camino del norte

we were told that the north coast was not for the faint of heart, so naturally we had to go check it out. we had heard stories of the hills, or perhaps mountains, and the long days that would be spent climbing up and down them. we heard about the difficulty of the trail, how it was remote and not as pleasant as its southern counterparts. after a couple weeks on the "easy" trail, we were stoked to check it out but were surprised by what awaited us our first day...

sure it was hilly, but with a moving sidewalk, it wasn't all that tiring reaching the top!

and as far as "rough terrain" goes, our entire first day was on a pretty well marked route, shared with road cyclists and joggers.

i am glad to report however, that after day one coming out of portugalette, the terrain did pick up and the trail did taper off of the paved way; and all of the forthcoming sweat, aches and pains were worth it for the coastal views and beach enjoyment. it was a great trek along the coast!