Portugalete to Pobeña
Distance Covered: 9.8 miles / 15.7 km
This Camino segment technically starts in Bilbao and follows the coast up to the small beach town of Pobeña, just before the border between the Basque Country and Cantabria.
The start of this segment is one of the few sections that I decided to skip due to the long miles following paved sidewalks along busy streets on the city outskirts. I took the metro from Bilbao to Portugalete, and from there walked the rest of the way to Pobeña. Completing the full section from Bilbao adds an additional 7.5 miles or 12 km, mostly along busy city streets.
In case this is the first Camino post you’re reading, check out my piece explaining the background of the Camino, and you can find all other Camino posts on this page if you want to start from the beginning.
Setting out from Bilbao
After sleeping until almost eight, I had a very quick breakfast at my friend’s place before we headed down to the metro station together. We talked about maybe doing some hikes in Asturias or Galicia once he was on summer vacation in a few weeks, which sounded great to me. The Camino del Norte goes right past the Picos de Europa national park in Cantabria, for example, but doesn’t actually take you up there. These are the types of side-quests that I’m glad I programmed extra time in Spain for.
Realistically, when you spend $1000+ on round trip flights, it’s best to stay on the conservative side and plan for extra days in case of illness or injury. Plus, you never know what’s going to happen over a five or six week adventure.
I felt a little vulnerable having left my camping gear at my colleague’s place in Bilbao, and not having sleeping gear in case I couldn’t find a bed. I adjusted after a few days, and the weight savings were well worth the trade-off. If I had to do it all again, I wouldn’t bother bringing any of the heavy camping gear. Wild camping in Spain is in a bit of a gray area legally, and with affordable beds all along the Camino, it usually isn’t worth the effort.
Metro ride out of Bilbao
Waiting for the metro to Portugalete, I sat on a bench next to a guy with his two kids, who was teaching them to rap battle each other. Each time they would make a successful rhyme, the dad would let out a loud, “OOOHH!!” It was a wholesome moment listening to the kids try to make rhymes, and made me miss home a bit for the first time on this trip.
I eventually made it to Portugalete, skipping the section of hiking from Bilbao because the final stretch leading into the city was not very exciting, and I was tired of bumping into loose dogs on the trail. Plus, walking in the hot, direct sun over long stretches of pavement did not sound too appealing, as it was still quite hot.
After riding the outdoor escalator track (I had to try it!) up a hill, I grabbed some food to take with me, and made out for the next town. Nothing too exciting happened on this section, since the walk was mostly along the road or by the highway. Though the Camino del Norte crosses through many of the most gorgeous landscapes in northern Spain, you do still have to pass through some urbanized areas.
Passing through Portugalete
Portugalete features the massive Bizkaia (Vizcaya) Bridge, the suspension bridge that connects the towns of Portugalete and Las Arenas, near Getxo.
Finished in 1893, this suspension bridge was the solution the engineers came up with to connect the two towns of Getxo and Portugalete without interrupting the heavy boat traffic heading into Bilbao. Though the bridge is still in operation today, the Nervion river is nowhere near as busy today as it was in the early 20th century.
Getting turned around in a small town
I managed to get lost in a town that had put up some of their own Camino arrow signs to lead tourists into the town center. I asked some guys drinking outside a bar for directions, and after chatting for a few minutes and declining their invitation to join them for a drink, one man walked with me until we found the right path.
Every other pilgrim I had met had some sort of app like GPS tracks, but up until this point things had worked out quite well just following the arrows. In spite of my first real navigational snafu, I still refused to download an app. I saw the other pilgrims walking, staring at their phones in their hands the whole time, and it just did not seem like the way I wanted to complete my hike. I happily accepted the cost of getting lost every once in a while in exchange for a more immersive experience.
Arriving in Pobeña
I walked into the beach town of Pobeña around 4:30PM, where I found a ‘pay what you want’ albergue and ate the rest of my sandwich after taking a warm shower there.
I had bumped into the English girl I met a few days earlier, and we walked together to the local supermarket to pick up a little food. On our way back, there was a woman selling cherries from a stack of crates in the back of her van in the beach parking lot. She had a scale hooked up to a car battery in the trunk of her van, where she weighed out over a kilo of cherries for a grand total of three euros.
With a massive bag of cherries in my pack, we headed back to the albergue público. We sat out on the chairs in front of the albergue, and ate a massive pile of cherries. I was spitting the cores out beside me, and there must have been at least 100 by the time it started to rain. It poured for about 40 minutes, soaking my legs but leaving me mostly dry under the awning. The rain cooled things down significantly, and I welcomed the cooler temperatures. Even though it wasn’t quite as hot as it was the day before, it was still warmer than usual.
I was in bed by 9:30PM, and the lights in the bunk room were out by 10:00PM. Aside from the soft sound of people rustling through their bags it was quiet, and by 10:30 I was fast asleep.
Final thoughts
One of the most impactful changes after my stop in Bilbao was leaving some of my bulkier gear at my friend’s apartment. I had brought a small, hiking pole tent in case I found myself in a situation where I could camp, but after the first week I realized that I really did not need it. Realistically, the albergues were affordable enough that I would gladly pay the 10 or 12 euros just for the privilege of using a warm shower. After shedding the extra weight of the tent, as well as the bulk of the sleeping pad I was carrying, the walking become much more pleasant.
I felt a little bad about skipping the section just outside of Bilbao, but ultimately I was looking to enjoy the adventure over completing the ‘official’ pilgrimage. I still had a long way to go, and by the time I finished the hike I had taken enough wrong turns and side trips to make up for the missed kilometers, and then some.
Having passed left Bilbao behind felt like a major hurdle, and I was excited to cross into the next autonomous community, Cantabria – more on that in the next post. Let me know down in the comments if you would have toughed it out on the streets out of Bilbao, or if you would have hopped on the metro. And as always, ¡Buen Camino!
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