La Ruta de la Costa: Road Tripping Across the Entire North-Northwest Coast of Spain

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2600 kilometers. 9 days. 2 random people. 1 little car.

I'm excited to finally be able to share this adventure with you guys: an unforgettable road trip across nearly the entire north-northwestern coast of Spain. This video, "La Ruta de La Costa" ("The Route of the Coast") contains the highlights of a trip full of breathtaking sights and spontaneous detours.

Click through the following for an interactive map that roughly traces our route. --->

Beginning in the province of Navarre in the city of Pamplona, we rode northwest passing through the provinces of Guipuzcoa, Cantabria, and the gorgeous coastal towns of Asturias, before continuing into Galicia, tracing the coast west then south,  arriving all the way down to Finisterre,  then cutting back east to the interior to go to Santiago de Compostela.

From there we turned southwest back to the coast and continued all the way down to the town of A Praia at the Portuguese border, separated from Portugal by a narrow channel. Then, in just two days, we crossed the entire distance back east through the interior of Spain, along the traditional route of the Camino de Santiago, completing a giant loop upon arrival at Pamplona.

Crossing all these different provinces in such a short amount of time - we never slept in the same town twice! - was an experience in itself. Along the way, I saw a variety of landscapes and cultural sites that genuinely surprised me, where crossing from one province to another at times felt like entering another country altogether. Those details will be the subject of a future set of posts!

Traveling across the Spanish countryside has been a dream ever since I saw the movie The Way. This movie has inspired thousands of travelers of all ages to northern Spain to attempt the famous Camino de Santiago.

The plan was simple: make no plans or bookings whatsoever and see what happens. I hoped to make local friends and let them show me around. I'd never done that before --- last year, I had planned for months before embarking on my 80-day "mini-retirement."

Luckily, that's exactly what happened: I ended up getting an invitation from Julia, whom I met in Navarra, to join her on a road trip she had been planning. She said there'd be dramatic mountain ranges, quaint coastal towns, loads of dramatic cliffs by the sea, and sun-drenched beaches. Needless to say, claro que sí, I joined her.

Me, Julia, and trusty little Polillo

Me, Julia, and trusty little Polillo

With Julia at the wheel of her trusty VW Polo, I was treated to about as unique a travel experience as I could hope to get. I just had to sit back (for hours... and hours... and hours...) and enjoy the scenery.

Now you can see it too, minus the butt-numbing hassle of sitting in a car for most of the day for nine days straight! :P Hope you enjoy the video!

GEAR NOTES

I shot with a lightweight, relatively minimalist setup this entire trip. My entire shooting kit consisted of the ff:

Any questions about the above? Let me know! :)