Tuesday August 30, 2022

Plan:
•Irún to San Sebastián (Donostia): 26km / 16.2 miles

Actual:
• Irún to Oiartzun on the Camino Vasco del Interior
• And Pasajes San Juan to Donosti on the Camino del Norte

Sunrise 7:28
Weather 68°F / 20°C Partly Cloudy
Start: 7:00
Arrived @14:00

Staying in San Sebastián for 4 nights while acclimating to the time change was wonderful. We started our journey in Irún, which is on the west bank of the Río Bidasoa, with the French border to the east. The bridge over the river is called the Puente de Santiago, the traditional start of the Camino del Norte. However….

WE started from the Church of San Gabriel & Santa Gema. The priest there, Padre Jose, moved to Irun from Puerto Rico 4 years ago. He told us that we will go to the Santuario de Guadalupe, built in the 16th century, home to the Black Virgin who appeared to two children. Then we would eventually climb downhill to Pasajes de San Juan, then the ferry to Pasajes de San Pedro, and 1 more kilometer to the Faro (Lighthouse) de la Plata. I was looking forward to this trek because we skipped this stage in 2017.

The PLAN: Start in Irún, walk toward Hondarribia, hike along the coast, and arrive in San Sebastián on the Camino del Norte, about 16.2 miles, 8-10 hours. (Read the map from right to left ~ west to east).

We followed signs for the “Camino”, but somehow ended up walking INLAND for 8 miles on El Camino Vasco al Interior, before we decided to take a taxi back to the Camino del Norte…. we did take the ferry before we continued on our way to San Sebastián. We ended up only walking 13.6 miles, which was FINE by me!

Note the trek that we took away from the coast before we took a taxi from the little village of Oiatzun. We walked fewer miles than expected, but did a total of 2109 feet of elevation.

My feet were grateful to arrive back in San Sebastian! Next stage: San Sebastián to Getaria on August 31.

A few shots of our trek… still getting used to the process of adding photos…..