Day 3: Hondarribia to San Sebastian, 18 miles (29 Km)

 

Today, we started walking on the official route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. We left Hondarribia and began climbing the Basque mountains, with our first stop at the Santuario de Guadalupe, home of the Black Virgin. From there, we hiked about 8 miles on a steady climb and descent through the mountain range until we reached Pasaje de San Juan, where we took a ferry to Pasaje de San Pedro to continue our hike to San Sebastian.

We followed the official route until we reached an intersection with two arrows—one indicating the official route and the other the alternative route. At this point, we didn’t have internet reception, and some locals suggested we take the alternative route because it was more scenic, while the official route led us toward the freeway. Remember our first two days on the French side? So, we decided to follow their recommendation. The alternative path offered beautiful ocean views but added three miles to our journey. As a result, we ended up hiking 18 miles instead of 15, arriving in San Sebastian after 5 PM.