Three days on the Camino del Norte
An 81-mile trail journey from San Sebastián to Bilbao
Visions of quaint footpaths through rolling hills, wide plains lit golden by the Spanish sun, and summer reds to be sipped after a long day’s walking have lived in a certain corner of my mind ever since I once watched the movie The Way with Martin Sheen in Catholic school. The scenes were an inkling of a dream to do the long walk of the Camino de Santiago. As it happens, now that I find myself living one block away from one of the most popular routes of the pilgrimage in San Sebastián, the dream no longer entices me — there’s too much pavement on the Camino and too many good trails of dirt and stone in the mountains nearby where I’d rather spend my time.
This past weekend though, with my family landing in Bilbao to spend a week of spring break with me, I decided to take the opportunity to meet them there on foot and experience at least a good 80-mile section of the coastal way of the Camino.
DAY ONE: SAN SEBASTIÁN - ZARAUTZ (14 miles)
A foggy day in coastal hills roused Santa Cruz and Bay Area nostalgias. I packed as light as I could: small sweet and salty snacks, one set of warm and dry clothes, and the modern essential trio of phone-wallet-keys. The route has enough access to water that I was able to forgo a water bottle and only sip from streams and fountains as I came across them, which was a huge weight-saver. The first day of three, I enjoyed a good easy flow for two and a half hours, mostly on gently rolling pavement, before arriving at the chilled out surf town of Zarautz to spend the night in a hostel.
[strava link for day one's run]
DAY TWO: ZARAUTZ - ZARRABENTA (41 miles)
The longest day of this trip, I spent 8 hours running between these two Z-towns. I was happy to have some more dirt and mud and gravel under my feet today, but on one slick section of wet downhill pavement I took a good spill that left me slightly bloodied with a raspberry road rash up all of my right leg. Dogs barking, sheep bleating, and donkeys braying provided the soundtrack of the day, which echoed long through misty rocky valleys.
For this night’s accommodation, I scored an entire 1700s farmhouse to myself for just 20€ in a peaceful village a few miles outside of Guernica, the next landmark town on the trek. The big old beautiful house has been converted into a hostel with maybe thirty beds, but I was its only guest on this golden eve! That summer red of my Camino dreams at the local bar and the farmhouse balcony all to myself at sunset with a painted guitar to play were ample reward for the day’s forty hilly miles.
[strava link for day two's run]
DAY THREE: ZARRABENTA - BILBAO (26 miles)
I woke to a proper breakfast feast prepared by Borja, my gracious host: yogurt, granola, fruit, toast, butter, flower honey, and coffee. My nutritional strategy for this trip was to eat big breakfasts for fuel and huge dinners for recovery, snacking as little as needed to stay light as possible while on the move, and I was quite satisfied with this plan in the end. I made myself a spotify playlist [LINK] to dance to in the big empty Spanish home for an hour after the meal, so likewise to stimulate the digestion as loosen up the running muscles, and I set out on foot shortly after 9 in the morning.
Oh the legs were definitely sore by this point — tendonitis above the left big toe being the main culprit — but as I got moving, I could also feel my trail legs growing beneath me, along with the notion that maybe I could do this every day for a good long time and not get tired of it.
I ran through eucalyptus forests, who lend the sweetest air to breathe; I took a rejuvenating cold bath in a trailside swimming hole; coins in my back pocket were sparkling like jingle bells as I ran along soft muddy trails; in short, all was good, and it got even better as I emerged from the forest to the sound of traditional Basque music playing in the nearby village of Larrabetzu. I approached their plaza, and I stumbled upon crowds of people gathered for a full-blown festival in celebration of txakoli, a local variety of white wine. I got myself a cup along with a freshly made corn tortilla (here called talos) filled with lettuce, tomato, avocado.
Never had I run buzzed before, but boy oh boy, some combination of the wine, the sunshine, and knowing I only had 7 miles to go put me in an incredible state of mind. I charged up the last climb, one thousand feet of continuous incline, watching as some magic energy churned my legs for me. I crested the hill and wound my way down into the sunny plazas of Bilbao, where shortly I would reunite with my brother, feeling grateful for the adventure of the last three days, and looking forward to a week with my family, a week of rest.
[strava link for day three's run]
Springtime blessings and happy trails to all.
Beautiful words and photos my friend. Runner’s high tourism. Crucial to dance after breakfast <3