etc.

Thank you for pointing it out, we may use this information for our next Camino. We were quite sure that it's not really an option to stay in our own tent. But we think it also depends on the albergues, if it's in the town they don't usually have space for it.

 

[Iriebabel]

For my backpacking trips, including my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike, I use a Zpacks Duplex tent. It is a bit spendy, but the space in the tent is terrific. It only weighs 596 grams. Part of the weight savings comes by using your trekking poles for tent poles.

For those who live in the EU, the tent can be purchased there as well.

Ok arm twisted hahah Zpack duplex on the way. Thanks for the tip

 

[Iriebabel]

Thank you for pointing it out, we may use this information for our next Camino. We were quite sure that it's not really an option to stay in our own tent. But we think it also depends on the albergues, if it's in the town they don't usually have space for it.

Most of the albergues I stayed at on the Frances had a courtyard with grass of some type to hang laundry but even if they did not they also made a recommendation to you for a neighbor or a friend to where you can set up your tent so it never hurts to ask. At at the very least your can call ahead to the municipal albergue and ask.

 

[RJM]

For my backpacking trips, including my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike, I use a Zpacks Duplex tent. It is a bit spendy, but the space in the tent is terrific. It only weighs 596 grams. Part of the weight savings comes by using your trekking poles for tent poles.

For those who live in the EU, the tent can be purchased there as well.

600 dollars?!
Wow, that is an expensive piece of canvas kit there.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

600 dollars?!
Wow, that is an expensive piece of canvas kit there.

Yeah, the exotic materials like Cuben Fiber (Dyneema) are pricey.

I look at it this way, though: Break down the cost per mile of hiking. Use it for 3,000 miles, the cost is only 0.20 cents per mile. Use it for 500 miles and it will cost $1.20 per mile.

For the quality, space, and ultralight weight, if one is going to be carrying a tent for many years and many miles, this one is hard to beat.

 

[Rosemary314]

Hello, everyone! We are a young couple who dedicates themselve to creating photo and video content, as well as our own music. Our content is related to travelling and adventures. We are passionate walkers who love hiking, trekking and camping. Our goal is to promote the healthy lifestyle, to motivate people to walk more and care for nature around.

Our first official day started at 9 am when we were woken up by the people and cars moving around in the camping that we found the night before. We slept only for 5 hours, still tired from the yesterday nightmare, but we had nothing to do but start walking and walk at least several kms. Because even though we didn't have a plan to rush we still wanted to be moving everyday and getting closer to our goal. So we got up and tried to pack everything up very quick and went to find a place to cook breakfast and eat it. Finally it was time to eat smth for us! Cause yesterday we didn't have time nor powers to make it happen. So we started walking and saw the ocean for the first time cause yesterday night we just heard it and it was even scary for us being dark and noisy. It was a beautiful moment and it's obviously very hard to evaluate it's extents and measures but we could feel that it was different, different from any sea that we've ever seen before. You could tell it just from the look and the sound of it, it's huge massive waves and tasty smell. What appeared to be scary yesterday today was very attractive. Later in the day we realized that on the map it says Cantabrian Sea to this part of ocean but to us it will always stay Atlantic ocean and our first meet with it. We saw lots of people on the beach swimming so we assumed it was very warm and we thought we may do it as well one day. Also we realized that the names of the villages and some institutions were double and in the unknown Basque language, so we learnt that the French territory also makes part of the Basque country. It is our first time in here so we were excited to learn more about it. So we started the hike from the village of Bidart on the coast walked through the village Guethary and found our camping site Merko further down the coast. So it sums up to just 6 km we made that day but for us it was just enough considering our physical state. The camping was really nice 3 star camping with everything that you need with a good facilities and the little supermarket nearby. The whole area was a compilation of 5 campings, several beaches, couple of bars and restaurants and some shops. The rest of the day we spent just resting, taking a nap and eating tasty fruit that we bought at the local shop(the peaches were excellent!). We met a breathtaking and sensational sunset at the ocean coast and this first sunset we will never forget. We felt so grateful that we got to experience this beauty and for the great warm cloudless weather that we had (we knew that it's not going to be forever).

Watch the full video here:

Hope you enjoyed our video! Leave us a comment if you have any further questions left or just want to share your experience. We would love to read your feedback - it is very important to us!
hike, Camino de Santiago, camino del norte, Northern Way, Spain

 

[Rosemary314]

It looks so warm in the photo. Is it a current photo of you on this camino? What are the temperatures ? I was looking at walking the Norte, but didnt think to go before the end of April.

 

[Walking Nature World]

It looks so warm in the photo. Is it a current photo of you on this camino? What are the temperatures ? I was looking at walking the Norte, but didnt think to go before the end of April.

No, actually it was captured in September, and we were very lucky with the weather all the way through. Now it should be much more wet and cold. We think it's great time to start the Camino in May, should be warm but not too hot.

 

[lindam]

Looks very interesting as an option for the times when one wishes for a tent while on the Camino. Where is it possible to buy this tent in Europe?
Thanks!

 

[Walking Nature World]

Looks very interesting as an option for the times when one wishes for a tent while on the Camino. Where is it possible to buy this tent in Europe?
Thanks!

Yes, we had a great experience camping on the Camino. We got our 2 person tent from sports goods store Decathlon, it is considered to be ultralight. You can look it up here https://www.decathlon.es/es/p/tiend...sonas-gris-claro/_/R-p-3721?mc=8245650&c=GRIS
The only thing we don't like about it is that it is not a free standing tent, for the rest we're pretty happy about it and with practice you can set it up quite fast.

 

[Iriebabel]

Looks very interesting as an option for the times when one wishes for a tent while on the Camino. Where is it possible to buy this tent in Europe?
Thanks!

If you are inquiring about the zpack tent in the video above here is the link to their website they are based in the Florida USA and do ship internationally http://www.zpacks.com/shelters.shtml

 

[saara kinnunen]

It was an enjoyable video. Thank you. I should love to see the next day!

 

[Walking Nature World]

It was an enjoyable video. Thank you. I should love to see the next day!

Thank you for your positive feedback! We are realeasing new videos every week, once or twice a week. So hope you will continue following our journey and feel free to ask any questions, we'll be happy to answer them

 

[Walking Nature World]

First meeting with the ocean and getting the pilgrim credentials in Irún| Day 3 of Camino del Norte

That day started on another beautiful sunny and warm morning on the coast. When we started walking the first thing we saw was the spectacular beach with the rocks in the water that in the morning light looked even greater. The waves were crushing into the shore creating lots of foam and it was truly mesmerising. We were learning more and more about ocean and getting to know it better and better. We haven't seen such kind of waves before and now we were definetely realizing that it was smth bigger and stronger than a sea. There were lots of surfers enjoying this kind of weather.
We walked into the French border city of Hendaye and did a huge round because of the big bay of water that mostly is formed by the river and some port facilities. There is even the bird life that is frequently seen in the ponds and rivers like the herons and ducks. We walked along the city in the peaceful route by the water and got to the bridge where the actual border is.
So we crossed the border and got into the city of Irun from the Spanish side and that's where we started seeing the indicators of the official Camino del Norte that we are taking. We were having a plan of getting into city and doing lots of things like going in the bank, buying groceries, printing some documents etc. But the most important thing that happened was receiving the pilgrim credentials. The couple that was from South Korea helped us to get them because it was a siesta time and the church was closed so they had to knock on doors of the building nearby for the Padre to came out. He was very kind and gave us several papers to fill out with identification information and wished us a good luck in completing the Camino. From now on we have the official proof of going through all the stages of the Way.
When we were done in the city we finally started to get out of it and it wasn't very fast until the route started to go between the field lands. The weather was super hot and it was kind of annoying to walk uphill on the road with cars (even though it wasn't very busy) but in addition to all of that my right knee started to hurt, throwback to childhood trauma, the timing couldn't be worse. Cause we still had to walk 9 km as planned.
Finally we got out of pavement and walked into the forest. Here we decided to get away from official Camino del Norte trail and hike along the oceanside. Because we wanted to get some epic ocean views and enjoy the scenery that we are here for and the weather was very favourable with no wind. And we were a bit tired from pavement routes with cars and wanted to get away from it. In order to do so we had to go quite a steep downhill to get to the shore and then the route started twisting along the water.
Soon we realized that this Way is much longer and harder than the official one and this way we won't get to our destination as planned. But we didn't regret it at all because of the stunning scenery, the nature at all its best and we even met the horses pasturing and that made it even more special. So it was 100 percent worth it. And we got our first real uphills and downhills and really put into test our backpacks set up and overall the physical form.

At the end of the day we knew we are going to be stealth camping and had to search for the spot. It was very challenging because the ground was very uneven and covered with needle bushes and hard strong grass. Finally we found the spot in the trees probably flattened out by horses pasturing(thank you horses) without any vegetation and covered in dry pine needles. It was close to some dirt road which we were afraid of the people and even cars passing by but we were good camouflaged surrounded by forest and our tent is grey so you'll never see it from the side in the dark. So we decided to cook and have dinner first and then start to set up a tent in the dusk. And we did so accompanied by another beautiful sunset and the red sun dissapearing in the water painting everything around in beautiful colors.

Watch the full video here:

Hope you enjoyed our video! Leave us a comment if you have any further questions left or just want to share your experience. We would love to read your feedback - it is very important to us!

 

[Walking Nature World]

Breathtaking oceancoast hiking | Day 4 of Camino del Norte from Irún to San Sebastián

The day started with a stunning location we were camping in. The sky was covered in clouds but it was painted in a beautiful colors of sunrise. Yesterday we fall asleep by the sound of the ocean and monotone songs of zucades. That was very calming.

