STAGE 2 – Camino del Norte: SAN SEBASTIAN to ZARAUTZ
Camino del Norte stage by stage and what to expect: A Guide to Walking Spain’s Northern Way
Any questions? lemme know in the comments, happy to help…
San Sebastian to Zarautz distance = 22km
Rain rain WONT go away…
Today was one of the shorter days… BUT….. OH NOOOO… RAIN!!
What I learned walking the Camino del Norte… think dreary… think wet… think rainy… think keeping dry… think rain ALL DAY… it really didnt stop…. but I also really was grateful for the experience, and you know what? I learnt a new skill for life, what its like to be constantly rained upon and wet the whole day walking non stop… I also appreciate the dry days much more after this day
The Norte Pilgrimage map – STAGE 2
SAN SEBASTIAN
Pearl of the Cantabrian Sea
We were happy with our accommodation in San Sebastian – plz note to book this place early as this place is a booked out during summers and very popular due to the beach
My Camino del Norte accommodation –> Pension El Puerto (Pension low range budget – b&b like – clean and close to the beach) I recommend if you are on a budget, this was one of the cheapest I found other than a hostel
I booked mine a month in advance and got a great price for the night
ROUTE -> Walking from San Sebastian town centre towards the Camino trail…
There are so many things to see along the way of the Camino Del Norte!
Woke at 6:30 It was raining! Oh no… what we had feared most, but you know what? Id never walked in rain so this was going to be a new experience and i was ready… BRING IT ON! come on do your best Camino lol – I had slept well, and I was ready to see how my leg would hold up and also how i would hold up in this weather
WET WEATHER GEAR – What to wear on a rainy day on the Camino
Today I had on my waterproof hiking pants, waterproof jacket and a plastic poncho
Looking back now, I think the best thing is that plastic poncho as it goes over your bag and protects it as well and I never got wet underneath it so your jacket doesnt need to be waterproof either
We walked towards the west to the Beach of La Concha on the other side of the town and walk along the boardwalk and WOW what a walk it was!
Even though it was raining, it was still mesmerising to look out towards the electric waves crashing on the beach and being one of the few people out at that time
In the 19th c. it was a fashionable seaside resort for the rich and famous, used for therapeutic bathing, and as you pass by the houses and buildings overlooking the beach, you can see that it was because they were so elegant and huge
There are homes here that housed the Spanish royalty
ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACHES ALONG THE CAMINO!
The beach of La Concha has a very elegant past! I could see it straight away when I saw these gorgeous lamp posts & balustrade (Barandilla de la Concha) and the clock
“La Concha’s 1910 Weather Station” – There are also 2 really interesting and famous clocks Relojes de La Concha which are positioned at the entrance of the beach and on an obelisk and has a barometer inside and topped with decorative weather vanes – so visitors arriving could check the wind direction and atmospheric pressure – this whole place was being upgraded in the beginning of 20th c and the whole seaside promenade is so elegant
You pass through a gorgeous foot tunnel called Antzinako Tunela thats painted with all these awesome paintings and links the beach to the town
Where to find coffee along the Camino Del Norte
We knew we had heaps to walk today BUT we needed a coffee and it was getting us down with this constant rain so we stopped before we had even left San Sebastian! lol
The coffee was SO good and SO hot – I really didnt want to leave this warm cosy place!
More info on CAFE & HOTEL EZEIZA <– visit my blog post here
The beginning of the Camino
So, didnt want to… but had to get up and start walking again, I was making sure I was massaging my foot as I was already in a bit of pain even though we had just started – by this time it was a bit before 9am so we were off to a late start!
Now we were walking out and away from civilisation… it was now we were glad that we had grabbed that coffee, even though we had spent a bit of time there
There is always this battle going on in our heads about time, how much time will it take out of our walk if we go to cafe, or go to the toilet or even just sit down or have a stretch, its always in your head! Its prob one of the annoying things about the camino when you have a set time to finish…
We left the comfort of the streets behind and headed up some steep stairs and slowly back into the mountains…
I was dreading the paths, the weather would make it muddy and slippery and I had no idea what to expect! I kept as quiet as I could and just plodded on in the ever present rain, just thinking of the NOW and not the later and if I had to slide down on my ass, I would!
