The first two stages of my Camino del Norte I proudly showed off to my “friends” on Facebook. Many of them really are my friends, of course, but you know what I mean by the quotation marks.
The third day, from Zarautz to Deba also went well, but I hadn’t got round to posting the pictures of that third stage when disaster struck on the fourth day, from Deba to Markina-Xemein. This stage was a killer, 25 km including several steep and seemingly endless hills. Approaching the end of the very last hill, which wasn’t too long at all, my right calf gave up the struggle and started to hurt. Luckily, the rest of the walk was mostly downhill, which was okay, but even going just slightly uphill I had to limp. Clearly, this Camino was over for me. Which was why, after a series of triumphant postings of pretty pictures on Facebook, my account suddenly went silent, to the relief of my aforementioned “friends”. I was disappointed, to say the least, and couldn’t bother sharing the photos from the third stage from Zarautz to Deba. The weather had turned rainy and dull, so I decided to pack up my things, go back to Belgium and sulk.
Which was a pity as far as the newsfeeds of my Facebook “friends” was concerned. So I decided to share the photos with the world here instead. I hope you’ll like them.
There’s a pleasant promenade following the coast from Zarautz to a small port town named Getaria.
The outcrop known as Getariako Itsasargia, a prominent landmark of Getaria, comes into view.
After Getaria, the route is the typical rollercoaster of the Camino del Norte. Still picturesque, though.
The coastline in northern Spain is beautiful. Come think of it, the same could be said of the coastline anywhere else.
And then, the following day, I set off on the ill-fated fourth stage from Deba. You cross a bridge and embark on the first hill – the Calvario de Maia. I should have known…
Who knows? Maybe I should resume the Camino from Markina-Xemein. We’ll see about that later.
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