We slept very well, it was a very quiet night, you can even say hot because there was no wind. The day promised to be cloudy and cooler than the rest of the days which we were glad to see cause walking in the sun gets quite tiring.

So we had our breakfast and left to search for the official Camino route that was going higher away from the oceanside. And this 5 km path that we took to it probably was the most scenic so far. It was definetely challenging but we got to see the huge rocks with the pores, abrupt cliffs, mountain shelter with the swings and even condor bird which we didn't even know was living there. So we enjoyed this part throughly and decided that we would take these opportunities to get away from the official route when we can.

We got out on the car road and instead if going on it we took the GR route that was going parallel. So we didn't really lose anything.

We were getting close to the Pasaia city and knew that we had to take the boat to cross the channel port. So we did and it turned out to be no more than 40 sec. trip. We didn't even have time to realize what it was. The village itself looked a really old port city with a particular architecture very different from what you would see on Mediterranean Sea.

Then we took the opposite direction from the Camino indicators and got straight into the city San Sebastian because we already lost quite a bit of time in the mountains and we still had lots of things to do. It was quite a long walk and we regret we didn't took the bus to our needed destination.

In the city all the churches were closed for some reason so we didn't put a stamp in our pilgrim credential hoping that in the other smaller villages on the way we'll compensate that. Although we didn't check the tourist office probably they do that as well. Also we bought some food as usual to have a snack and for the dinner-breakfast preparation.

The last stretch of the day was 8.5 kms and they were probably the hardest ones cause we were already tired from the city, it's noisiness and crowdness and extremely hot weather but we had to gather all the powers left and do it to our camping spot.

The city San Sebastian turned out to be a very big city and even reminded us a bit the other Spanish city Barcelona where we had lived for 3 years before. But of course it has its own speciality and feel.

It was almost impossible but we managed to get to our camping site and all we wanted was to take a shower and sleep as much as we could. And so we did.

Watch the full video here:

 

[Iriebabel]

Breathtaking oceancoast hiking | Day 4 of Camino del Norte from Irún to San Sebastián

The day started with a stunning location we were camping in. The sky was covered in clouds but it was painted in a beautiful colors of sunrise. Yesterday we fall asleep by the sound of the ocean and monotone songs of zucades. That was very calming.

We slept very well, it was a very quiet night, you can even say hot because there was no wind. The day promised to be cloudy and cooler than the rest of the days which we were glad to see cause walking in the sun gets quite tiring.

So we had our breakfast and left to search for the official Camino route that was going higher away from the oceanside. And this 5 km path that we took to it probably was the most scenic so far. It was definetely challenging but we got to see the huge rocks with the pores, abrupt cliffs, mountain shelter with the swings and even condor bird which we didn't even know was living there. So we enjoyed this part throughly and decided that we would take these opportunities to get away from the official route when we can.

We got out on the car road and instead if going on it we took the GR route that was going parallel. So we didn't really lose anything.

We were getting close to the Pasaia city and knew that we had to take the boat to cross the channel port. So we did and it turned out to be no more than 40 sec. trip. We didn't even have time to realize what it was. The village itself looked a really old port city with a particular architecture very different from what you would see on Mediterranean Sea.

Then we took the opposite direction from the Camino indicators and got straight into the city San Sebastian because we already lost quite a bit of time in the mountains and we still had lots of things to do. It was quite a long walk and we regret we didn't took the bus to our needed destination.

In the city all the churches were closed for some reason so we didn't put a stamp in our pilgrim credential hoping that in the other smaller villages on the way we'll compensate that. Although we didn't check the tourist office probably they do that as well. Also we bought some food as usual to have a snack and for the dinner-breakfast preparation.

The last stretch of the day was 8.5 kms and they were probably the hardest ones cause we were already tired from the city, it's noisiness and crowdness and extremely hot weather but we had to gather all the powers left and do it to our camping spot.

The city San Sebastian turned out to be a very big city and even reminded us a bit the other Spanish city Barcelona where we had lived for 3 years before. But of course it has its own speciality and feel.

It was almost impossible but we managed to get to our camping site and all we wanted was to take a shower and sleep as much as we could. And so we did.

Watch the full video here:

As usual thank you for your videos. My camino Del Norte starts in one month. Hope your knee is feeling better. Consider using trekking poles. It will help to keep the weight off your knees in the down hill and assis you when going up hill. Lots of youtube videos to show you the proper use of the poles. The large flowers you saw are Hydrangeas not sure if it is the same name in spanish ...

 

[Walking Nature World]

As usual thank you for your videos. My camino Del Norte starts in one month. Hope your knee is feeling better. Consider using trekking poles. It will help to keep the weight off your knees in the down hill and assis you when going up hill. Lots of youtube videos to show you the proper use of the poles. The large flowers you saw are Hydrangeas not sure if it is the same name in spanish ...

Thank you for commenting. Yes, it is very soon, do you have everything ready? Trekking poles is something we've been debating over for some time now but maybe it's about time to start using them. Thanks for pointing it out, these are incredible flowers.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for the videos, guys. I know we may have mentioned this before, but as you get further in on your Norte, you are going to have lots of options to take gorgeous coastal routes and leave the camino, which frequently goes along the shoulder of the N-highway just a km or two away from the coastline. Seems like it would be exactly your kind of thing!

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/coastal-alternatives-to-the-nortes-asphalt.49578/

 

[Iriebabel]

Thank you for commenting. Yes, it is very soon, do you have everything ready? Trekking poles is something we've been debating over for some time now but maybe it's about time to start using them. Thanks for pointing it out, these are incredible flowers.

Yes as prepared as I can be considering I am unable to train. I start physio this week. I had a bad heel spur so I have been on crutches for some time now. I recently had a procedure 5 feburary so now feeling much better. I may send my pack forward first 2 weeks and will definately walk less Kms at the start. . I am absolutely ready to go .

I have severe knee problems and I absolutely recommend the poles. Your knees will thank you. Last year I saw many younger people who felt they did not need them and after the Pyrenees they were despirate in Pamplona to find poles hahah. They work and you don’t need to spend much money! Many times you can find them left behind in the donitivo box in the albergues. I look forward to your next video

 

[Walking Nature World]

Thanks for the videos, guys. I know we may have mentioned this before, but as you get further in on your Norte, you are going to have lots of options to take gorgeous coastal routes and leave the camino, which frequently goes along the shoulder of the N-highway just a km or two away from the coastline. Seems like it would be exactly your kind of thing!

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/coastal-alternatives-to-the-nortes-asphalt.49578/

Thank you for your suggestion! We actually used some ideas from this guide when planning our Camino. Yes, it wouldn't de the same without alternatives for us for sure

 

[Walking Nature World]

Yes as prepared as I can be considering I am unable to train. I start physio this week. I had a bad heel spur so I have been on crutches for some time now. I recently had a procedure 5 feburary so now feeling much better. I may send my pack forward first 2 weeks and will definately walk less Kms at the start. . I am absolutely ready to go .

I have severe knee problems and I absolutely recommend the poles. Your knees will thank you. Last year I saw many younger people who felt they did not need them and after the Pyrenees they were despirate in Pamplona to find poles hahah. They work and you don’t need to spend much money! Many times you can find them left behind in the donitivo box in the albergues. I look forward to your next video

Sorry to hear that, hope that the regular walking activity will help to overcome this, and you will get better. Yes, it is very important not to rush and take your time, this is what we will always stand for, the Camino itself is more important than the destination.

We know, just have to find the most light and small ones so that we don't sacrifice the weight. Hope you will enjoy next series!

 

[Walking Nature World]

First stormy and rainy day getting to Zarautz | Day 5 of Camino del Norte

On the 5th day we woke up in the camping after a good sleep, but we got up late because of the hard previous day and because yesterday night the people were quite noisy. This camping was the most crowded that we've been on this way so far. And we had no electricity included in the price so we had to charge all of our gear in the shower room staying there like for an hour or so.

In the morning after we had our breakfast and were ready to go the rain started so we had to wait for it to calm down. We were stuck in the camping but at least charged the electronics a bit more that will be very needed afterwards.

The rain was going on and off during all that day but wasn't too strong. So we still were able to film and to move forward.

So the first part of the way was going through the beautiful fields and forest areas with very fresh air. Then we passed through the port village Orio where there was a lot of highways crossing and lots of traffic and noise because of that. We walked through the bridge crossing the river, that was smelling quite nasty, and then started to move uphill in direction of the city Zarautz. There we started to see lots of vineyards on the both sides of the path so we could guess that this industry is quite developed here.

At one point we took quite a long break because the yesterday's adventure was still getting at us. The muscles were very sore and the weather was very changeable. This break saved us afterwards so that we had more powers.

We got to the city of Zarautz quite quickly moving downhill enjoying the picturesque views of the ocean and the beach from above. In the city we had to find some gas for the stove and we didn't succeed in it cause there were only the big ones and every extra weight is unnecessary in our case. So we just bought the food and had a little snack at the beach. Then we headed to the tourist office for the Zarautz stamp and they gladly gave it to us. So from now on we decided to direct there instead of the churches because they have more flexible schedule. And we even thought of why they don't have a place where anybody can come and put it himself at any time. Probably they don't do it because some people can take advantage of it and do the Camino by car for example and it won't be fare to the real pilgrims.

After doing all that we we out to take the GR 121 and find a place to stealth camp cause the campsites were quite far and it was getting very late. It was a very challenging task because the area the route goes through is quite populated and used for agriculture but we managed to find a secluded place in a little forest so that nobody could see us and almost in complete dark we did all the set up and went to sleep.