I always try to make sure I look back and not just get into the habit of walking only… the view down towards the town was so nice even in the wet and cold
This historic lighthouse is located on the slopes of Monte Igueldo, built in the 19th c and 134m above the sea level
10:00am – The beautiful mountain path and countryside was enjoyable to look around and experience even with the rain
KEEPING EYES ON THE SIGN
We kept being encouraged every now and again with the yellow arrow pointing us to the right direction
The rain made the signs harder to see as we were crouched in on ourselves trying not to get wet… in the end, we just gave up and tried to enjoy the experience
The cows didnt seem to mind the weather – they were curious about us though!
We didnt really bump into too many people at this stage of the day – many people would have started early, we already had our accommodation booked today so we werent worried
We made sure to book our own room in a pension / hotel as we knew we would have a lot of washing and drying to do
The rain started to get worse at this point and was pouring down!
At this point we were mostly walking on gravel, which wasnt too bad…
THEN…
Started the MUD TRAILS in the woods! NOOOOO…. so this is when it all began to get muddy
There really was not much choice in the way of stopping, we were right in the middle of it all! … wet walking was our only option right now…
We passed by other wet and dreary looking pilgrims all poncho’ed up and dripping wet
ORIO
We were in Orio region now
We hit a road… Whats that in the distance??…. its A HOUSE!!
It was The Txoko Del Peregrino Cafe <– GEEZ! we were so pleased to see this lovely warm and inviting place, we had hiked so far in the rain, without really speaking that much just wanting to get it over with…
This was a well deserved break! I didnt care for how long we stayed here lol
We really needed to keep going but we really didnt want to…
BUT…
There was a lovely fireplace which came in handy to, people trying to dry off for a bit before heading off
There were so many people stopping here and then heading off, we met a group of Australians and a whole mix of other pilgrims, but EVERYONE looked SO relieved to see this rest stop! We werent the only ones
We took our pilgrim passports out and got our stamps and I ordered some hot coffee
I donated 2 euro for the coffee and they handed out free cakes which was lovely!
The system here is DONATIVO, so you pay what you want to (or can) – its a usual business model you see on the Camino in Spain
Sat in front of the fire for a bit, took my shoes off and massaged my feet
We arrived at 12:15pm and ended up staying for 45mins, leaving exactly at 1pm
Heading down towards ORIO
…and back into the woods and the mud
The good thing was that these rocks werent that slippery so, slowly slowly, I became a bit more confident walking – also being aware of my foot injury, so it did take a bit longer to navigate this type of path than others due to this
As we began heading down, it became steeper and muddier, tree roots popped up here and there along the way
But the scenery still looked beautiful as you looked across the mountains and farmlands
And then around 1:30pm, we stumbled upon a gravel path! SO HAPPY
It really was much easier to walk once we hit the gravel and we sped up a bit, knowing we still had some way to go after getting to Orio
SAN MARTIN ERMITA (Hermitage)
A literal shelter for us that day! Feet feeling the heat even in this weather, they were crying out for a bit of a rest and a stretch!
We walked on and came by the San Martin Ermita and had another rest stop and mainly to shield ourselves from the rain
I didnt end up taking a pic due to the amount of rain…
There were a few other pilgrims there sheltering too, we were a little down and out as by this time is was nearly 2pm and we had been walking since 7:30am that morning
The building displays late medieval & renaissance architecture – there are cute detailings linked to the Camino with the cross and the shell
The building on this site is said to be built in 16th c. and is built on top of an older building
I would have loved to explore it but it was closed and we were on time constraints…
ORIO
A quaint little fishing town, lying on the river Oria, with a small population of around 6000ppl
As we trudged down towards Orio, step after now painful step, the town looked like it kept moving away from us further and further… WHY!? … this became a frequent think I notice daily on the camino once we began passing that 20km mark
By this time it was 2pm – we knew we had to walk on through Orio, even though every part of my feet were saying “nono, dont do it, take a break! plzzz ugh!” but…
We finally got to the town and I immediately perked up a bit because of the gorgeous buildings!
THE STREETS ARE REALLY STEEP! even climbing down was tough on the feet and I was taking it slow due to the rain
Even in the rain, the town looked romantic and inviting
This town was traditionally attached to the fishing industry, but sadly now its becoming more famous from tourism and this tradition is slowly fading away…
Its said that the old town is built in medieval times, as I walked through I could feel the old presence which was once there
I took my shoes off, massaged with my trusty massage ball and hand massager, changed my socks and put some dry ones on and glad I did so because as soon as I started walking, I could feel the difference, my feet felt better instantly!
