34 Days on Camino del Norte

Snapshots from my Euro Pilgrim Walk

Summer 2015

Kristi Rohtsalu © August 2015

Quick facts about my walk

Start: 9 July 2015, San Sebastián

End: 11 August 2015, Santiago de Compostela

Duration: 34 days

Distance: 800+ km

Elevations: +17,000+ m / -17,000+ m

Footwear: Sport sandals

Fuel on the road: Muesli batons; Werther's Original

Backpack: ̴4.5 kg (no sleeping bag, no spare shoes, nothing that wasn’t absolutely necessary)

Accommodation: Mainly hostels and one or two-star hotels

Total cost: ̴ 2,000-2,500 EUR (incl. food)

2

9 July. So I got started...

3 From San Sebastián to Zarautz

10 July. I absolutely loved mornings like this

4 From Zarautz to Deba

11 July. „Few stretches of the Northern Way to Santiago are so far removed from civilisation as this path...“ – A travel guide

5 From Deba to Markina-Xemein to Bolibar

What? Am I supposed to go through this with sandals??!

I was, and it did not hurt.

12 July. Attention! Peregrinos on the road! Only later I learned the meaning of some signs...

6 From Bolibar to Gernika

From Gernika’s tourist office I was gently guided to take a look to this historic town.

13 July. Basque country, what a beautiful country! Basques are asking pilgrims for help.

7 From Gernika to Lezama

14 July. Guggenheim Museum, contemporary arts and accident in Bilbao

8 From Lezama to Bilbao

The ladder was poorly fastened and I reached the floor from the third level much faster than I had planned to... The next 100 km I was literally limping.

15 July. Step after careful step... Good that Portugalete was this close

9 From Bilbao to Portugalete

16 July. My longest 30 km: Is it indeed Castro Urdiales? ... It was.

10 From Portugalete to Castro Urdiales

As a compensation for my sufferings because of the injured leg, the way was interesting.

17 July. Another arrival: there are certain objects that all pilgrims shall see.

11 From Castro Urdiales to Laredo

18 July. This day I was a bit absentminded and got a bit lost. But then there was someone who was watching that I wouldn’t slip and there was someone who showed me the right way.

12 From Laredo to Castillo (via Santoña)

19 July. Wonderful beaches along the way... Ooh, that was a hot summer day for a hiker!

13 From Castillo to Santander (via Somo)

20 July. The end is really near: „just“ 560 kilometres to go

14 From Santander to Cudón

Bridge of Arce, the sight of the day

21 July. It was a rainy day when, following a rather short walk and a look to the historic quarter of Santillana del Mar, I explored the cave art in the Altamira Museum.

15 From Cudón to Santillana del Mar

22 July. „The churches are all closed... It did not use to be like that.“

– A fellow hiker

16 From Santillana del Mar to Comillas

23 July. When I got up in the morning I knew that this was going to be a good day. So it was.

17 From Comillas to Unquera

The last pic with Sonia before departing in San Vicente de la Barquera (me wearing the pink T-shirt)

24 July. The last look to Cantabria before entering Asturias

18 From Unquera to Llanes

25 July. Through the pasture to the point of destination, were the later a church or a cosy hotel...

19 From Llanes to Ribadesella to Pando

26 July. What a coastline! And then... Let’s go to the beach! It’s a hot summer day, after all!

20 From Pando to La Isla

27 July. Apparently they have cider in Asturias. In fact, in Asturias cider is considered not only a beverage but an intrinsic part of its culture and folklore.

21 From La Isla to Villaviciosa

„Is that all for me alone – just for 35 EUR?“ I wondered when entering my apartment in the hotel, apparently meant for three.

28 July. So simple it is: uphill, downhill, through a village, over another mountain, a bit walking and there we are... In Gijón

22 From Villaviciosa to Gijón/Xixón

29 July. Sometimes it feels just like that...

23 From Gijón/Xixón to Avilés

30 July. A piece of thematic contemporary art on the way

24 From Avilés to El Pito

31 July. Many people had walked this way before me and many people will walk it after me.

25 From El Pito to Ballota

Playa del Silencio was really silent today...

1 August. There are probably not many places where you want to go for a walk on your 24th day of hiking. Luarca may be the one.

26 From Ballota to Luarca

2 August. ...And for Sunday we have fiesta in Navia

27 From Luarca to Navia to Jarrio

3 August. My day started with the sunrise as it had so many times before... I’m getting used to it. I feel an urge to get going...

28 From Jarrio to Ribadeo

No, that’s not the chapel that is popular. It’s the beach.

What a popular chapel!

29 From Ribadeo to Lourenzá to Grove

While I took a pic of this garden, the landlord was there. I did not speak Spanish and he did not speak English, but he gave me two cucumbers from his garden.

4 August. The „Peregrino-hunt“

5 August. My longest walking day (40+ km): I did not find accommodation in Abadín and went on to Vilalba where I then stopped for two nights.

30

From Grove to Mondoñedo (in the background) to Abadín to Vilalba

A new happy day has just begun...

7 August. There are many ways for going where we want to go...

31 From Vilalba to Baamonde to Guitiriz

After Baamonde I had to get creative and find my own path given the availability of accommodations. So instead of Miraz and Sobrado, I went via Guitiriz and Curtis. (My zigzags are in green.)

8 August. Today’s highlight in loneliness: a wind generator in fog (I could have touched it)

32 From Guitiriz to Curtis

9 August. Another Sunday, another fiesta, this time in Arzúa

33 From Curtis to Arzúa

An important milestone: less than 50 km left

10 August. The last tens of kilometres... It’s like participating in some sort of marathon...

34 From Arzúa to O Pedrouzo

The doors of the „philosophical rooms“ in a cafe on the way: „BUEN CAMINO“ even there...

11 August. This day was a sad day and a beautiful day because it was my last day on the way

35 From O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela

Last but not least: waiting for my certificate

(I’m not religious so it’s not exactly the Pilgrimage Certificate. But the cuteness of a paper doesn’t matter if there are personal experiences attached... I was just honest while telling at the end in the Pilgrimage Office that I’m neither religious nor spiritual. Because at this point in time I’m not.)

...So I did it!

36 Just finished

The certificate (my name is written in Latin)

Buen Camino!

37

I’m not original but still: The journey is the reward. Once there what then?