2. 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
3. 9 July. So I got started...
3
From San Sebastián to Zarautz
4. 10 July. I absolutely loved
mornings like this
4
From Zarautz to Deba
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 13 July. Basque country, what a beautiful country!
Basques are asking pilgrims for help.
7
From Gernika to Lezama
8. 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.
9. 15 July. Step after careful step... Good that Portugalete was this close
9
From Bilbao to Portugalete
10. 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.
11. 17 July. Another arrival: there are certain objects that
all pilgrims shall see.
11
From Castro Urdiales to Laredo
12. 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)
13. 19 July. Wonderful beaches along the way... Ooh, that
was a hot summer day for a hiker!
13
From Castillo to Santander (via Somo)
14. 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
15. 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
16. 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
17. 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)
18. 24 July. The last look to Cantabria before entering Asturias
18
From Unquera to Llanes
19. 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
20. 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
21. 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.
22. 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
23. 29 July. Sometimes it feels
just like that...
23
From Gijón/Xixón to Avilés
24. 30 July. A piece of thematic contemporary art on the way
24
From Avilés to El Pito
25. 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...
26. 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
27. 2 August. ...And for Sunday we have fiesta in Navia
27
From Luarca to Navia to Jarrio
28. 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. 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“
30. 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...
31. 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.)
32. 8 August. Today’s highlight in loneliness: a wind
generator in fog (I could have touched it)
32
From Guitiriz to Curtis
33. 9 August. Another Sunday, another fiesta, this time in Arzúa
33
From Curtis to Arzúa
An important milestone:
less than 50 km left
34. 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...
35. 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.)
36. ...So I did it!
36Just finished
The certificate (my name is written in
Latin)
37. Buen Camino!
37
I’m not original but still:
The journey is the reward. Once there what then?
