This is our fifth pilgrimage and fourth Camino. They have each been quite different. Comparing the Camino del Norte to the “classic” Camino, the Camino Frances:
Hilly: we heard the del Norte had a lot of up and down and it sure does. I would say it is flat maybe 20-25% of the time. The rest is up then down then up … This is typical of paths by the ocean. Sawtooth is a word the guidebooks use. The highest point is often only 200-300 meters (read yards for meters) but the total up recorded by our GPS tracker is often 1500-2000 meters and then the same down over say 7-10 miles, because the end points are usually at sea level. We are walking short days 7-10 miles so it is okay but I’m glad we are not trying to do the usual 15-18 miles that typical pilgrims go.
Beautiful scenery: the views are spectacular. We are within sight of the ocean much of the way. All of northern Spain from the west (Galicia) to the east (Basque country) have a lot of rain and are wonderfully green, especially for someone from Albuquerque. The path has been uniformly pretty and green, with the exception of walk this morning out of Bilbao through its industrial suburbs. (Full disclosure: we took the train into Bilbao and the subway part way out of Bilbao, still we walked through the industrial suburbs).
Services: not as good as the Frances but not too bad. Fewer cafes.
Food: better on the Norte. This pintxos culture is wonderful. Every bar, even in small towns has a few, usually made there, always very good. It is not just the the big cities although there is a much bigger selection in the big cities. We usually start out early and stop at a bar around 10:30 or 11 for coffee and pintxos. Then we have our big meal around 1 or 2. This is usually a “menu del dia” and has always been good, it seems like home cooking.
Culture: next post.
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