Just Days Away!

It's spring (yaaaa!!!) and there is always a bunch of stuff to be done at this time of year before departing. That said, it's well worth the hassle to get out the door as walking at this time of year is my favourite. Subject to the weather it can be a pretty special season to be traipsing across hills and over coastal headlands amongst the flowers. Yup, you can tell I'm getting excited! Our training such as it was is finished and we are only walking intermittently to maintain our feet. Gear pulled together this week, a nice 13.7 lbs or 6.2 kgs dry weight (Annemarie has even less). In comparison, for our first Camino in 2013 I carried 19.5 lbs (8.9 kgs) and have carried progressively less each time. Our feet and knees are going to really thank us!

The Norte is one of the oldest camino routes to Santiago de Compostela. During the Middle Ages the more commonly used Camino Frances which runs roughly parallel to the south came under increasing pressure as the Moorish armies pushed northward forcing the Christian armies back. As a result, most pilgrims largely abandoned the French Way and walked along the coastal Norte and inland to Santiago over the Primativo (the Original Way), a distance of some 850 kms from the French border.

The reading I've done indicates that King Alfonso II established Oviedo as the capital of his kingdom which encouraged many pilgrims to travel along the coast before heading a short ways inland to Oviedo where the Primativo begins and heads SW over the Cantabrian Mountains. In the 11th Century the Reconquest of Spain forced the Moorish Army further south allowing pilgrims walking from France to resume walking the comparatively easier French Way. The importance of the Norte diminished significantly after this. Only during very recent times has walking the various Camino routes, particularly the French Way experienced a resurgence in popularity. An understatement!

Of the many routes which end in Santiago, the Norte/Primativo combination is presently the third busiest after the French and Portuguese Ways, though still much less travelled. The Norte and its various options tends to appeal to peregrinos looking for a scenic, quieter walking experience. During the months of July and August the coastal portions of the route are also very popular with holidayers which is why we have chosen the last part of May and June to cross. We hope this will provide decent weather with less competition for beds before the summer crowds descend. I guess we'll soon see.

One of the more appealing features of this route, aside from the scenery and excellent seafood, are the many options available to change up the daily walking route. We will set off aware of some of these 'variants', but we have no specific plan and will simply figure things out as we go. A fairly freestyle walk. This could be impacted by the numbers of other pilgrims, availability of accommodation, etc. We have 6 weeks available, so loads of time.

Another special attraction to this route is the length of time that we will spend walking and living in the Basque community with its interesting cuisine and very different language (sheesh, I already have enough trouble with Spanish). Irun, where we begin our walk, is part of this region and we expect to be in Basque country for the first couple of weeks.

Then there's the ongoing question this winter, "to blog, or not to blog?". As my Camino amigo Ken said to me, it's a pretty big commitment and he understands if I don't (but he hopes that I will). On the upside these blog posts represent my travel journal, something I've tried to maintain since my earliest offshore travels. I have some sort of weird and perhaps misguided idea that when I can no longer undertake these punishing journeys, say when I'm 90, that I can at least sit at home, glass of vino tinto in hand and reread some of the adventures. And perhaps if I'm aware enough I might again feel some of the pleasures and emotions that I've found walking both Camino and Henro. I really experience a deep connection with these journeys, and I sometimes wonder how it will feel to reflect on them later in life. Hopefully I'll live long enough to find out! I've received many enquires about my intent to blog, and it's nice to hear that there is still some interest expressed to follow our progress after the many kilometres walked these past almost 6 years. So will I blog? I think the fact that I'm writing this today and beginning to anticipate being on the trail again probably answers this question :)

As we walk, and if you are interested in knowing roughly where we are each day then you'll be able to locate us by accessing the follow link to Gronze which is presented in Spanish. However, if you open the link with Google Chrome you should get an automatic, quite good translation. 
https://www.gronze.com/camino-norte
There are maps of each Gronze stage though our own stages may differ slightly, and there is a drop down elevation profile immediately below each map. There is also a wealth of other information about each stage if you're a bit like me and like to read just a little more. If we decide to transfer to the Primitivo at Oviedo, Gronze also covers this route nicely;
https://www.gronze.com/camino-primitivo
We may deviate and walk some of the GR coastal options likely taking us just off the 'official' Camino, but be assured we will find our way back there at some point, usually within a day or so.

We fly out in just a couple of days and expect to begin walking May 22nd. The weather forecast in Irun is calling for a sunny day and 24 degrees. Perfect. Can't wait to climb on a non-737 MAX and take off!