Day 25
9.6 Miles, 15.4 K
Walked & Written on May 17, 2022














Gijón is a seaport and a multi faceted city with something for everyone. We are enjoying our time here!
Day 25
9.6 Miles, 15.4 K
Walked & Written on May 17, 2022
Gijón is a seaport and a multi faceted city with something for everyone. We are enjoying our time here!
Day 17
14.6 Miles, 23.5 K.
Written on May 10, 2022
Many times the photos make it appear that the walk may be easy or mostly on level ground. Not true. So far the Camino del Norte has been very mountainous, a lot of ups and downs. Even though the Camino is not a walk in the park it is worth every step. The coastal walk is priceless and the flora and fauna is infinite. An amazing aspect of the Camino to me is I may be barely dragging myself to that night’s bed and in the morning- ready to go!
Buen Camino!
Day 15
14 Miles, 22.5 K
Written on May 7, 2022
Today started out with a detour to a train station. We happened to read last night that the best way to proceed to Santilliana was with a two minute train ride. We had to bypass the bridge over the river. Other Pilgrims were on the train, as well.
We decided to take the train to Mar, longer than 2 minutes. We went to a bar in Mar. I ordered a coffee with soy milk. When we were ready to leave the owner handed me the soy milk container for no charge! Thanks vern for carrying it!
Day 13
23 Miles, 37.0 K
Written On May 6, 2022
Today’s mileage is shown as 23 miles, 37 kilometers. That is the distance shown on the map Apps. What is not shown is the distance deducted for taking the Ferry to Santander. Taking the Ferry is suggested in the Camino del Norte Pilgrim Guides. It took a half hour to get to Santander.
We arrived in Santander a few hours ahead of Lisa and Rhonda and proceeded to look for our reserved rooms….and looked for our rooms……and looked for our rooms. Lisa and Rhonda arrived by Ferry and we were still looking for our rooms. Vern, Lisa and I transported our backpacks through the Post Office Service. We thought if we found our room, we would find our bags. The adventure led us to a Private Hostal which did not have our bags, then to the Correos, (Post office), which did have our bags. Next: find our rooms. The Private Apartment we were looking for was on a main boulevard in Santander and did not have an address number listed on the reservation. Many locals we asked tried to help us find it,
Finally at 8 pm the owners of the Apartment texted me the full address! Great! We can now have dinner .
Day 12
13 Miles, 20.9 K
Written on May 6, 2022
Today while walking we decided to stop for lunch in Santoña after getting off the ferry. Shortly after eating I started to feel lightheaded and sick to my stomach. I walked until we found a place to call for help. We decided to call the next place where we have a reservation: Casona De La Parra. Paula answered the phone and said she would try to find a Taxi to pick us up. No Taxis were available. She called to let us know that her father, Mariano, would pick us up in fifteen minutes! Great!!!
We had reserved a two bedroom apartment at Casona De La Parra. After settling in we decided to go to the town close by and buy groceries. Once again Mariano helped us out. He was going to town and was glad to take us.
When we returned Rhonda started slicing veggies, fruit and bread. We put the food together and had a great meal. Thanks Rhonda for preparation and clean up!
Day 9
9.9 Miles, 15.9 k
Written May 1, 2022
Vern and I walked together along the River for many miles, (the variant route). Lisa and Rhonda chose the mountain walk, (The Camino Route.)
Anyone familiar with the Star Wars movies will recognize an Ewok. We did not expect to see a large stuffed animal replica of one in a tree! We had been walking along a busy road for a long time and was happy to see the animal!
The Bizkaia Bridge was the first ferry bridge built in the world with a metal structure. It is located at the mouth of the Ibaizabal river, at the point where the navigable estuary of Bilbao used to get to the sea until the 19th century. It was inaugurated on 28 July,1893 and its design was the work of Alberto Palacio and Elissague.
Above the hanging ferry is a pedestrian bridge.
We must have looked like we needed help buying our ferry ticket. We wanted to walk on top of the bridge but the tickets were sold out for 3 hours. We then tried to figure out how to buy a ferry ticket and he ⬆️ helped us….I forgot to ask your name.
We met up with Lisa and Rhonda in Santurce a few hours later to share the events of the day and have dinner. Buen Camino!
Day 3.
4.7 Miles, 7.6 K.
Written On April 25, 2022
It was a beautiful day for walking. We chose a short distance for today, actually it was shorter than planned. We are just getting to know how to read the various apps and tools we are using.
Vern and I decided to use the Correos (Post Office) Backpack shipping service. We lightened our load, helping us to feel better and walk better due to injuries which we had before we entered Spain.
When we arrived at our Hotel in Zauratz our bags were not there. After a call to the Correos I realized that they did their best to reach me but my phone ringer was off. They no longer had drivers to deliver our bags. Vern and I were prepared to take a round trip taxi to Orio to get our bags. When I contacted the owner at Hostal Xaloa in Orio she insisted she would bring the bags to us!!!! Another example of Camino kindness!