Watch the full video here:

 

[Iriebabel]

Another good one thank you. Look forward to the next one Can you give a list of places you stayed and distances?

 

[Walking Nature World]

Another good one thank you. Look forward to the next one Can you give a list of places you stayed and distances?

Hello, Iriebabel,

Well, we are really sorry, but afraid that it is quite difficult to recall all the campgrounds we stayed in and the distances would be too hard to measure. As some days we slep in the forest and some campsites were closed it is quite a mess. So only going through every day of Camino and drawing the map we are able to do it. But you can find all the campgrounds on Google Maps just typing the word "camping" as we did and see it it works for you. Make sure to check the opening season as well.

 

[Iriebabel]

Hello, Iriebabel,

Well, we are really sorry, but afraid that it is quite difficult to recall all the campgrounds we stayed in and the distances would be too hard to measure. As some days we slep in the forest and some campsites were closed it is quite a mess. So only going through every day of Camino and drawing the map we are able to do it. But you can find all the campgrounds on Google Maps just typing the word "camping" as we did and see it it works for you. Make sure to check the opening season as well.

Dont worry it’s ok. I found a list with camping information for the Camino del Norte a while back. If I can find it I will attach it here. I plan to stay in Albergues and I am planning my route now but I will be walking slow due to an existing injury and may need to stop earlier or camp. Thank you for your reply.

 

[Walking Nature World]

Dont worry it’s ok. I found a list with camping information for the Camino del Norte a while back. If I can find it I will attach it here. I plan to stay in Albergues and I am planning my route now but I will be walking slow due to an existing injury and may need to stop earlier or camp. Thank you for your reply.

Thank you for your understanding. That´s a great resource of information, there several campgrounds where we stayed in as well. Most important thing is that you do the Camino in your own pace and enjoy it as much as you can. The rest is not so important. Not the destination, amount of kms a day etc. All that matters is to be in harmony with yourself. Will be looking forward to your trip report when you get back. Keep us updated!

 

[Walking Nature World]

Hiking with the Donkey | Day 6 of Camino del Norte from Zumaia to Deba


The night was quiet and very warm that was a second time us experiencing of how warm it can be in the forest at night. All we heard was an owl and several birds.


Everything was quite wet from the rain yesterday and extremely humid so the tent was twice as heavy cause it soaked up all that wetness. We had a real quick breakfast with a stunning view cause we knew that we had to do our norm for today and that was up to 20 km again. And somewhere on the way we had to find some gas cause otherwise we wouldn't be able to cook and for us it's a big deal.


The morning was beautiful: fresh air, warm sunlight and very idyllic picture. We wished it could last forever.


We took the indicators of the Camino and followed them during all that day. And it's been great, we could see that they renovated them not long ago and it was very hard to lose the trail.


We walked in that beautiful weather first 6 km and then when we got to Askizu the black clouds came and it started to rain. We decided to wait for it to calm down under the roof of the old church with the other pilgrims. We had to wait up to an hour and lost quite a lot of time.


The weather was very changeable all day long. At one moment the sun was shining and the other it was raining again. But the most of the day it was drizzling rain and the black clouds were moving fast towards the land from the oceanside. That kind of weather influenced me (Angelina) very badly. I had a headache every time the clouds came out but it was going away when the sky cleared up.


The route to the city Zumaia was very scenic - we got to see the ocean, the forest and endless fields with the mountain backdrop. It was absolutely breathtaking. The roads were dirty and slippery and the whole day we were going up and down the hills because the relief was very mountainous. But the route wasn't all the way the same, sometimes it was dirty paths and sometimes pavement roads. But very quiet overall. We enjoyed it very much.


That day we tried out our raincoats for the first time, they helped a bit but it is quite annoying to constantly putting it on and off because of the changeable weather. It was very hot to walk in them uphill so we had to put them off.


We realized that this was that challenging part the people from the forums were telling us about referring that the first week is the most difficult. But it was fine for us maybe because we have some experience living in the mountains and hiking.


Zumaia greeted us with the other rain and not being able to find the so needed gas we left it quite quickly. Before leaving we quickly got into the tourist office to have a stamp.


We were out to the next city Deba which was 5-6 km hike uphill and then downhill. We were keeping a good pace in order to get to our camping spot as early as possible. When we were about to enter the city we decided that we'll have time to go past it to the next camping. We spent a good hour in the city searching for the gas and didn't find it. Then we regreted that moment that we didn't buy a bigger one before.


And in the rain and dusk we left again to the mountains and had to make 5.5 km more which seemed quite an impossible task to do. But we were about to do it anyway cause we didn't have other option or we had to sleep in the forest again. But we really had to charge our gear so had no choice.


Very exhausted and dirty we got to the camping. The gate was closed and we had to hop over it and get inside. Because the main entrance was on the other side and it meant to have an extra walk. So we did it and could finally rest and sleep in peace.

Watch the full video here:

 

[Walking Nature World]

Hiking in the Beautiful Basque Country, Spain | Camino del Norte from Mutriku to Markina Xemein-Day 7

This was our day 7 of Camino del Norte when we hiked through the mountains from the village of Mutriku to Markina Xemein.

That night was a hell, it was raining almost all the night and the morning and we slept only for a couple of hours. So we woke up very late at 9 am and then all day long we were feeling sleepy.

We finally found the camping gas that we needed so badly already while we were paying for the night at the reception.

We came down to the village Mutriku to go to the tourist office for the stamp and decided not to buy any food to go lightweight cause we knew we had to do 20 plus kms that day.

We had a dillema in front of us. As we realized that the Camino wasn't going along the ocean coast and was going away from it in the mountains but we planned our route and the camping spots to stay in close to the coast. And now had to decide whether to follow our plans but go on the unknown car road or follow the Camino and stay in the hostels or stealth camping. Because there wasn't any camping sites in that places to our dissapointment all the way to Bilbao. And that would take us around 3 days to accomplish.

And so hesitating which way to go we took the Camino and realized that it goes in different direction from the car road so we have no chance to check whether it was possible to walk there.

But soon we were glad with our decision to take the Camino. We walked through the beautiful rural areas which looked like the eco farms with peaceful pastures and green eternal meadows. Mountains were everywhere and we met a lot of natural springs on our way that day. It was reminiscent to our home in the mountains and the route was very similar to the ones we take regularly while living in Eastern Pyrenees.

The route was constantly going up and down giving the scenic views over the mountain peaks and the ocean mingling between the mountain ranges. The roads were quite dirty and slippery after the rainy days in some places so we had to walk carefully and watch the step.

All that distance you pass by the farm houses, pastures and couple of restaurants and only at the end of the day you get to the city. So it's important to keep in mind that this day is quite long and challenging.

The first uphill was the hardest though the rest of the way was quite gentle except for the entrance way to the city - that downhill was an absolute killer.

We met the first bike pilgrims that were carring their bikes uphill but we must say it is a difficult trail if doing it by bike. Overall we met less pilgrims than the previous days.

The weather was great that day sunny and warm with the clouds passing by and most of the route was going through the forest so walking was an absolute pleasure. But still at the end of the day we felt like we did too many kms from the soreness in the muscles and overall fatigue but for the most part it was because we didn't slept well the night before.

So we got to the Markina Xemein city quite late at 7pm so we were rushing to buy some food and then to find a place to camp. We knew that all the places in hostels would be occupied so not to lose any time we headed out of the city searching for some dirt road to lead us to the field or the forest. Finally we found a place above the highway on the meadow close to the forest and almost at complete dark were ready to go to sleep.

We understood that every day we can't do the same kind of distance for the long time. If not we would be fired up and couldn't continue our way. And as we didn't want to stop our Camino we decided to slow it down whenever it's possible. And also try to start hike early to come to the places earlier so that we have more time to recover. So with all these thoughts we were falling asleep.

Watch the full video here:

 

[Iriebabel]

Another good one. Muchas gracias. I am T-3 to Spain and the Norte

 

[Walking Nature World]

Another good one. Muchas gracias. I am T-3 to Spain and the Norte

Thank you! Have a safe way to Camino and hope you have a great time and adventure!

 

[camino07]

Loving your videos. Starting the Norte on 25th April.

 

[Walking Nature World]

Loving your videos. Starting the Norte on 25th April.

Thank you for the feedback, hope that you find our videos useful for your upcoming Camino. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Walking Nature World]

Green Forest day and the Camino Burnout! | Camino del Norte from Markina Xemein to Gernika-Day 8


On the day 8 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we did 27 kms going from Markina-Xemein to the Gernika village.


We got up to the beautiful sunny morning in the little forest above the highway that we found yesterday night. The night was extremely quiet and calm and nothing could disturb our sleep. We were lucky to find this place quite fast and not going very far from the city. As it's been extremely hard the last couple of days to find a camp spot because of the area being very populated and with lots of traffic.


I did my stretching yoga routine in the morning as it was very needed for my sore muscles. We still felt tired because the tireness accumulated from day to day. But we had to do the 25 km going from Markina Xemein to Gernika city and we had no other option but to start the trail.


We knew that we won't have a camping there and we'll have to find a stealth camping spot so we moved as quickly as possible.


After the previous quite hard route in the mountains we were ready for the hard trail. But the Camino started quite smoothly going along the river and then gently starting to go uphill. We walked through several little villages that day and there were some pavement routes but the most of the day we were walking in the forest enjoying the greenery of it, the shadow that it gave us and the fresh air. And we even called this day the green forest day.


