This is the third in a five-part series following the Camino del Norte as it wends its way along the northern coast of Spain from Donostia/San Sebastian to Bilbao. We walked this first week of the Camino del Norte (Camino de Santiago) in April 2024.
If you’re a paid subscriber, you’ll also get access to our first Camino del Norte vlog before it’s released, which you’ll find below.
Photo: Heading out of Deba, Louise’s iPhone, April 2024
Day three of our Camino del Norte journey dawned again with grey skies and drizzling rain, a stark contrast to our first day of sunshine heading out of San Sebastian. Feeling every bit the terrible mother as Megan was walking without a coat, I went looking for an umbrella or poncho in the little shops of Deba, unfortunately with no success. I suggested we fashion something effective out of a bin bag, but for some reason this wasn’t considered appropriate, and so we set out from this quaint seaside town to journey inland feeling a little damp.
This would be the last time we’d be in sight of the coast until we arrived in Bilbao, and even then it would only be in the distance.
Have you ever been caught in unexpected rain while traveling or hiking? Share your most memorable rainy day adventures and any creative solutions you've used to stay dry and comfortable on the go in the comments below. I’d love to read them!
Before we get back on the road, if you’re new here you can read more about the Camino del Norte here.
The Route
First of all, it’s important to know that day three of the Norte is a long day with a lot of climbing and very few places to stop along the way, and so we first made sure to stock up on snacks from the supermarket in the centre of Deba.
As is fairly typical of me, I over-planned and picked up far too much food which ended up weighing me down all day. A empanada pollo (yes, a full sized chicken pie), large crusty loaf, pack of sliced cheddar cheese, large packet of crisps and a packet of biscuits, as well as sweets for Megan, all went into the already over-stuffed rucksacks.
Immediately crossing the Rio Deba on the way out of town, the familiar yellow arrows directed us straight up the hill to Ermita del Calvario, 350m above Deba. This was a great opportunity to stretch out our calves on this third day of walking. Whilst the first 5km were very much reminiscent of the coastal views of the past couple of days, we soon headed inland and the terrain quickly changed to rolling forested hills and dirt footpaths although not before enjoying the grey, drizzly views over Mutriku.
Photo: Above Mutriku, Louise’s iPhone, April 2024
Keeping straight along the road, we soon found ourselves walking again on dirt tracks, and with the amount of rain we had already seen recently, the mud was sticky and made progress slow and steady.
Soon we were walking into Olatz, where, not for the first time, the taberna was closed until the Summer season, but there were instead beautiful views from the church and a fountain where we could top up our water bottles.
The received wisdom on Camino is that if the water fountain has a tap, then it is safe to drink. If it is free-flowing, it is best to leave it.
Photo: On route to Olatz, Louise’s iPhone, April 2024
Olatz itself sits in a small valley after your first climb, and is followed by an even longer and steeper climb, winding it’s way through forests of pine and eucalyptus. It smells divine up here. The forestry teams were busy felling as we walked through these otherwise silent woodlands, and their machinery had churned up the earth so that by the time we reached the top of the hill our walking shoes were heavy with mud and our legs were tired.
Image: Olatz, Louise’s iPhone, April 2024
This is the longest stretch of today’s journey, and I was glad that we had eaten breakfast and drunk our cafe con leches before we had left Deba. There would be no more coffee until we arrived later in Markina-Xemein. The high point of today’s walk is at around 500m above sea level, followed by a long and fairly flat stretch through Collado de Arno.
Photo: Olatz, Louise’s iPhone, April 2024
We enjoyed this relatively easy part of the walk along dirt roads and footpaths, before the long, steep and very rocky descent into Markina-Xemein took us past abandoned farm buildings that looked distinctly ripe for renovation.
Photo: Markina-Xemein, Louise’s iPhone, April 2024
We left our companions who were staying south of the town in the lovely Hotel Antsotegi to carry on through the historic centre to our accommodation for the night.
Famous for both it’s high quality black marble and the Basque game of pelota, Markina-Xemein was the least touristed town we visited on the Camino del Norte, quiet and sombre.
There are several albergues in Markina-Xemein but we found that in April they weren’t all open and those that were could not be booked in advance. Again, at the time we were planning to eat we couldn’t find much open, but did eventually find ourselves in a bustling burger restaurant which served a decent burger and had a vegan option (unusual in these smaller, local towns).
We were later informed that day three of the Camino del Norte is one of the hardest of the whole journey but I’m not sure if this was comforting or not.
Where we stayed
We had originally booked to stay in an Airbnb in Markina-Xemein as I had not been able to find an open albergue that was taking bookings. As almost a second thought about a week before our trip, I had emailed one of the hostels which had appeared to be closed, and was able to secure three beds in Intxauspe Landetxea, a casa rural with twenty beds in a single open dormitory.
At 15 euros a night each, this was the most traditional albergue that we found on the Camino del Norte, offering communal breakfast and dinner in clean facilities and with lovely grounds. As late arrivals that day, we were unfortunately each allocated an upper bunk and so if you have 45-year-old knees like me, I’d recommend an earlier arrival! It was a typically noisy night in the dormitory, with the earliest pilgrim leaving at 3:30am and the lights going on at 6:30am. This was probably our worst night sleep, but it did help us to appreciate the hotel room we found ourselves in the next night and I would honestly recommend this albergue for the authentic Camino de Santiago experience. To book, email casarural.intxauspe@gmail.com.
We went to bed that night exhausted and hoping for better weather, as the next day would be a longer one of 25km into one of the most historically interesting towns of the whole Camino del Norte, Gernika-Lumo.
Camino del Norte Day One Vlog: Early Access
As a paid subscriber, you also get access to our first day vlog before it’s released!
Have you walked the Camino del Norte?
Tell us about your experiences in the comments! Buen Camino! 👣
Photo: Damp pilgrims on a journey, Louise’s iPhone, April 2024
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