Day 2 (del Norte): Irun to San Sebastian

On our first real day of walking Camino del Norte, we get a ride to Irun from Pilar, the lively host of our airbnb. We start from the Irun albergue, where we received our "credential" yesterday. I have tried my best to reduce the burden of this day by picking the destination of today's walk to be our airbnb which is on the eastern outskirts of San Sebastian. This cuts our "Irun to San Sebastian" walk by several kilometers and avoids the tough terrain in the last part. In addition, we subtract from the weight of even my light backpack, as I don't have to lug my laptop, etc.

I am also equipped with an embarrassing array of navigation aides. (More on this later.) Camino del Norte is the road less traveled and no single comprehensive guidebook in English exists, unlike the book by Brierley for Camino Frances. But the immediate concern is the weather. The prediction was unseasonable heat (almost 90 degrees F), rain, and a wind advisory. Other than that, it will be a fine day! Fortunately we wake up to the wonderful blue sky.  I wish all bad-weather forecasts would turn out to be bad weather-forecasts for the duration of our trip!

Irun: we do spot yellow arrows (one seen in lower right) but they are few and far between. Time to resort to the googlemap.

Soon we are out of the Irun city center.

This is where the cellular network stops and I switch to the off-line Nokia HERE map for navigation. Seen ahead is the mountain ridge we'll be walking along. I don't enjoy wearing a hat but the sun is definitely preferable to the rain.

Imagine how muddy it would have been if it was raining this morning. At least waymarking is getting much better.

These chestnuts seem almost strewn to help with footing on the soft and wet soil.

After a steady climb, we finally arrive at Santuario de Guadalupe. One fifth of the walk is successfully finished. 

Santuario de Guadalupe offers a commanding view. In the foreground is Hondarribia (no relation to the Japanese car maker), and beyond the river is Hendaye, France (not a mispelling of the Korean car maker).

A major decision is made to forego the "alpinist" route and instead take a lower route. The next 10 kms are so ridiculously flat and easy to walk I worry that something bad is going to happen later today, like a torrential rain.

A view of the French Basque Country: beyond the beach at Hendaye, you can see St. Jean de Luz and way back probably Biarritz.

So many chestnuts are wasted. These are eminently edible - we have some for a snack.

Very little human traffic on this route so far, so sheep may safely graze...

Am I crazy in thinking chestnuts in partially open outer shells look like African baboon bottoms?

Amazingly no drop of rain while we were on the mountain trails but as soon as we hit the pavement, it starts to sprinkle.

But I am not ready to don my fancy poncho yet, as my chartreuse Marmot jacket and the National Park ranger-inspired hat covered in plastic do the job just fine.

Finding four-leaf clovers is the wife's specialty and this walk is no exception. Buen Viejo to us.

There are more goats than people on this trail.

Finally, a pair of pilgrims with the unmistakable shell hanging from their backpacks. 

It's a great feeling to have finished the mountain portion (in our abridged route) as we descend to the pier where we take a short ferry to cross to Pasaia for a home stretch to San Sebastian. The town of Pasai Donibane is tiny and boasts, of all people, Victor Hugo, who lived here briefly. As we arrive at 4pm (it's been six and a half hours since we started to walk already?) the Museum is just opening. A serendipity plus luck.

Walking down to Pasai Donibane, which feels like a triumphant run around the stadium after a marathon.

Pasai Donibane: This is where we take the short ferry to Pasaia, well explained in this mural.

Pasai Donibane

Pasai Donibane: Victor Hugo Museum

Victor Hugo bedroom by the sea, which inspired the poem below. No, Les Miserables was not written here.

Victor Hugo Museum: "When we doze off on the shore, All around us sways and strokes our ears: The sound of the wind on the waves, The sound of the waves on the rocks. In our dreams we hear, sea shanties in the distance."

The yellow arrow even directs you to the little ferry to Pasaia. 

Time to explore downtown San Sebastian a little bit this evening. Pilar and I are on the same page - half of her single-sheet introduction to her apartment and San Sebastian is devoted to the pintxos bars she recommends! (Pintxos are the Basque version of the Spanish tapas - just ask the overweight Dutch guy in the movie, "The Way"!) There is plenty of coverage in the media of the pintxos phenomenon, and along with Pilar's list, I take note of the places mentioned in a Huffington Post article. 

We first try Borda Berri, then "designer" pintxos at Bar Zeruko, and finish with the Basque cheesecake at La Vina. All these places are crowded (even on a weeknight) and I am getting too old for waiting to order amid the chaos frankly. (Some places are easier than others and most seem better than the ones in Madrid in this regard.) We order and quickly retreat with our food to an available counter space or a table in the back. Why would anyone continue to occupy the front counter lingering on their food so incoming clients have to wave from the second row? But who am I to re-invent the pintxos bar etiquette?

Our host's "Welcome to my home" sheet is largely devoted the list of pintxos places in San Sebastian.

San Sebastian: this is where we start the pintxos crawl this evening.

San Sebastian: Pulpo with Sangria at Borda Berri, but we are squeezed into a small counter space in the back. 

San Sebastian: at Zeruko, ordering is a bit easier, as many items are on display and you just pick up what you like.

San Sebastian: Bar Zeruko, where all the pintxos are pretty. I can't imagine how crowded this place would be in July and August.