The places were very unique with the houses and farms in beetween the mountains coming out of nowhere. The whole region that we were walking through the last days was like that. Sometimes we even wondered how the people can manage to get to their houses as all the the roads were dirt roads and the whole area was very rural. But it was very special and we enjoyed being around it.


We met the cutest pigs ever pasturing in some garden and they were the highlight of the day for sure. Also we put a stamp in the beautiful monastery that we met on the way that also had an albergue in it.


There wasn't any steep uphills or downhills so the route turned out to be quite easy for us. But because of our general exhaustement at the end of the day we were killed and tired. We promised ourselves yesterday that we wouldn't do more than 20 km a day but we had to do it because there just wasn't any camping or shop earlier on the way and for us it is very important cause we prefer to stay in our tent and cook our own food. So for us it was twice as hard.


At the end we had to walk around 3 km more to the spot where it was possible to camp. As we said it is super hard to find these spots in the region. But the spot we found was very nice and quiet located in the dense forest. And we even managed to have an improvised shower cause we couldn't stand more to hike the third day being all sweaty and sticky. So we made the holes in the water bottle and we had the best moment of the day washing off all this sweat and dirt. Then we had our dinner and went to sleep right away.


On the next day we woke up in our luxurious camping spot in the forest and felt all worn out and broken so weren't sure about how we will start the Camino today. We tried to plan it yesterday and all we saw was that we are coming close to the big city Bilbao and that there isn't any camping spot in the area. And we didn't want the repetition of the same situation over and over again when we had to search hard and walk extra kms to find the stealth camping spot after we already did more that 20.


And we had to make this decision. It was very hard for us but we did it for the sake of our health and the rest of the Camino. So we decided to take the bus from Gernika where we were at that moment to Bilbao and then from Bilbao to Castro Urdiales where the next camping spot was and where we could start the Camino again. So we were about to sacrifice about 3 days of the Camino. We felt quite bad about it because it was absolutely possible to do if we weren't searching so hard for the camping spot every day and pushing to our physical limits. Because there are a lot of albergues and not a single camping on this part of the way for the people like us who enjoy doing it this way. If it was like that we could continue going and didn't have this situation of extreme tireness. So we felt like it was quite unfair. What do you think of it? Are there any camping fans as us experiencing the same problems? We need to know that we are not alone.


So we catched the bus (the transport connection is very nice here) and were in Bilbao in 30 min probably. We saw the big mountains in the background and thought that maybe we skipped the most difficult part of the Camino. But we tried not to think about it as it wasn't our intention anyway. Bilbao seemed to us very huge city that spreaded all around the coast. We saw lots of factories and port facilities while we were passing through it on the bus. And wondered how the Camino goes in these places and thought that probably we won't miss much just taking a bus and skipping the city part. At least it was the best decision for us-nature lovers. So we hoped on another bus going to Castro Urdiales and in 20 minutes we were at the place. We rushed to the only supermarket that was open on Sunday and fortunately we were on time and bought everything we needed and went to the camping. To our surprise the camping was very close to the Camino trail so the next day we didn't have to go very far to start going. The rest of the day was filled with very trivial things like doing washing up, drying our clothes, charging our gear etc. And most importantly we had time to rest and recover a bit from the last crazy days that we had before.

Watch the full video here:

 

[Walking Nature World]

First day hiking in Cantabria, Spain | Camino del Norte from Castro-Urdiales to Oriñon-Day 9


On the Day 9 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we hiked from the town Castro-Urdiales to the coastal village Oriñon.


That night it was raining a bit and the highway that was under our camping was quite noisy all night long. But we had some good sleep and were planning to do 15 km to Orinon.


Only in the morning we realized how cool the spot where we camped was with the views of the ocean and coast and no one around. We met the stunning sunrise there, had our breakfast, packed everything up and were good to go.


Also we figured out that we're in the other province now in Cantabria we moved from Viscaya very quickly without even noticing it. We understood it by different indicators because that is what you first see on the way.


We were glad to be back on the trail and keep on walking and moving forward. We started probably at 11 am so not very early but we knew that the distance that we planned we should do without a problem.


First part of the way was going along the highway without any interesting scenery or views. But when we crossed it by the tunnel the route started to go closer to the coast and we finally saw the great and incomparable Ocean! We were so happy to see it and to be able to walk close to it again. As you can see we missed it a lot, its sound, its smell and look.


The route was partly going on gravel ground partly on asphalt but was very easy overall especially comparing our previous days in the mountains. But it was very needed then, this chill out day. Because we didn't want to skip days, we wanted to keep on moving but just less distance. The less distance you go the more you see and feel the place so we always try to remember it and not start to race for the kms number.


We didn't find a place to put a stamp in that day as all the churches were closed and there wasn't any tourist offices. The area was quite rural that we were passing by comparing to Viscaya province, we saw more old villages and more vegetable gardens with farmers working in it. And we didn't hear the Euskara language anymore just the Spanish. We tasted the most delicious figs right from the fig tree by the route - they were so juicy and sweet.
We met some pilgrims that we didn't know because we skipped part of the way and we simply didn't come across with them like we did on our initial route.


The Camino continued along the ocean and we decided to take the round in Las Islares to go even closer to the cliffs cause the map was showing us some path there. It was very picturesque with unusual relief place but at the end we turned to the wrong direction and then had a hard time finding the way out. So couldn't recommend anyone with a backpack to take it. Better just to follow it for 1 km to see the view and go back to follow the Camino. We are fans of doing rounds and taking alternatives but this one is not perfect at all. Sometimes it felt like there was no actual path there and we had to go blindly.


Then we came out to the beach of Arenillas, ate the ice cream there because the weather was quite hot and continued on to Orinon. Almost all the route to Orinon was going on the highway because there was just no other way there. And we had to do the big round going over the area where the river comes into ocean. But when we crossed the bridge there was a dirt road that we took and the area was quite unique with the river coloured in turquoise, lots of herons around and rocky mountains in the background.


After this 3 km of beautiful route we got to Orinon, checked in in the campground and even had time to go to the beach to have a snack there. This rythm of the day was appealing more to us and we were aiming to continue our Camino this way. Less kms, coming early to the spot and have more time to breath and enjoy the places.


Watch the full video here:

 

[AJGuillaume]

On the Day 9 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we hiked from the town Castro-Urdiales to the coastal village Oriñon.

Last year we also walked to Oriñon. Do you intend to go up the Monte Candina?
Buen Camino

 

[Walking Nature World]

Last year we also walked to Oriñon. Do you intend to go up the Monte Candina?
Buen Camino

The next day we didn't go all the way up but we hiked the oceancoast path and saw it from the side. It was one of the most memorable trails

 

[Walking Nature World]

Rock climbing and Incredible Oceancoast Hiking in Cantabria, Spain | Camino del Norte from Oriñon to Laredo-Day 10

On the Day 10 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we hiked from the coastal village Oriñon in Cantabria to the town Laredo.


That day we left the camping quite late at around 11 am cause we slept in (you know it happens sometimes when the alarm rings and you don't want to get up). The camping itself was ok but it could be much better for the price when we payed 20 + euros for the standard pitch with a car and a tent which we feel is very unfair to the backpackers like us. And it wasn't the first camping doing that. As well as paying extra for electricity just for charging our phones and cameras.

So we left it and started walking uphill from Oriñon to Sonabia. We were told by locals that there is an alternative way to the city of Laredo where we were heading to today taking the mountains path instead of going on the national highway. It seemed like a great idea to us so we planned to do that. Especially for us who always would take and alternative closer to the coast and escape the noisy car roads. It was a 13 km hike.

So we started walking and the first thing we saw was the falling tide and it was a stunning scenery. When we yesterday came to Oriñon it was a completely different picture and a different beach.

Then the indicator directed us left, we walked a bit along the gardens and then started ascending the mountain. Already seeing that probably there won't be any shadow all the way up. And the day promised to be very hot and clear, without any clouds. But we were fresh and ready for the challenge.

Right away when we hiked a bit higher we started to see the splendid views of the ocean and rocky cliffs. And we must say the mountain that we were climbing was a very beautiful one itself. First we climbed in the sand then the ground was turning harder and rockier and the path was becoming steeper and steeper. And in some places it was even dangerously steep and very narrow so we had to watch every step. The ocean was magnetically attractive and we felt like we could sit and stare for hours on end at it. But the way was calling and we continued on. At some point the path became so steep that we had to use our hands to be able to hike up so it looked more like rock climbing than hiking. But our experience in the mountains and hiking several summits helped a lot so it wasn´t bad for us at all.

But we got it why the Camino doesn't go this way and why we didn't meet any pilgrim on this path. It just simply not for everyone. For someone with the bad knees or any leg problems or with a heavy backpack for example it would be hard to impossible to do. You have to be quite an experienced and confident hiker to be able to do that. Also if you have a limit of time, you need to do more kms and you're not starting in Oriñon like us it may not also be for you. But for us it was worth it and we're happy we did it. In the future we plan to do the same, we don't enjoy walking on the car roads at all.

We took lots if great pictures there and even had time to sit at the edge of a cliff and enjoy the view. The downhill wasn't as extreme as an uphill so we didn't even noticed how we were down. And so after probably 8 km we saw the Camino indicator so we understood that we were back on the Camino again. And we met the first pilgrims that probably just turned from the highway to this dirt road.

It was the last 3 kms to Laredo, and it seemed to us very easy if it wasn't for the heat and lack of shadow. The city of Laredo seemed like an island from above and looked very intriguing and we were assuming that we'll have to cross the channel in a ferry tomorrow. So quite quickly we got to the city and found a church where we got our next stamp, it was the second time we were able to do it in the church in 10 days after the very first day of Camino.

