anyone hiked the Gr 10 or Camino del Norte...

[4shot]

looking for a long hike next summer with the misses overseas. I have a sister in law who did the more popular camino but that seems a bit too "civilized" for me. I am a school teacher so I will be leaving late May and staying abroad for 6-8 weeks (depending on my wife's leave of absence).

I did the search thing before posting this fwiw. I am interested in how well one can get around over there speaking English ( a southern version I might add). On the "main" Camino this is not an issue as I understand it. Thx for any input or responses.

[kidchill]

I started the Camino del Norte in March of this year. I ended up doing buses and trains most of the way. I got to Gijon from Irun, but like I said, I ended up doing mostly buses and trains and not hiking. I guess I got over there and realized that most of what I wanted to do was hang out in Europe. It was more of a vacation then a thru-hike. I chose the Norte over the Camino Frances 'cause it was less traveled, but this also meant there were less resources. Also, going in off-season, I would hit villages that had a closed hostel, and no other sleeping accommodations. If you definitely want to hike, it's totally doable. I'll tell you right now, it's gonna be hot in the summer time, and you will get a lot of sun! It's definitely NOT a woods hike! Also, you need to be prepared to hike all day on cement/roads and in industrial/urban areas. That's not to say there's not beautiful areas that are on cliff edges on the water, but it's NOT an AT hike. I enjoyed my time out there, but I guess I did expect something different then what I got. Also, brush up on your Spanish. The people in that area typically speak 3 languages, none of which is english. It's usually spanish, french, and whatever local dialect is there (basque, cantabria, etc). I can't say that I didn't have fun, 'cause I did, but it turned out to be a bus/train transport, hang out at the beach, get drunk all day kind of vaca...but, that's what I figured out that I wanted, once I got there. Only thing is, make sure you plan in advance in some cities (San Sebastian comes to mind), 'cause certain areas are super touristy during the summer months, and you may not be able to find lodging (except at the hostels, maybe).