THE
STAGES ARE:
Hondarribia - Suances:
400 Km. approx.
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Hondarribia |
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The meeting point for
this route will be a hotel in Hondarribia.
During this first day, we go along beside the shores
of the Bay of Biscay, with some extraordinary views.
We see how the cliffs, the woods and the meadows with
their cattle go right down to the sea.
We start, then, going over the Jaizkibel
pass, only 547 m. but a wonderful viewing point. We
descend to Lezo, a very industrial
town, with its port and its proximity to the town of
Errentería and from there we
continue by road.
We go directly to Zarauz.
A nd then continue up and down the passes, always coming
down to the sea again and discovering coastal villages
such as Getaria, with the San Lorenzo
hermitage, Zumaya, Deba,
Ondarroa, Lekeitio,
and some further inland: Ispastel,
Ea, Natxitua, and
we go into the Natural Park of Urdaibai,
where the creek leads up to Gernika,
the town to which the artist Pablo Picaso dedicated
a painting that bears its name.
At lunchtime we make a stop in Kanala,
at a typical Basque restaurant.
Our next stop is Bilbao, where we arrive
by the coast, as up till now. Bermeo,
Cabo Matxitxaco, the beaches of Bakio,
Gorliz, Barrika, are
places and villages which allow us to enjoy the true
natural landscape.
After 160 Km., we take the national road to Laredo,
now in the province of Santander.
Continuing along by the seaside, leaving Santoña,
where the green meadows come down to the shore. A local
road takes us through the beaches and fishing villages
of Noja, Isla, Amuero,
Langre, Somo, Vedreña
and so to Astillero, entrance to the
city of Santander.
We take the main road now, to go through Miengo and
arrive at Suances; the end of this stage.
Suances - Cangas
de Narcéa: 370 Km. approx.
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We leave by an inland road, which
will take us to visit Comillas and
San Vicente de La Barquera, two towns
of important artistic interest and also busy with tourists
on the coast of Cantabria.
From here our route goes inland.
From Pesués, we go south, through
the Hermida gorge to enter the Cordillera Cantábrica
and arrive at Potes.
We climb up to Fuente
De, a little village at 1900 m. altitude, with
a viewing point, the Mirador del Cable,
from where we can see the south face of the Picos de
Europa, with El Naranjo de Bulnes at 2,600 m.
We return to Potes and from there go to Panes,
entering Asturias in the area of Cabrales,
famous for its blue farmhouse cheeses. We take our lunch
in Prado, at the top of a mountain
pass, where we can enjoy traditional home cooking.
Our next stop is at Covadonga, and then we go towards
Villaviciosa by a series of secondary roads, passing
through some very attractive villages.
Among them is Pola de Siero, a little town with important
livestock activity, as it has a national cattle market.
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From there to Oviedo, an inland city of Asturias, going
round the city to continue towards Grado, from where
we make a run which takes us to Embalse de la
Barca.
We are now close to Cangas de Narcea, the end of this
stage.
Cangas de Narcéa
- Santiago de Compostela: 300 Km. approx.
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Puerto de Palos |
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Leaving Cangas
we climb up to Puerto de Palos.
A downward track through the range of Rañadoiro
links us to a series of secondary roads and tracks,
to arrive at Fonsagrada, where we stop
for a delicious “fabada”, a typical dish
of Asturias and just the right thing to eat after this
section.
Our arrival at Lugo and later to Santiago is by road.
We stay in the area of Los Tilos, on the outskirts of
Santiago, and spend the afternoon and next morning resting
and visiting this beautiful city.
Santiago de Compostela
- Ponferrada: 250 Km.
As we said, the morning of this fourth day is free.
We can rest or visit the city of Santiago,
etc.
We leave around midday, going back to Lugo,
an important point on the French Pilgrims Road.
After a series of national roads to help us on our way,
we go through Arzúa and Melide
to reach Palas de Rei, where we stop
for lunch.
At this point we start on tracks, marked with the signs
of the Pilgrims Road.
We cross the river Miño where it passes through
Portomarín and come to Sarria to enter the Cordillera
Cantábrica.
From Somo to Triacastela is a stretch with a mountain
pass, where we find various monoliths and sculptures
dedicated to pilgrims.
We are now entering the province of León. The
height of Piedrahita, also called Puerto de O Cebreiro,
offers very attractive views, we can see as far as the
Picos de Europa on a clear day.
The descent follows muddy tracks to reach the plain
and take the road again to Ponferrada.
Ponferrada - Burgos:
The first section, towards Astorga, is memorable. We
ascend to the Manjarín pass and run through various
rocky hilltops.
Rabanal del Camino, with its monuments, 10th century
church, Bishop’s House, etc. is where we enter
the plain, to arrive at Astorga.
We are entering the plains of Castile,
with straight tracks, dusty, the true dry terrain, but
also with its attractions.
We arrive at León. For art lovers, this is a
city that must be visited, and therefore we stop here
to eat.
Going on by straight tracks from Reliegos, we reach
Sahagún. We continue by track;
Carrión de Los Condes, Frómista, Castrogeriz,
until we reach the road which takes us to the city of
Burgos.
Burgos - Hondarribia:
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Llegando a Burgos |
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Last stage of our “Road
to Santiago Route”.
Leaving Burgos, the panorama changes.
Through the Sierra de Atapuerca, we
come to San Juan de Ortega and the
Montes de Oca. These lands are less dry and our track
runs parallel with the national road, until we reach
Belorado and then Santo Domingo de La Calzada..
From there we continue by road to Haro, in La Rioja,
where we stop for lunch and enjoy a good wine of the
area.
From Haro to Vitoria, north to San Sebastián
and arriving at Hondarribia, we cross by secondary roads
the whole of the Basque Country.
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