The route was a mesmerising beauty that day and we wished that every day from now on would be like this one. We will remember this day for a long time and we're happy that we were able to film it.


Watch the full video here:

 

[AJGuillaume]

Rock climbing and Incredible Oceancoast Hiking in Cantabria, Spain | Camino del Norte from Oriñon to Laredo-Day 10

On the Day 10 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we hiked from the coastal village Oriñon in Cantabria to the town Laredo.


That day we left the camping quite late at around 11 am cause we slept in (you know it happens sometimes when the alarm rings and you don't want to get up). The camping itself was ok but it could be much better for the price when we payed 20 + euros for the standard pitch with a car and a tent which we feel is very unfair to the backpackers like us. And it wasn't the first camping doing that. As well as paying extra for electricity just for charging our phones and cameras.

So we left it and started walking uphill from Oriñon to Sonabia. We were told by locals that there is an alternative way to the city of Laredo where we were heading to today taking the mountains path instead of going on the national highway. It seemed like a great idea to us so we planned to do that. Especially for us who always would take and alternative closer to the coast and escape the noisy car roads. It was a 13 km hike.

So we started walking and the first thing we saw was the falling tide and it was a stunning scenery. When we yesterday came to Oriñon it was a completely different picture and a different beach.

Then the indicator directed us left, we walked a bit along the gardens and then started ascending the mountain. Already seeing that probably there won't be any shadow all the way up. And the day promised to be very hot and clear, without any clouds. But we were fresh and ready for the challenge.

Right away when we hiked a bit higher we started to see the splendid views of the ocean and rocky cliffs. And we must say the mountain that we were climbing was a very beautiful one itself. First we climbed in the sand then the ground was turning harder and rockier and the path was becoming steeper and steeper. And in some places it was even dangerously steep and very narrow so we had to watch every step. The ocean was magnetically attractive and we felt like we could sit and stare for hours on end at it. But the way was calling and we continued on. At some point the path became so steep that we had to use our hands to be able to hike up so it looked more like rock climbing than hiking. But our experience in the mountains and hiking several summits helped a lot so it wasn´t bad for us at all.

But we got it why the Camino doesn't go this way and why we didn't meet any pilgrim on this path. It just simply not for everyone. For someone with the bad knees or any leg problems or with a heavy backpack for example it would be hard to impossible to do. You have to be quite an experienced and confident hiker to be able to do that. Also if you have a limit of time, you need to do more kms and you're not starting in Oriñon like us it may not also be for you. But for us it was worth it and we're happy we did it. In the future we plan to do the same, we don't enjoy walking on the car roads at all.

We took lots if great pictures there and even had time to sit at the edge of a cliff and enjoy the view. The downhill wasn't as extreme as an uphill so we didn't even noticed how we were down. And so after probably 8 km we saw the Camino indicator so we understood that we were back on the Camino again. And we met the first pilgrims that probably just turned from the highway to this dirt road.

It was the last 3 kms to Laredo, and it seemed to us very easy if it wasn't for the heat and lack of shadow. The city of Laredo seemed like an island from above and looked very intriguing and we were assuming that we'll have to cross the channel in a ferry tomorrow. So quite quickly we got to the city and found a church where we got our next stamp, it was the second time we were able to do it in the church in 10 days after the very first day of Camino.

The route was a mesmerising beauty that day and we wished that every day from now on would be like this one. We will remember this day for a long time and we're happy that we were able to film it.


Watch the full video here:

Fabulous! This is what we originally intended to do last year, but we only went up the first slope (we're not as young as you two are).
I shared our experience here:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/islares-to-laredo-via-coast.58089/

At least we got the views.
The next day we walked around Monte Candina, and joined the track just before Ermita de San Julián.
Congratulations on walking this path!
Buen Camino!

 

[Walking Nature World]

Fabulous! This is what we originally intended to do last year, but we only went up the first slope (we're not as young as you two are).
I shared our experience here:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/islares-to-laredo-via-coast.58089/

At least we got the views.
The next day we walked around Monte Candina, and joined the track just before Ermita de San Julián.
Congratulations on walking this path!
Buen Camino!

Thank you for the feedback. It seems like we were doing in in the same time with the difference in the few days last year. The trail and the views from it are mesmerizing for sure. Everybody should at least try to hike up this way as you did. That was one of the most memorable parts of the Camino for us.

 

[Walking Nature World]

Extremely sleepy and gloomy day | Camino del Norte - Day 11 from Laredo to Noja in Cantabria, Spain

On the Day 11 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we hiked from the town Laredo in Cantabria to the Noja village.

This day started in the camping Laredo where we stopped in yesterday and we were very happy about it. They left us to choose the pitch and gave us a reasonable price for the backpacker so that we didn't have to pay for the car or caravan we don't have. And the facilities were very good. At night it was quiet except for the chickens and ravens singing that we're a bit annoying.

We left the camping at 11 am because we felt extremely sleepy and didn't want to get up at all. The weather was cloudy and very humid that day and we felt it all day long getting over us.

When we got out of the camping and walked along the sea front with the huge sand hills we had to hop on the ferry that took us from Laredo to Santoña. It wasn't a very long ride probably just about 5 min. But it saved us a huge amount of distance - 15 km if we did the round through the bridge and the highways. And we certainly didn't want that especially because it meant to go all the way with the cars. From this boat you get beautiful views of the surrounded area that is all wetlands and ponds and is considered to be a natural park.

When we got to Santoña we found a tourist office where we put a stamp of the city. We saw that there is a mountain that we can hike over but we realized that it will take us several hours to do so and we won't get to the planned destination today so we decided to go with the Camino.

This part of the route was quite boring going straight ahead through the suburbs of the city and then we passed by the huge wall which we then realized was a jail. So it was quite stressfull to walk there. It was very weird that there was a walking pass for bikes and people.

But then we got to beach of Berria - a bit neglected area it seemed to us or maybe it was because of the gloomy and foggy weather that made everything black and white. It was very humid that day with the water drops coming down but at least it wasn't raining.

So we passed along that beach and decided to hike up the cliff that we saw wasn't as high and big as the previous one cause we wanted to get some views after this sad environment we were in the last couple of kms. And this was the best part of our day it was quite fast but very beautiful with the views of the ocean from above. Soon we started seeing on the horizon the beach of El Brusco and on a falling tide it was an epic view with the rocks looking out of the sand that shortly would be under water again.

We had a quick snack and looking at the maps we realized that we won't get to La Isla town how it was planned and should stay in the town Noja. The trail of the Camino was getting away from the ocean again in this place, not so much as it was in the Basque country but still. We didn't see it before and planned to walk along the coast as always. But it was obvious why it was going this way. It was because of the river floods and lots of wetlands in the area that we needed to go over and the bridges were only on the highways. And if we wanted to go closer to ocean we had to get away from it every time there was a river flood. That's why the Camino was going higher. And if we knew it before we would do more kms that day following the Camino because it makes sense in this case and stayed in the city Beyroa where there was a camping actually which is a rare case.

So once again we suffered from the lack of planning the trail. So we decided to compensate it next day and do more kms then. We still needed these several easy days to recover completely from our collapse that happened earlier. So now with the exact plans for the next day we with a peace of mind did our shopping and headed to the camping.

Watch the full video here:

 

[Iriebabel]

Extremely sleepy and gloomy day | Camino del Norte - Day 11 from Laredo to Noja in Cantabria, Spain

On the Day 11 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we hiked from the town Laredo in Cantabria to the Noja village.

This day started in the camping Laredo where we stopped in yesterday and we were very happy about it. They left us to choose the pitch and gave us a reasonable price for the backpacker so that we didn't have to pay for the car or caravan we don't have. And the facilities were very good. At night it was quiet except for the chickens and ravens singing that we're a bit annoying.

We left the camping at 11 am because we felt extremely sleepy and didn't want to get up at all. The weather was cloudy and very humid that day and we felt it all day long getting over us.

When we got out of the camping and walked along the sea front with the huge sand hills we had to hop on the ferry that took us from Laredo to Santoña. It wasn't a very long ride probably just about 5 min. But it saved us a huge amount of distance - 15 km if we did the round through the bridge and the highways. And we certainly didn't want that especially because it meant to go all the way with the cars. From this boat you get beautiful views of the surrounded area that is all wetlands and ponds and is considered to be a natural park.

When we got to Santoña we found a tourist office where we put a stamp of the city. We saw that there is a mountain that we can hike over but we realized that it will take us several hours to do so and we won't get to the planned destination today so we decided to go with the Camino.

This part of the route was quite boring going straight ahead through the suburbs of the city and then we passed by the huge wall which we then realized was a jail. So it was quite stressfull to walk there. It was very weird that there was a walking pass for bikes and people.

But then we got to beach of Berria - a bit neglected area it seemed to us or maybe it was because of the gloomy and foggy weather that made everything black and white. It was very humid that day with the water drops coming down but at least it wasn't raining.

So we passed along that beach and decided to hike up the cliff that we saw wasn't as high and big as the previous one cause we wanted to get some views after this sad environment we were in the last couple of kms. And this was the best part of our day it was quite fast but very beautiful with the views of the ocean from above. Soon we started seeing on the horizon the beach of El Brusco and on a falling tide it was an epic view with the rocks looking out of the sand that shortly would be under water again.

