We had a great stay in the seaside town of Zarautz especially sampling the wine and Pintxos. Todays walk on the Camino del Norte is from Zarautz to Deba and hopefully it won’t be that difficult after the last couple of days.
Walking from Zarautz to Deba
This stretch of the Camino has a lot of walking by the sea and we think there is a long walk on a boardwalk style path along the sea front. We cant wait for that as walking the northern route by the sea was one of the reasons we choose to do el Camino Del Norte. Deba here we come….
Table of Contents
Camino Del Norte Day 3 Overview
- Distance – 22km
- From – Zarautz
- To – Deba
- Terrain – moderately challenging
We didn’t leave to early today so had a leisurely cafe con leche and a walk on the seafront, the maritime promenade of Zarautz, before leaving. We are planning on breakfast at our first stop in Getaria by the harbour.
The camino route splits here and there are 2 options to get to Getaria. These are as follows:
- On the first option the route climbs steeply to over 150m via Santa Barbara before descending into Getaria. The views on this route are amazing.
- The second option follows the road along a promenade at the side of the sea
We chose the walk along the promenade to Getaria which is about 6km and takes just over 1.5 hrs at a easy walking pace.
The boardwalk style path straddles the coastline and stretches all the way to Getaria.
The views were amazing and we arrived full of the sea air and feeling very upbeat but needing some food.
Getaria
Getaria is a small fishing village with a real medieval vibe consisting of small archways and cobbled streets.
It’s a small village with a little harbour and even smaller beach which is really great for families.
There is also a small forested island at the end of the harbour called El Ratón. This translated into English as ‘The Mouse’.
The walk into Getaria was really nice and the little cobbled streets reminded me a lot of Basque Country villages.
Watch your head as you go through the archway……
We had a walk through the cobbled streets and people watched for a while and ended up down near the harbour side where we chilled out and had something to eat.
The harbour area is really nice and became a perfect spot for our lunch although Bob had carried the bread roll and it looked like a squashed sausage when we got it from his pack.
Note to self: Dont squash your bread rolls into your backpack
It turned out to be a typical Spanish camino meal that we have a lot: bread roll, pilchards, beef tomato and cheese. all stuffed together and it was rather nice !
The meal was lovely and made our little pitstop in Getaria well worth the visit. It is a fantastic little village and highly recommended to visit.
Our route over the next couple of hours was all countryside and the smells of the forest were exhilarating.
We climbed up through pine forests and down over small streams which was amazingly chilled. We kept on walking up hill and down dale until we came back to being able to glimpse the sea again.
This stretch of the del Norte is lots of climbing and back down to sea level multiple times. Make sure your knees are in good shape..
We strode into Deba tired and weary pilgrims.
Deba
You actually arrive into Deba at the top of the town and the way down into Deba is very steep and there is actually an elevator lift down to the harbour side. We didn’t take it.
We walked down steadily into the centre of town looking for the Albergue de Deba which was apparently the old train station and was directly next to the train tracks.
It may as well of been on the train tracks it was that close. It was a first come first served Albergue and did the job. For €8 it was perfect.
It can get filled up early in summer season so get there early.
Albergue de Deba
- 56 beds
- €8 per person
- amenities – shared bathrooms
- Open – all year
We ate out in Deba at the Labatai Taverna which is directly at the back of the Albergue. Great atmosphere and good food.
In the heart of the historical part of the Deba there is the church of Santa María de Deba.
It is considered a national monument and a great representation of Basque Gothic architecture.
We were back in bed by 10pm as the Albergue shuts its doors at 10.30, ready for an early start to Markina on another glorious Camino morning.
Fiestas in Deba
The festivities of San Roque, the towns patron saint, are the most important fiestas and happen every year between August 14th to the 20th.
The Fiesta features a drum parade, the tamborrada, as well as dancing and the traditional ‘running of the bulls’. As always there are open air parties and lots and lots of fun.
Buen camino.
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Check out some of my trips on the Camino Frances and the Caminono Ingles.
