2nd Stage Camino del Norte - from Getxo to Castro Urdiales

Well-nourished, I started my 2nd stage this morning. As I stepped out of the hotel, it had already started to drizzle again. At first, I left the poncho off, but the drizzle was going to accompany me for quite a while. So, I put on the poncho and donned my rain hat. Let's just say: I felt every muscle in my legs for the first two kilometers. Phew, that really hurt, but the pain passed quickly. I then walked briskly to the cable ferry, which I had been really looking forward to. A ride costs 55 cents and takes no longer than two minutes. Upon arriving in Portugalete, I had two hiking trails to choose from. I chose the path through Portugalete and the mountainous landscape instead of the riverside path.

I followed the yellow arrow towards the center and what do I see on the ground? Outdoor moving walkways that transport people upwards. Like at the airport, always in small sections. You can see this well in the photo. I had read in a travel guide that the author wasn't very excited about them. Hmmmmm, dear author, let me think about whether I liked the walkways, umm yes, I thought they were amazing. Especially for older people, the walkways are a great relief. Of course, I let myself roll all the way up.

Behind the center, I finally moved away from the town of Portugalete. It was quite bustling in the center, especially since it was still relatively early and the shops were being stocked with goods.

I was completely taken by the tranquility. Everywhere was green and wet from the drizzle. Haha. Luckily, it wasn't raining heavily, so I could walk really well. In the mountainous region, dark clouds were hanging tightly; it looked really ominous. In some places, it smelled just like in Allgäu, of freshly fertilized and freshly mowed meadows. I thought that was really great. Around a bend, there were two cute goats lying on the path. When they spotted me, they came running towards me. I think they found the white poncho interesting. After about 13 kilometers, I finally encountered a restaurant. I’d like to point out that the infrastructure along the route is really poor.

In the restaurant, there were actually other pilgrims. A Dutchman sat down with me, and we had a nice chat. He had it easy because he only had to walk one more kilometer to his hostel, while I still had almost 15 kilometers ahead of me. We set out together and walked the last kilometer of his journey together.

The next ten kilometers were truly beautiful. It was a wonderful path along the coast. The steep coast looked amazing, the lush green and yellow flowers reminded me of Cornwall. Oh yes, and the drizzle is so typically British. Despite the drizzle that was still accompanying me a bit, I had a big grin on my face. Yes, the path was indeed beautiful. Then we briefly moved away from the coast through a cute little village, and behind the village followed a fast road. The Camino actually continued on this road, which was quite dangerous in some curves. A Dutch woman walked the last 7 km with me, and she was also shocked by this section. But the worst was yet to come: a long 10% ascent on this fast road. That was really mean. I was really glad we didn't have any sun, or my head would have exploded. What was nice was the view of Castro Urdiales. From the fast road, you had a great view down onto the coastal town.

Luckily, a sidewalk eventually appeared where the Dutch woman and I checked how far it was to our hotels. She still had an hour ahead, and I was lucky; it was only 20 minutes left for me. I was so relieved that I almost did a little dance out of joy. I then said goodbye to her and walked to my hotel. In the end, I recorded 27.7 kilometers on the display :-). I’m doing great, and my feet feel awesome, now I’m going to do some flipper exercises in the bathtub to loosen the muscles 😁.

Best regards

Anke