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Neil Armstrong's Travels
Hendaya - San Sebastian; 24 kilometres
It was the 12th of July and we left Zarautz early to catch the train to Hendaya in South West France for our wee walk, 24 kilometres in total to the breath-taking city of San Sebastian, capital of the Basque region of Guipuzkoa.
We caught a train at 7:00am and headed across to the French-Basque town of Hendaya following a changeover at San Sebastian. We were the Armstrong/Sanchez/Garayar team of Neil, Eva, Matthew, Alex, Antonio and Egoitz and we excitedly headed into the centre of Irun crossing the bridge and starting point for the Camino del Norte - 'Pont Saint - Jacques' in France and on the other side, 'Puente de Santiago' in Spain, though as any local will tell you, 'you are neither in France or Spain, You are in The Basque Country!'
We followed the Yellow Waymarks into the town centre and the town hall where we were able to get our credentials stamped. Antonio and myself had only the day before visited the Red Cross office in Zarautz which acts as a Pilgrim's Office to secure our credentials! We left a donation before being wished our very first 'Buen Camino'!
We stopped for a coffee and bought a pin of the town before leaving and heading into the beautiful countryside. The day was getting warmer and warmer as we hit the first few hills which would eventually lead us through Txingudi Nature Reserve and then upwards to the small church at Santiagotxo where there was a fountain for us to take on fresh water. The path was good as it meandered upwards again to the fortress of Guadalupe on the mountain of Jaizkibel. Some people consider Jaizkibel to be the first westernmost mountain of the Pyrenees. Again there is a fountain here to take on water.
The waymarks then sent us across a long open stretch along the side of the mountain...a pretty tough stretch for all involved with the heat now up into the high twenties. Antonio made us all fly swipers as we were constantly being eaten alive and this was by far the toughest section to date. The youngest of the group Alex (10 years) soldiered on bravely for several miles before we finally began our descent through a forest path to the town of Lezo.
We got our bags and boots off under a large protective roof in the town centre and sat down to lunch of bocadillos de jamon, queso, chorizo and chocolate and drank the rest of the water supply to replenish what had been sweated out so far. We spent a good hour nursing aches and pains and generally just taking the weight off before deciding that we needed to make a move to tackle the final sections. The kids brightened up with an ice cream and we headed the short trek down into the beautiful port of Pasajes.
Pasaia (Pasajes in Spanish) is a town and municipality located 5kms east of San Sebastian. It is a fishing community and commercial port and lies at the feet of Mount Ulia and the Jaizkibel massif. We wandered through the narrow streets and finally had a beer and other light refreshements watching the world going on around us and knowing we were into the final stretch of the day. Eventually we jumped onto the little boat which transported us across the bay and gave wonderful opportunity to photograph this quaint little town from the water. Once on the other side there's the unforgivable steps to climb...too many to count and should be tackled in stages...really tough going this part, especially after a long day's walking.
The final part of the trek is fairly even and very picturesque, the Bay of Biscay coming into view for the first time. We again meandered along and finally could hear the buzz lifting up from the coastline as finally we hit Donostia/San Sebastian. We descended the final part of the walk into town and were lucky enough to come out at a bus stop which whisked us across town to the train station where we caught the train back to Zarautz for some home cooking and a good shower.
We slept well that night in anticipation of an early start to walk frm San Sebastian to Zarautz...zzzzzzzzzzz
All in all a tough day's walking for everyone. The young lads all did well and I thought that that would be their limit though they were to prove me wrong. Antonio is 70 years of age now and managed the day without a grumble, save the mozzies that attacked us in the mountain section...there were some choice Spanish words used along there I tell you. Eva also found it a tough days walk, mainly down to the temperature but then again we were trakking in 30 degrees for a good part of the day so that was understandable.
We ensured our credentials were stamped at least twice during that day and we can finally say our Camino was under way. Day two was, according to the guides I was using, supposed to be much easier and shorter so with bags packed and ready we had an early night and rested.
It was the 12th of July and we left Zarautz early to catch the train to Hendaya in South West France for our wee walk, 24 kilometres in total to the breath-taking city of San Sebastian, capital of the Basque region of Guipuzkoa.
We caught a train at 7:00am and headed across to the French-Basque town of Hendaya following a changeover at San Sebastian. We were the Armstrong/Sanchez/Garayar team of Neil, Eva, Matthew, Alex, Antonio and Egoitz and we excitedly headed into the centre of Irun crossing the bridge and starting point for the Camino del Norte - 'Pont Saint - Jacques' in France and on the other side, 'Puente de Santiago' in Spain, though as any local will tell you, 'you are neither in France or Spain, You are in The Basque Country!'
We followed the Yellow Waymarks into the town centre and the town hall where we were able to get our credentials stamped. Antonio and myself had only the day before visited the Red Cross office in Zarautz which acts as a Pilgrim's Office to secure our credentials! We left a donation before being wished our very first 'Buen Camino'!
