Your legs will know after just a few kilometres: this is not going to be a gentle introduction. From Irún, close to the French border, you climb quickly, and after that it’s up and down all the way. The steepest section is a climb of more than 300 metres in just under five kilometres. Your mind is somewhere else, though. It’s the first day, everything is new and your rucksack still feels strange on your back.
This is a day for patience. You’ll be on the move for more than 8 hours, so take your time, and don’t let the long descents punish your knees. Then you walk into San Sebastián, a city by the sea with a wide bay. You smell the salt before you see the water. The first stage is done. It’s fine for a first day to hurt a bit, that’s part of it. Buen Camino.