We had a quick snack and looking at the maps we realized that we won't get to La Isla town how it was planned and should stay in the town Noja. The trail of the Camino was getting away from the ocean again in this place, not so much as it was in the Basque country but still. We didn't see it before and planned to walk along the coast as always. But it was obvious why it was going this way. It was because of the river floods and lots of wetlands in the area that we needed to go over and the bridges were only on the highways. And if we wanted to go closer to ocean we had to get away from it every time there was a river flood. That's why the Camino was going higher. And if we knew it before we would do more kms that day following the Camino because it makes sense in this case and stayed in the city Beyroa where there was a camping actually which is a rare case.

So once again we suffered from the lack of planning the trail. So we decided to compensate it next day and do more kms then. We still needed these several easy days to recover completely from our collapse that happened earlier. So now with the exact plans for the next day we with a peace of mind did our shopping and headed to the camping.

Watch the full video here:

Thank you. I’m im Laredo today leaving tomorrow ...your video is right on time. I’ve been using wise pilgrim map. You can find the free down load here ...it has a offline map. I also bought the upgrade so I can also see all the lodging and elevations. It has really helped as it also show the alternatives

 

[Walking Nature World]

Thank you. I’m im Laredo today leaving tomorrow ...your video is right on time. I’ve been using wise pilgrim map. You can find the free down load here ...it has a offline map. I also bought the upgrade so I can also see all the lodging and elevations. It has really helped as it also show the alternatives

It seems that you're doing great! How many days are you already walking? Have you walked the Monte Candina part from Oriñon to Laredo? Thank you for pointing out the map, going to look it up in the apps now.

 

[Iriebabel]

It seems that you're doing great! How many days are you already walking? Have you walked the Monte Candina part from Oriñon to Laredo? Thank you for pointing out the map, going to look it up in the apps now.

I started on 26 march. Last 3-4 days I could not walk I was sick..cought a cold so I took the bus here to Laredo ..to rest. Now I feel better I will go on tomorrow . There is a free version also you can find the down load here on the forum Search for wise pilgrim app or Camino places. You can upgrade by buying the wisely app...

 

[Walking Nature World]

I started on 26 march. Last 3-4 days I could not walk I was sick..cought a cold so I took the bus here to Laredo ..to rest. Now I feel better I will go on tomorrow . There is a free version also you can find the down load here on the forum Search for wise pilgrim app or Camino places. You can upgrade by buying the wisely app...

That was a good decision for you, glad to know that you fell better now. How has been the weather on the Norte so far?

 

[Iriebabel]

That was a good decision for you, glad to know that you fell better now. How has been the weather on the Norte so far?

Little rain not much some sunny days today cloudy but perfect temperature

 

[Walking Nature World]

Little rain not much some sunny days today cloudy but perfect temperature

That's good, when it's raining it's the most miserable weather. At least it's warm

 

[Walking Nature World]

The most efficient day - hiking through beautiful beaches | Camino del Norte from Noja to Loredo in Cantabria, Spain - Day 12

We woke up in the city of Noja in the very nice camping Playa Joyel that we were very happy about. It was the second camping in the row that we liked a lot. It had a good price range, nice facilities and direct access to the beach. It was the first camping where there was the hairdresser saloon and a cashpoint, not to mention the supermarket and camping related stuff shop. But the best part was the beach Playa de Candado of course in a very scenic location where we met the sunrise and enjoyed the view just for a bit. It had a little bit less space but for the rest was an excellent spot.


So as we promised yesterday we had a big plan for today to do 20 + kms and to follow the Camino because we wanted to compensate a bit the last day when we did less than normal.


All the first part of the day we were walking on the asphalt and car roads so we were able to do more kms that way without getting too exhausted having said that it was way less interesting and exciting with practically the same landscape of the green hills and villages and spreaded farm houses. So we did it very quick but it wasn't very exciting.

So that way we got to Galizano at the coast at 14 pm and that was already very close to our final destination so it was our personal record coming the earliest to the place when doing so many kms a day.

And this last several kms were the best of the day. We spent probably two hours at the beach just watching the tidal wave coming and people surfing - finally we got time to see that! The views were absolutely incredible there with the green fields and the rocky steep cliffs. We couldn't receive the better reward than this at the end of this kind of boring day.


So we got to Loredo later in the evening cause we spent lots of time at the beach, bought some groceries and headed to the camping. The supermarket called Coviran was really weird, it had very little with poor assortment and the customer service was really bad when you can't take and choose veggies and fruits and they do it for you.


But our biggest dissapointment was the camping "Derby Loredo". The first thing we noticed when we walked in was a lot of trash on the ground where we needed to camp in and when we went to the toilets it was even more disgusting it seemed like there was no cleaning for several days. So we had to sweep the ground with the broom that we found and only then we could set up the tent and put our things on the ground. So for the future we decided to check the reviews of the place if we could before going there. And we will leave the appropriate review on that camping because this is intolerant.


Because of that we went to sleep quite late. We had a lot of thoughts about the following day because we had to cross to Santander and we were willing to skip it and just didn't know how to do it yet.


Watch the full video here:

 

[Walking Nature World]

Escape the city and beautiful camping | Camino del Norte from Santander to Santillana de Mar - Day 13

On the Day 13 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the village Somo close to Santander to the village Santillana de Mar.



That morning we got up very early and quickly left the camping. We didn't want to stay in this dirt for no longer and found a good spot on the beach to cook our breakfast. We weren't sure whether it was a falling tide or a tidal wave but the water was coming at us and we decided to back up to the dry sand to be safe.


The morning was absolutely stunning from the beach de Loredo with the foggy views of the city Santander, the lighthouse at the Cape and the enlightened by the morning light fluffy clouds in the background. We even saw the photographer with a big lense trying to create the great photos. Surfers were already on the go again and later we realized that it was a falling tide.


So we had our breakfast and went to take the ferry. We finally made a decision that for our own sake and for the sake of video material we needed to escape this big city again and take the public transport to where the more natural places start. Because our aim wasn't to do every single km of the way but rather to enjoy it and to show the natural beauty of it and explore it as much as we can. We knew we won't film anything in the caos of traffic and walking by warehouses and factories. We thought it would be for the better and went with our intuition.


At the Somo where we were taking the ferry we saw two indicators of Camino one going straight to the ferry and the other was obviously taking a round and getting to the city from land and it would be 27 km more of the way - so you have a choice. Overall in Cantabria we saw lots of alternatives offered by a Camino which we think is very important as in such way everyone can make its own unique Camino.


The ferry trip that we took was nice it was the longest one that we took here on Camino so far. You get the panoramic views of the port and the city and we personally think it is the best way to know it - is from a distance. When we took off the ferry we walked a bit through the city to the train station. And we assumed that this area was the central one because of the beautiful facades, lots of national banks and governmental buildings.



We got to the train station pretty quickly and the lady from the information said that there were two buildings for the trains departure one was for long distance and the other for proximity neighbourhood lines, and we needed the latter. We bought our ticket from automatic machine it was pretty easy knowing the stop we needed and also having lived in Spain for the last 4 years helped a lot cause they have similar system everywhere. The train itself was very small and a bit old. It had only two wagons and a narrow track.


After 8 stops and probably 15 minutes of a ride we took off on the stop Rejuejada. We chose it because we saw on the map that the the Camino goes close by it. And sure enough we found it very easily and started to follow it.


All the first hour the Camino went along the highways and one big factory, this part assured us that we made a right decision by skipping this 20 kms of the way - it wasn't anything exciting or enjoyable. We were very happy when we finally turned off these big roads and could enjoy a bit of quiet time and fresh air. And wondering why the Camino couldn't escape such polluted areas we made a conclusion that probably it couldn't because there are simply no alternative way and there are lots of traffic and factories all around.


With these sad conclusions and thoughts we progressed further on the way. It was quite similar to the yesterday's one when we walked through lots of farmhouses, fields and green hills. All the route was on the car road but thanks god this time there was almost no traffic. It was mostly sunny that day and walking on the asphalt it gets even hotter but there wasn't any major uphills or downhills so it was ok. And at the end of the day the clouds came out.


We decided to stop at Santillana de Mar village that day because it had some supermarket but we were ready to search for the stealth camping spot in the fields. To our surprise walking away from the city we stumbled across the camping Santillana and having a look at it it wasn't bad at all. With that last bad experience we were really cautious. But it was clean and spacious close to the forest area so it seemed to be quiet. So we headed to the reception and there they had a good service too letting us to choose any free place that we want and giving a good price. They even put us a stamp in the credential and used it as a document for making a registration process. They didn't even ask any other documents and that was very unusual and cool experience.


Because we were early at the spot we could walk in this village Santillana de Mar a bit. It was a cute old village but quite touristic though with lots of little shops of artesanal things, hand made things and local food. And with lots of hotels and guest houses as well. So that day we had time to rest very well and could go to sleep early that almost never happened before.


Watch the full video here:

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

You are such a charming young couple with, very soothing and pleasant voices. I enjoyed your video! It's my first but, will look for more.

 

[Walking Nature World]

You are such a charming young couple with, very soothing and pleasant voices. I enjoyed your video! It's my first but, will look for more.

Thank you for your kindness, that's a pleasure for us to share our work. Hope you will enjoy our other videos in the series as well! And let us know what you think

 

[Walking Nature World]

The hottest and most tedious day | Camino del Norte from Santillana de Mar to Comillas - Day 14


On the Day 14 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the village Santillana de Mar to the town Comillas at the oceancoast.



We rested well and with fresh powers started the day. We left the camping Santillana a bit late at 11 am but we knew we will be on time because we saw that the trail is going on the car asphalt roads and it always means that it will be easier.


