Following the GR123 on the Coast Between Gernika and Portugalete
The Camino del Norte leaves the coast in Deba and doesn’t return until Playa de la Arena, some 104km later. This includes a lengthy urban jaunt through Bilbao, and some other significant stretches of pavement. To be clear, there’s some great walking in that stretch! It would be a shame, in particular, to miss the […]
Via Podiensis Guidebook Updates – Late 2023
The Via Podiensis guidebook is heading out for a second printing! Thanks very much to everyone who has bought a copy and made this possible so soon. For those who have the first printing, not to fear: you can find the complete list of updates that I’ve just submitted in this linked doc, with the […]
The “Old” Camino Inglés Options
A few years back, a series of changes were made to the Camino Inglés, for better and worse. While some faded waymarks still survive, navigation of the older routes is increasingly reliant upon gps tracks and advanced notice of the alternatives. But which are worth taking? Here’s a quick overview: Stage 1: Short-cuts over the […]
Sorting Through the Options Between Santander and Santillana del Mar
While the Camino del Norte’s routing has stabilized over the past decade, one of the stages that seems to remain in constant flux is the walk between Santander and Santillana del Mar. In the time I’ve been walking the Norte, this stage has moved through three very different permutations, along with smaller tweaks. The choices […]
Three Variants Worth Considering on the Camino del Norte Near Avilés and Luarca
Every time I return to the Camino del Norte, I’m caught trying to maintain a balancing act. On one hand, the top priority is to re-walk the official route and established alternatives, in service to updating the guidebook. (You can find that Camino del Norte and Primitivo guidebook here, and at most online bookstores.) On […]
Quick Mock-Ups of Updated Camino del Mar Route Maps
If you followed along with my “live updates” from the Mar, you’re aware that I encountered some route changes to the Mar. (Or, perhaps, discovered where the route was actually supposed to be going in the first place.) I’ve finished updating the gpx tracks for the Mar; within a short time, they’ll be uploaded to the […]
So You Want to Learn About the Via Podiensis?
While I didn’t make it back to the Via Podiensis this summer, it has been a huge point of emphasis for me over these past few years, as we prepared the Cicerone guidebook for launch, and now an upcoming reprint. The guidebook, of course, is a great way to learn about the route, but if […]
Get to Know the Camino del Mar
Years ago, I remember staring at a map of the different Caminos. OK, that part is hardly unusual, even today. But at that time I was focused on the blank space on the northern coast between Ribadeo, where the Camino del Norte veers inland, and Ferrol, where the Camino Inglés begins. Wouldn’t it be cool, […]
Nobody Beats the House: On Tarasteix and Lourdes
He made the bells toll. The image remains vivid: cramped into a wooden belltower, students and other visitors wedged around me, and the bells clanging rambunctiously overhead. Never mind the sound; the noise churned the bones, surged upward into the teeth, and then poured into the hairs on your forearms. More than any of that, […]
News and Notes from the Mar
It’s awesome to be back on the Camiño do Mar, and to really see the route taking shape. When I came here the first time, it was like a treasure hunt, cobbling together an almost useless map with comments from a handful of forum members, and then searching assiduously at every trail intersection for a […]