We stopped for a coffee and bought a pin of the town before leaving and heading into the beautiful countryside. The day was getting warmer and warmer as we hit the first few hills which would eventually lead us through Txingudi Nature Reserve and then upwards to the small church at Santiagotxo where there was a fountain for us to take on fresh water. The path was good as it meandered upwards again to the fortress of Guadalupe on the mountain of Jaizkibel. Some people consider Jaizkibel to be the first westernmost mountain of the Pyrenees. Again there is a fountain here to take on water.
The waymarks then sent us across a long open stretch along the side of the mountain...a pretty tough stretch for all involved with the heat now up into the high twenties. Antonio made us all fly swipers as we were constantly being eaten alive and this was by far the toughest section to date. The youngest of the group Alex (10 years) soldiered on bravely for several miles before we finally began our descent through a forest path to the town of Lezo.
We got our bags and boots off under a large protective roof in the town centre and sat down to lunch of bocadillos de jamon, queso, chorizo and chocolate and drank the rest of the water supply to replenish what had been sweated out so far. We spent a good hour nursing aches and pains and generally just taking the weight off before deciding that we needed to make a move to tackle the final sections. The kids brightened up with an ice cream and we headed the short trek down into the beautiful port of Pasajes.
Pasaia (Pasajes in Spanish) is a town and municipality located 5kms east of San Sebastian. It is a fishing community and commercial port and lies at the feet of Mount Ulia and the Jaizkibel massif. We wandered through the narrow streets and finally had a beer and other light refreshements watching the world going on around us and knowing we were into the final stretch of the day. Eventually we jumped onto the little boat which transported us across the bay and gave wonderful opportunity to photograph this quaint little town from the water. Once on the other side there's the unforgivable steps to climb...too many to count and should be tackled in stages...really tough going this part, especially after a long day's walking.
The final part of the trek is fairly even and very picturesque, the Bay of Biscay coming into view for the first time. We again meandered along and finally could hear the buzz lifting up from the coastline as finally we hit Donostia/San Sebastian. We descended the final part of the walk into town and were lucky enough to come out at a bus stop which whisked us across town to the train station where we caught the train back to Zarautz for some home cooking and a good shower.
We slept well that night in anticipation of an early start to walk frm San Sebastian to Zarautz...zzzzzzzzzzz
All in all a tough day's walking for everyone. The young lads all did well and I thought that that would be their limit though they were to prove me wrong. Antonio is 70 years of age now and managed the day without a grumble, save the mozzies that attacked us in the mountain section...there were some choice Spanish words used along there I tell you. Eva also found it a tough days walk, mainly down to the temperature but then again we were trakking in 30 degrees for a good part of the day so that was understandable.
We ensured our credentials were stamped at least twice during that day and we can finally say our Camino was under way. Day two was, according to the guides I was using, supposed to be much easier and shorter so with bags packed and ready we had an early night and rested.
- comments
Egoitz garaiar A sido una esperiencia maravillosa hacer la primera etapa del camino santiago desde Hendaia hasta Donosti. Aunque al principio nos costó arrancar por culpa del calor, el resto del viaje fue fácil y divertido. Es posible incluso hacerlo con niños. La llegada a Donosti fue muy placentero, las vistas desde el monte Ulia son espectaculares, se pueden ver las tres playas de la capital que son Zurriola, La concha y Ondarreta. Aupa Matthew eta Alex!!!
Neil Armstrong It was a wonderful experience to do the first stage of the Camino from Hendaia to San Sebastian. Despite a tough start mainly due to the heat the rest of the journey was easy and enjoyable. It is possible to do this walk with kids. The arrival into San Sebastian was delightful, the views from mount Ulia are spectacular and you can see the three beaches of the capital which are Zurriola, La Concha y Ondarreta. Aupa Matthew and Alex!!! Ezkerrik-Asko Egoitz for sharing this with us, hopefully we will all be walking on another stage together soon!
Neil Armstrong This is my translation of a letter received from my Father-In-Law Antonio Sanchez - Zarautz 12-2-2014 Hi Neil, here I want to remember something from that day from the Camino de Santiago, 12-7-13. We started this first stage of the Camino de Santiago (the coastal Camino) right on the border between France and Spain in fact exactly on the Santiago bridge, over the Bidasoa River which splits the towns of Hendaya and Irun. It was a Glorious, sunny Twelfth of July. We left early as it is a long stage. For me it was a seriously happy day as I walked all day through the mountains of the Basque Country with splendid weather in t he company of my daughter, son-in-law and three Grandchildren. Just wonderful. The countryside beautiful, the weather splendid (warm) but for my the company was simply the best. The stage was long and we rested frequently but together we forged on. Matthew and Alex (and Egoitz) marched on like well trained walkers. For me it was marvellous, we told stories, we discovered new places, we sweated loads and got eaten alive by the flies. (This only happened for part of the trek at Jaizkibel) But alas we made it all the way to San Sebastian. It was a little long. The next stages we'll do when we get the next chance will be along the Camino Frances from Roncesvalles (Orreaga) to Pamplona. Buen Camino, Antonio.