Right from the start the route was going up and down and up and down all the time. And even though we walked mostly on asphalt routes that day at the end the muscles of the legs felt really sore.


So it was quite tiring and a bit boring day. We passed by several villages with little white red roofed houses, met couple of beautiful churches on the way but we missed a lot the ocean side views. All we saw was the row of similar buildings and the roads but at least they were almost with no traffic.


So when we got to Cobreces we finally get to see the ocean and the beach at least for a little bit before going on the road again and walking under the hot sun. The sun was killing us all day long especially because there wasn't any shadow in the fields.


So all sweaty and tanned we entered the Comillas - our final destination for the day. As always we needed to buy some groceries but we couldn't find any open supermarket and we remembered that it was a religious holiday that day and they all closed very early. Saved us the locals who directed us to the little food shop that was open and it had everything that we needed.


After having a quick snack we went to the camping and could see a bit of the town Comillas. It was similar to the yesterday one with lots of people on the streets- tourists and pilgrims and tons of little commercials on every corner. But it seemed a cute little town with old houses made out of rock.


The camping was not bad, anyways we didn't have much choice as it was the only one in this town. There we met an English guy who was very kind and gave us little cakes saying that doing the Camino must be hard. Then my husband had a little talk with him about life and he even offered us to use his bigger cooking stove so that we could prepare the food more comfortably. So on that positive note we finished this exhausting day.


Watch the full video here:

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

September 9, 2018? I think I've missed something here.

 

[Walking Nature World]

Camino is Addictive! | Camino del Norte from Comillas to Sant Vicente de la Barquera - Day 15


On the Day 15 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the town Comillas to San Vicente de la Barquera.



From the start of the day it was cloudy and gloomy with lots of humidity in the air. Everything around was wet. That was the first night when we had to wear the hats so we felt that the nights are getting colder.


And we hadn't big plans for the day - we aimed to walk just 11 kms till the outskirts of Sant Vicente de la Barquera. Because the next camping was in 27 km and we reasonably thought that it would be impossible to do in 1 day so we decided to split it in two days.


So it was a very chill out day. We really enjoyed walking in a slow pace and our legs were grateful for that too. Also we could actually see the places we were walking by and had time to stop and enjoy the view. It felt very important to us to have these kind of relaxed days to make memories and to feel better so we decided to do them regularly from now on.


We took the coastal route at first and tried to follow it. There was no Camino indicators on it and we don't know where the Camino was going but in our opinion this route is a great alternative. It is easy and quiet with the great views and it is going almost parallel to the official one. To our surprise we met no pilgrims and just when we crossed the Camino we started to see them. And it was very common observation of ours whenever we took an alternative route there was no pilgrims so we made a conclusion that nobody wants to use the GPS and explore different routes even when it is so easy and obvious. And in most of the cases they are better because they go closer to the coast and on more quiet routes.



Surprisingly we weren't feeling too sleepy, probably the clouds were higher and it didn't affect us as much. The day wasn't great for filming but we still got some decent shots especially when we got to walk at the beach. It was the best part of the day when we really got to enjoy the feeling of stepping on the wet solid sand that feels like the ground and walk for several kms. That was a new experience for us and we liked it a lot. We feel like we could walk forever like this. We've only been at the sea before and there it is nearly impossible because the tidal waves are not so obvious. In such way we walked through two long beaches Playa de Oyambre and Playa de Meron. On the last one we had a little nap listening to the waves crushing at the coast.



Then we didn't noticed how we got to the camping El Rosal which was full of surfers with their tents and vans so there were quite a lot of people. And very close to it there was a supermarket and we assumed that it should be open as there were so many surfers and that worked to our advantage. That wasn't the first supermarket where they had a very weird system when you can't choose the fruits and vegetables that you like and you have ask the assistant to do it for you. It was really annoying cause you can't touch the veggies neither choose the best ones for you like you normally do in any modern supermarket. Not sure why in this region they left it like that. The camping was very reasonably priced and we payed probably the cheapest price for it. We were just a bit worried about the neighbours disturbing our sleep but for the rest it was ok. So we had our rice with salad for dinner and went to sleep.


Watch the full video here:

 

[Walking Nature World]

The most scenic campsite ever at the atlantic oceancoast!? | Camino del Norte - Day 16

On the Day 16 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the town San Vicente de la Barquera to Campsite "Playa Las Arenas".



The start of the day was very bright and sunny very contrasting to the yesterday's weather. And it was obvious that it's gonna be hot. The camping was a bit noisy and overcrowded and so at night there were some disturbing noises. In the early morning we heard something moving outside close to our tent and when we looked out we saw the hedgehog attracted by the food leftovers, most probably skin of the peach. We thought it was a cat cause there are lots of them in the area. We felt dissapointed because we didn't have time to film it - it ran away so quickly and we didn't react accordingly. But it was such a sweet accident.



So we decided for that day that we will do 17 kms to the camping Playa las Arenas. And we saw that the Camino goes quite far from oceanside again because of the difficult river flood areas. So we wanted to follow it for the first half and then get closer to the coast if possible.



But we underestimated the heat that was getting over us, very tremendously and furiously. Already from the start we felt extremely hot and then when we did the first uphill we were almost dead. So we had to stop at under every tree and every shadow we could find in order not to overheat ourselves. And the route was going in the fields with a little to no shadow. That was hard.



So having felt that we quickly decided to follow the Camino for longer cause it was a shorter way to our destination. And when we did the first 8 kms we found a great shadow and took a little nap there. It was very nice and refreshing. With that rest we were be able to hike further to where we planned. Thanks god there wasn't as hard uphills anymore as the first one and we got to the crossroads quite easily.



Then we had to leave the Camino and take the highway for a little distance in order to get to the supermarket and then to the camping. It wasn't very pleasant experience as expected but al least this road wasn't the busiest at that moment.



We did our shopping and turned in the direction of our camping. We had to walk away from a Camino, closer to the coast to get there and we were pretty tired at that point. But gosh it was so worth it! It was the most luxurious camping we ve ever been in. And if we didn't turn away from the Camino we wouldn't have a chance to know it.



The location the camping is in is very scenic on the one side with the river banks with dense forests and on the other the small beach between the cliffs. The camping itself is enormous and we couldn't even see it all. We hardly could choose a place for our tent cause there were so many great available ones. Not to say that the facilities were all great. The price was probably the most expensive that we payed for a tent 23 euros but there were campings where we paid 20 and they weren't even close to the level of this one. We moved from the cheapest to the most expensive camping in one day. And for us this is what we like the most about staying in the campings because you never know what to expect (cause you know you can't trust the photos at the website) and sometimes it's awful but sometimes it goes beyond your expectations like in this case.



And it felt like paradise after this hot exhausting day under the sun. But the best part was the beach of course where we cooked and had our dinner and spent all the evening just watching the waves and listening to the sound of the ocean rush. We haven't been to any camping with a private beach before and it felt so unusual but cool at the same time when you could have all the beach just to yourself. We spent some time taking photos and just being silly. We didn't see the sunset because of the cliffs blocking the view but at least we had this time to just be present and enjoy the view. And so, tired but happy after full of the impressions day, with the sounds of the waves that were rocking us to sleep we quickly fell asleep that night.


Watch the full video here:

 

[Walking Nature World]

Spectacular Atlantic Oceanside and the Most Secluded Campground | Camino del Norte from Pechón to Pendueles - Day 17


On the Day 17 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the village Pechón to the Campsite "La Paz" in Pendueles.


We slept very well with the sound of the ocean wash. We left the camping at a very late hour - 12 a.m. We were filming my favourite hairstyles for hiking(the bathrooms were very spacious and the light was perfect for that) and also because we slept in a bit. The lady on a reception gave us a 10 percent discount and put us a camping stamp which was very nice, now this special place will stay in our credential as well.



The start of the day was cloudy and the sky was completely covered in clouds that wasn't bad for us after our last day burning in the sun. All the first part of the day was similar to others crossing the villages and the highways.



We've been wondering whether the Camino was the same 100 or 200 years back in time and how much it has changed because of the industrialization and building of car roads and highways. We would love to go back in time even for a one day and see what it was like.



And we realized that out of animal world all we met were farm animals like horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, cows and not much of a wildlife. Most of the wildlife we saw were the seabirds: hernets, seagulls and some eagles and hawks. But we started to miss quite a bit the deers and marmots that we used to see in the mountains where we live. But this all wasn't a surprise because the Camino in the area goes through heavily populated areas so most probably that was the case.




The last bit of our day was spectacular when finally the Camino turned to the oceanside and we got to enjoy it throughly. We realized that now we are in the other province of Asturias, the indicators were a bit different and we felt like they got more confusing and less accurate sometimes.



The most scenic part started from la Franca to the village Pendueles. We remember the powerful foamy flows of water crashing into the rocks sticking out of water. We were hiking at the very edge of a cliff and crossing over the cave through the natural rocky bridge with a massive water flows underneath us. The cliffs itself were so unique and self sufficient that we could just stare at them for hours.



And so we didn't notice how we got to the camping with a loud name La Paz. After our last camping we didn't expect anything special from this one but we were so wrong. It was situated right at the ocean on the side of a cliff. It would be impossible to camp here if they didn't adapt the ground by making it flat for the tents. The scenery was unbelievable - on the one side there were rocky cliffs and the beach and on the other perfectly adapted places for the tents on different levels that it almost looked like steps. And there were so many different places to choose from but you have to be ready to hike up and down quite a bit. So the camping was very big but the best thing about it was the quiet and secluded location -that's what makes it so special. So now we know that it can definetely compete with the last camping Las Arenas. And so we met two exceptional campings in the row. It was the happy ending of this very exciting day.


