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 2 of our walk from San Sebastián to Bilbo on the Camino del Norte that we completed in July 2024.
Ok, so after Day 1 walking from San Sebastián to Getaria which we had all thought was the hardest, we approached Day 2 feeling that the hardest day was behind us. The fabulous Hotel Itxas Gain, where we stayed the night, advertised “El mejor desayuno del mundo” (the world’s best breakfast!) on their website and, even though they didn’t start serving until 8.30am (SO LATE for those walking the Camino – we typically have done at least 6km by then…) we felt OBLIGED to stay for this, and the front desk lady told us that “it’s a shorter day today, *just* 19km) so we were like… “Oh, ok, twist our arm….”.
The breakfast was, in fact, amazing and – little did we know – we would need the energy we got from ordering EVERYTHING on offer! Plus, cake with a view?
This being said, in retrospect it would have been MUCH better to leave an hour or so earlier, given what was on the cards for our walk that day… While it was *only* 19km compared to the 26 of the previous day, there was rain and mud on the horizon. Plus, elevation.
Right out of the gate, we started to climb…
And it’s all well and good when it’s dry… The countryside WAS beautiful – and you can see just how much rain they had had by how green and lush everything is…
Out of Getaria, we knew that there were only a couple of towns on this leg (haha, in our minds we thought “hey, it’s *only* 19km we should be ok…). So we enjoyed the scenery…
It really IS a beautiful part of the world…
A few kilometres out of Zumaia, (the biggest town on our route today) it started to drizzle.. Some of us sought cover under the vines …
Finally, the town beach and then the town came into sight…
Bu this point we were pretty wet so we stopped for coffee and drinks (it was probably only about 10.30am at this point so not really time for a meal, especially given our breakfast situation…). And we dried off as best we could while checking the weather to see it was supposed to rain all day…
Up again and out of the town for more views -you can see how overcast and cloudy it is…
The terrain out of Zumaia and onto Elloriaga (which was about another 5km and where, according the the book, there was “a bar” which we thought might make a decent stop) was mixed – some roads but also rocky and slippery and muddy. Also, there is no town so to speak – it’s more a park with toilets and a van serving snacks. Ok then…
We amused ourselves using the Translate feature on our phones…
And on we plodded…
It was very beautiful (when you could afford to look up from where you were going – it was a bit treacherous in places) but the rain did not let up for hours. In fact, we had been looking forward to the Basque Coast Geopark but didn’t make it due to some signage issues (this part of the Camino is not as well marked as the Camino Francés). The park is on an “alternative” route and we ended up on the “official” route which ended up (thankfully) going through a small town called Itziar where we got to stop and dry off and get some drinks and snacks…
A sight for sore eyes, indeed!
A bummer about the route – we were aware that we would need to keep an eye out for the markers we wanted to follow but we just didn’t see them (and, from looking at all the people walking this section of the Camino that week, noone else did either – we even asked others if they had deliberately chosen this path and noone we spoke to had. Hmm…). Anyway… at this point, there was nothing to be done but to keep on walking… We still had a ways to go (over 2 hours walking…).
Some paved roads, some not. SO MUCH RAIN! And obscured views…
Towards the end, we all felt a little bit like this…
Finally, wet and weary we arrived in Deba to find that even thought the main part of town was at a much lower elevation than the approach, there was this…
Yep, it’s an elevator!
And this:
So many elevators! So good at the end of a long day! VERY slow going on this day…
We regrouped and showered and headed out for some food and to replenish our snacks (the thing with the long walking days is that you arrive in a town late, exhausted and you don’t have much time to explore – in the past legs of the Camino Francés, we’d arrive at the latest around 3pm – this time it was more like arriving around 5pm which makes for a short amount of time in the arrival town).
All you need in your daypack, right?
We hydrated and had some snacks…
I mean, football themed snacks during Euro 24, what could be better… but wait, hold up – wait, what are those drinks?
Well that cordial like one was Mr Neil’s choice – it’s Kalimotxo – which is red wine mixed with cola. And yes, it’s a thing in that part of the world! According to Food & Wine:
This easy-drinking combination originated in the 1920s, in the Old Port area of Algorta, a coastal town in the Basque region of Spain. The story is that organizers of a festival added cola to red wine in order to save several cases of wine that had gone bad and make them drinkable. The drink was a success, and has been enjoyed around the world since then. Kalimotxo is especially popular during the cocktail hour, paired with olives, cheese, and other snacks.
Apparently, it was “not bad” but, shall we say, it didn’t become a fixture of our apéritif hours 😉
We wandered around a bit after drinks but couldn’t find anywhere serving dinner proper yet (when you are walking the Camino, you need to eat before Spanish dinner time LOL!) so ended up back at the bar which would serve dinner “soon”. Hearty meals were enjoyed… (Cafeteria Atozte, btw)
Then a wander back to the hotel to gear up for the next day…
Stay tuned to see what Day 3 of this year’s route brings… (spoiler: the hardest is not behind us!)
_________
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!
Read more about the Camino de Santiago
Click here to read all my posts about the Camino de Santiago!
_________
Buy my books! In the French kitchen with kids and French Food for Everyone: le goûter (after school snacks), le dîner (dinner) and le petit déjeuner (breakfast) are out now! Click here for details and how to order!
Like this post? Get blog posts delivered to your inbox! Sign up here!
It looks so much more laid back and pleasant reading this, LOL! 😉