Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while (ok, since at least 2016!) will know that I have walked the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied-de-Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, over the course of 5 summers (but 7 years thanks to C*vid) and those who know me in real life will know that I have nothing but AMAZING things to say about this experience. So much so that, when a group of us finished the final leg in the summer of 2022, we all immediately started looking at different routes to walk. This is Day 3 of our walk from San Sebastián to Bilbo on the Camino del Norte that we completed in July 2024.
After Day 2, walking from Getaria to Deba, when we were tricked into thinking it was “easier” just because it was shorter, we tried to go into this day not having many expectations. We were expecting this to be around 23km which *felt* do-able – but we didn’t know what the terrain was like so tried to approach with an open mind… Of course, we started climbing just 1km out of Deba (see above…)… And this set the tone for the whole day…
And then there was the mud…
Sometimes the waymarkers were incredibly hard to spot…
Just. So. Much. Mud.
After a couple of hours of this, the paths cleared up a bit and we were treated to some spectacular views…
The ascent continued but we met some furry friends on the way who helped us pass the time…
The scenery was SUPER lush and for the first 8ish kilometres we were very happy to have such gorgeous countryside (albeit hilly)…
Around 9km, we stopped at one of the only places on this (very long) section of the Camino del Norte – Olatz, where some of us drank every beverage available…
Café con leche, Aquarius electrolytes and Cerveza con Limón (radler)
Others enjoyed what they thought was a granola bar but turned out to be just a chocolate bar…
While others allowed themselves a short nap…
This, as it turned out, was not a great idea as we were just 1/3 into the day – and little did we know what lay ahead…
Up, up, up we climbed (thankfully it seemed like we’d left the mud behind)…
To practically the top of the world…
Ah, we thought we were at the top but no…
Ok, so not muddy but the section between Olatz and Markina is about 15km with no towns to speak of so it felt VERY LONG.
We were happy to find a little stand selling “pay what you can with suggested donation” items in the small hamlet of Collardo de Arno..
Little did we know we were not at the top of our ascent either. And that there was a HUGE descent after it to tackle too…
Up we went…
Yep, up in the clouds it’s a bit more muddy too…
Yes there were some roads (and trucks to avoid)…
And on we pushed… rewarded with some spectacular views…
But yep – what goes up must come down… It started out ok…
But quickly descended into more mud…
Like, a LOT more mud…
And just when we thought we were home free, came the “long rocky descent”… Um, yeah…
And right at the end where it was VERY steep…
You know it’s bad when there’s a handrail installed….
Yeah, this was SO HARD – and we had to move SO slowly to be safe (we chatted with others in the days that followed and we all agreed that it was kind of ridiculously hard…)
But eventually, after around 2 more hours than we were expecting to be on our feet, we made it…
The elevation map tells the story….
We were SO thankful to arrive at Casa Rural Intxauspe landetxea where we quickly showered, imbibed in a few well-deserved drinks and did some self-care…
BEST mini massage gun (<<< affiliate link but this is excellent for travel).
We had been booked for the communal meal so we literally just had steps to go for dinner.
PLUS, there was a Viennetta-type dessert !
This place was a haven after a long day’s walk – friendly people and quiet, comfortable rooms.
Stay tuned to see if Day 4 was any easier….
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Disclosure: I researched Camino tour operators independently and chose the Camino Travel Center based on a number of features such as flexibility to accommodate a couple of “splits” in some of the longer days, price, and customer service. They were, in fact, the first company I came across in my very first Google search and the one I ended up booking with. From the initial inquiry to the actual trips, they have been a pleasure to deal with and we have been very impressed with the service provided (bag transportation) and the accommodation choices. I was not compensated to write about this trip in any way but I love sharing companies and products I believe in with my readers. I couldn’t recommend the Camino Travel Center more. Stay tuned to see what summer 2025 brings!
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Great pics, Mardi