We contemplated staying… should we have lunch here?… but that would mean we would have to find supermarket and then make our sandwiches, eat them, thats another minimum 1hr and we just didnt have that time on our side… ONWARDS AND UPWARDS… with hungry stomaches!
We crossed over the bridge and over to the other side of Orio town and it actually stopped raining for a while!
We crossed over the bridge in Orio and continued on… I felt like I missed out on exploring this town a little but but, due to circumstances, I let it go…
A bit of confusion with signages, we saw different KM’s remaining on 2 different signs were different towards Zarautz (this became a daily occurance)
Anyways, we checked out the map and there were a few different routes from here… we chose the mountain path that climbed back into the mountain and over that way rather than the road
Yes, constantly, silently thinking, CRAP we have to climb up again… nooooo!
I began to have this mantra in my head and just looked down at the ground while we climbed
From the top we saw Orio in its full beauty on this cloudy cold day… the bridge, the new town the mountain we had descended down from a few hours ago, it was so beautiful
We passed by some local farms steadily going uphill more so now..
And caught up with our German friend from San Sebastian and walked with her for a while, she was great company and was good for me because I was slow due to my foot, and we walked and talked about the world and whats going on, really interesting conversation..
She was going to the Zarautz camping ground to sleep for the night, we were walking past here and heading directly to the town of Zarautz
Looking at the map above afterwards, this part of the walk would have been so nice in better weather, it was gorgeous countryside and vineyards and we were walking so close to the sea as well
Anyways, away from that side note, we were walking head down bum up…
And it was HERE, maybe 20mins before the camping ground, that it started POURING!
and when I say POUR… I mean POURRRR
It had been fine for a while, without any downfall, it was just a slight light drizzle, but then all of a sudden, a cloud decided it wanted to go to the toilet, and all in 1 go and by the time I got my poncho out, I was SOAKED! all the drying I had done, was for NADA lol
What could we do but walk on, I left my poncho on, but for the rest of the day it was never like this downpour…
Saying bye to our friend, we walked on and towards Zarautz, we could see it
We had a good 1-2hrs left of walking…
Zarautz – known for having the longest beach in the region, 2.8km along the Bay of Biscay
It was historically a whaling town then transitioned into a major tourist resort town in the 19th c.
Its now a surfing capital that hosts annual World Surf League events
We never seemed to get to our accommodation! It was always slo-motion
And in all honesty, it doesnt look far on the map… BUT the hardest part of the day is ALWAYS the last 5km and the hardest was this last 3km…
We got to Zarautz at 5pm and the pavement of the roads felt awful on the soles of my already tender feet… it just thumped and thumped and no matter how I stepped it felt terrible…
We walked through the main part of the town and by the time we got to the other side to our apartment, we were absolutely physically and mentally exhausted!
We hadnt eaten lunch and we were pelted with rain the whole day
We shopped at Dia, we were SO hungry – I had a sandwich with pepper, cheese, salad and tomatoes and chips and a really nice red wine! I love Spanish red wines they are all pretty incredible! We tried the lemon / red wine as well that was nice, interesting, but nice
We were MUCH more relaxed after our dinner at our apartment, we hadnt eaten all day and so grateful to have had something to eat
We also showered, and washed our clothes and hing them out in our room with air con full blast for them to be able to dry by the morning
Checked for blisters, Luckily, no blisters but my socks all got wet! – the pants held up well, they dried quickly – washed now and ready for the next day!
We then found the energy to get up and go explore this really interesting town… I didnt know how to describe it when we first stepped in…
We walked along the beach even though it was raining, water crashing all around us, loud and energetic! It was a beautiful energy, despite the rain
Zarautz intrigued me a lot…Apartments and streets are immaculate to the point that the locals all walk around like kings! It’s incredible, honestly, every street was clean, immaculate and the locals held their noses high in the air
We stayed at the west side of town at SOMN HIPSUITES
What an interesting town! its got an amazing beach, known for its food and its surfing culture, has a rich history, well off residents who live comfortably well (its a high cost of living here) maybe a little bit snooty tbh, you can see it with the way they look at you as they walk past.. safe, clean streets, in summer there are many festival and events and food lovers should come here to try the pintxos
I really enjoyed staying in this town due to the elegance of the buildings and the relaxed vibe of the town itself and the residents
1 night – 5JUN26
The Wandering Passport 
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