Watch the full video here:

 

[Walking Nature World]

Hiking through Wonderful Bufones de Arenillas and beautiful beaches in Asturias, Spain | Camino del Norte Pendueles, Llanes, Celorio - Day 18

Watch the full video here:

On the Day 18 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the campsite "La Paz" in Pendueles to the campground "Playa de Troenzo" in Celorio.

We woke up pretty late to a cloudy morning in a beautiful location at camping La Paz. We were more than happy with it because of its incredible location between the two beaches and unusual concept. It was extremely hard to wake up to the gloomy weather that was staying lately and you know when you like the place you kind of don't hurry to leave. We tried to pack everything up as quickly as possible and get on the trail. We started getting through the fields and went out to the beautiful viewpoint that produced the strange sounds. We took some pictures of the rocks and cliffs and got closer to the place where a thunder like sounds were heard...

Leave us a comment if you have any further questions left or just want to share your experience. We would love to read your feedback - it is
very important to us!

 

[Walking Nature World]

Very bright and sunny day on Camino del Norte| From Ribadesella to Colunga in Asturias, Spain - Day 21

Watch the full video here:

On the Day 21 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we hiked from the village Ribadesella to Colunga in Asturias.

The campground was quiet except for the jackdaws that were disturbing our sleep in the middle of the night. We left the camping in Ribadesella and planned to get to Colunga till the evening. So we started hiking late as usual already when all the pilgrims are close to their final destination - we just start our day. The weather was drastically different from the last day with the hot sun above our heads and completely clear sky. We were to follow Camino indicators that day because it seemed to be going fine and as close to the coast as possible. So first part was almost all uphill but with quite a lot of shadow so that wasn't too bad. The route was going through the forest, fields and rural areas...

 

[Walking Nature World]

The first autumn day and getting to Oviedo |Camino del Norte from Villaviciosa to Cudillero - Day 22

Watch the full video here:

On the Day 22 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the village Villavicioksa to Oviedo and then to the town Cudillero in Asturias.

We woke up absolutely broken apart even though we slept well that night. All the muscles were sore and the shoulders and back were aching. Everything was telling us to stop that day but we couldn't. So we decided to continue the Camino in direction to Villaviciosa and probably find a spot there to camp cause there was no official camping whatsoever. Also we started to think about the big cities that we were getting close to - Gijon and Oviedo and we needed to skip them somehow as usual. So it was hard but we started walking. The weather was working in our favour - the sky was completely covered in clouds and we enjoyed it a lot after yesterday's extreme heat. We passed by few villages with old churches and the route was going through the beautiful green valley with eucalyptus forest on the sides...

 

[Walking Nature World]

Untouched natural beauty of the atlantic oceancoast | San Pedro de La Ribera, Cabo Vidio and Cadavedo on Camino del Norte-Day 24

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On the Day 24 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from San Pedro de la Ribera beach to the village Cadavedo in Asturias.

We spent a quiet night in the fields at a spot that we found yesterday. The day started nicely. Then the sun established it's place on the sky and it was there all day long. The first thing we planned to do is to get to Cabo Vidio and to explore this place - that's what locals recommend you to visit. Our trail started with path through the eucalyptus forest. Then we had a really long walk through the village Vivigo. We wandered a little bit in it and finally came out to Cabo Vidio Cliff. The place was absolutely spectacular giving you 360 degree views of the surrounding cliffs and stunning rocks that are standing out of the water. There is an important lighthouse located - that's seen from 40 km both sides..

Leave us a comment if you have any further questions left or just want to share your experience. We would love to read your feedback - it is very important to us!

 

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Splendid natural area of Cabo Bustu in Asturias, Spain | Camino del Norte from Cadavedo to Luarca - Day 25

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On the Day 25 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from Cadavedo village to the town Luarca in Asturias.

We woke up really early that day to be in time to catch the train. It was our great motivation. We wanted to travel 2 stops and to get off on the station Caneiru so that we have more time to explore another beautiful cliff. And also we saw that most of the trail was on or near the road and we didn't want to walk all that distance. So we got ready as quickly as possible and rushed to the train station...

 

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Discovering hidden scenic beaches in Asturias | Camino del Norte from Luarca to Playa de Otur - Day 26

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On the Day 26 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the town of Luarca to Playa de Otur in Asturias.

We ended up liking the camping Los Cantiles quite a lot when in the morning we had time to explore it. It was very spacious green space with lots of different spots to camp and the proximity of the ocean and incredible views from it - make it a special place.So we walked out of the camping and headed straight to the lighthouse to get a closer view of it. The lighthouse itself was nothing special but the white chapel at the side of it was standing out. Town was located in the couloir between hills on different levels. So we got that it was an actual fishing village because of the amount of boats parked in the port. Then we went up to the Ermita on the other side of the town and continued walking along the coast...

 

[Walking Nature World]

Discovering hidden scenic beaches in Asturias | Camino del Norte from Luarca to Playa de Otur - Day 26

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On the Day 26 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the town of Luarca to Playa de Otur in Asturias.

We ended up liking the camping Los Cantiles quite a lot when in the morning we had time to explore it. It was very spacious green space with lots of different spots to camp and the proximity of the ocean and incredible views from it - make it a special place.So we walked out of the camping and headed straight to the lighthouse to get a closer view of it. The lighthouse itself was nothing special but the white chapel at the side of it was standing out. Town was located in the couloir between hills on different levels. So we got that it was an actual fishing village because of the amount of boats parked in the port. Then we went up to the Ermita on the other side of the town and continued walking along the coast...

 

[Walking Nature World]

Following the GR E9 - great alternative to Camino del Norte | From Navia to Tapia de Casariego - Day 28

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On the Day 28 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from Navia to Tapia de Casariego in Asturias.

We woke up to a quiet chilly morning in the field. At night it was windy but we were warm because we covered all the sides of the tent with a hay that we found at a place.So we started the day very early and the plan was to take the train from Navia to the station Caridad which was 4 stations to skip the road part because there were no paths whatsoever looking at the map. And then continue on to Ribadeo to our camping site. So we had hour and a half of time to enjoy the coastal trail we started yesterday. It was almost 9 kms long but we didn't want to miss any of it because it was stunning all the way long. This coastal route was one of the best during this hike and it would be one of our favourites of all times. And even though we were almost late to the train...

 

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Discover the Underwater world - Incredible As Catedrais Beach in Ribadeo, Galicia | Camino del Norte - Day 29

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On the Day 29 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we passed through Ribadeo and Las Catedrales Beach in Galicia.

We packed everything up and were on the trail only at 12.00 a.m. So we hiked several kms along the coast, explored several amazing beaches with white sand and finally got to Ribadeo. We continued to hear the unusual Galician language around and were wandering the last days about how it formed and what is it similar to. And it stroke us that we're close to Portugal and it sounds much like Portuguese language. So we had a small walk in Ribadeo and then hoped on the train to move 3 stops further to get to the Praia As Catedrais which was known as a popular tourist attraction. The train stop was very close to it so after walking 2 kms along the coastal path we were at the place...

 

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Scenic natural trail Ruta del Cantabrico in Galicia | Camino del Norte from Foz to Valdoviño - Day 30

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On the Day 30 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the town Foz to Valdoviño in Galicia.

It was a beautiful sunny morning when we woke up in the camping San Rafael. As we walked out of it we saw the indicator of Ruta Camino Natural del Cantabrico that we discovered yesterday. And so the plan was to follow this trail 3 or 4 stops further along the coast to the train station Cangaz de Foz and then take quite a long journey to Valdoviño. So we walked the Ruta natural for about 10 kms, saw several beaches, two rivers flowing into ocean and overall enjoyed it a lot...

 

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Exploring Island area of Sanxenxo, A Lanzada and O Grove in Galicia | Camino del Norte - Day 31

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On the Day 31 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we hiked from the town A Lanzada to O Grove in Galicia.

So we started the day late and got out of the camping at the latest possible hour of check out at 12.00 am. The camping was actually very nice and the views of the surrounding islands were absolutely fantastic.So we went out of it and right away were forced to walk along the car road because there was no alternative path. And the thing that we noticed yesterday about the place being very touristic with the variety of hotels and apartments just got proved. We were there out of season and so couldn't really see the whole picture how it is when it's hot but we could imagine that it might be very busy. We passed along the beach and went out to the Ermita de Nosa Señora da Lanzada and saw the ruins of the Roman town. It was a viewpoint of one the longest beaches of Galicia La Lanzada...

 

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Final day getting to Santiago de Compostela | Camino del Norte - Day 32

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On the Day 32 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the village O Grove to the city Santiago de Compostela.

The next day we had a very little time before our bus at midday and we woke up early to be able to walk slowly the distance to the town O Grove. We crossed the same river bridge as yesterday and said goodbye to the cute little crabs and moved further ahead along the bay in direction to the town. We said thank you to the eucalyptus forest for being a great company throughout our journey. We took the bus to Pontevedra and then changed another one to get to Santiago. In Santiago we had several hours to spare and we decided to visit the square of the Cathedral of Santiago (that is a goal for all the pilgrims). The place was beautiful and filled with light with a unique atmosphere of pilgrims coming and walking around with their backpacks...

 

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Why the Camino is not for us? Is Camino de Santiago worth it? | Our final thoughts, tips and advice

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In this video we want to share with you our final thoughts, tips and advice on Camino de Santiago del Norte that we started in Biarritz and finished in Ribadeo.

What was your experience with the Camino? Was it somehow similar? Let us know in the comments.