Big Start Day

 Day 1    Irun to San Sebastián

Miles Today    18.6                   

Total Camino Miles      18.6   

 Elevation Gain    2732’                 

 Descent                2736’

Scot and I spend the evening before our first hiking day reviewing our guidebooks. We find the process a bit unnerving as our very first day on the Camino del Norte is rated a 5 on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the most difficult and many past hikers claim that it is by far the most difficult day on the entire del Norte. As if that wasn’t bad enough, we eat a large dinner way too late, but all Camino dinners will likely be too late as most restaurants in Spain do not open for dinner until 8 pm.

Both of us sleep poorly with heads full of the normal pre hike doubts and fears that it might be too much for two guys with a total combined age of 141 years. We are up well before daylight and begin our hike promptly at 8 am under cloudy, cool skies. Starting across the surprisingly spread out city of Irun, we try to learn and follow the various Camino markings….yellow arrows, yellows dots, red and white paint stripes, the occasion scallop shell symbol, and a few metal Camino plaques in bedded in the sidewalks. It is not long before we realize we have followed a wrong set of yellow arrows and are a half mile off course. By 9 am we are back on the correct track and shortly leave the city in a very steep climb. As we climb, the wind increases and the day becomes breezy and cold. We add layers and push on. The Camino is not one path here, but many. At each intersection we ponder our Gaia GPS app and choose what we think is the best course. At one point we decide to take the higher, more difficult route. An incredibly steep initial climb gives way to a few hours of

ups and downs with spectacular ocean views. After equally long descents, we reach a river crossing where we pay .90 euros each to ride across in a small boat. Carrying on, we pass thru green forests and lush terrain before our final descent into San Sebastián. Our hotel is described as “just off the Camino” which actually turns out to be 1.1 miles off of the Camino. 8+ hours of hiking makes for a long day! But we both feel good and we know it was a Big Start Day but we are sure it will not be the most difficult day we will encounter…..tougher days will certainly follow!!