Norte – Day 2 – Hondaribia to San Sebastion

Day 2 began a little later than planned. We both had trouble sleeping with the time change… wide awake at 3 AM. We managed to fall back asleep, only to wake later than planned at 7:45. That set our departure back by a least an hour. Not the best start for our first day. After breakfast, we toured the town of Hondariba. This is certianly a city to see if you can. Quaint shops, waterfront promenade etc. Perhaps worth another visist in the future.

We had heard that the first day walk out of Irun was a bit challenging; which we can confirm. After negociating the path out of the city including one unplanned detour due to a miss of an arrow marker, we were greeted by a lenghty uphill climb. At one point the trail seemed to nearly go nearly straight up. To top it off it was muddy from yesterdays rain. We managed the climb suffering only a bit of mud and a bit of panting.

After clearing the hill were rewarded with some amazing coastal views that we ejoyed for the better part of the day as we traversed the ridgeline.

Along the way we met a couples from Austria, Canada and Washington DC and a young woman from upstate New York. All were friendly, but our conversaions were short, as the Norte is more for those who seek solitude.

We arrived in San Sebastion around 6 PM. Just enough time do our Camino chores of laundy, showers and eating…. A great day on the Camino.

We are expecting rain tomorrow for the whole day. Looks like tomorrow may be challenging as it is a similar walk along the coastal ridge line. While Lori’s knee held up well today, she has been in a bit of pain since we arrived. If the knee is problimatic, we may not want to risk a muddly slippery trail tomorrow. Despite the forcasted rain we are looking forward to what tommorrows adventure will be…

Buen Camino!