Camino del Norte part 1

This week we begin what will be a long series on the Camino del Norte. However, before we get to that I present the usual weekly logic puzzle.

Logic Puzzle

A logician, whose age you don't know, is trapped in a room. On the locked door is a combination lock, which is the only way out. The lock requires three digits from 0 to 9 in the correct order. A conversation goes as follows with the evil wizard who put him there.

Wizard: The second and third number in the combination are equal or greater than the previous number.

Logician: I need more information.

Wizard: The product of the three numbers is 36.

Logician: I need more information.

Wizard: The sum of the three numbers equals your age.

Logician: I need more information.

Wizard: The last number is unique.

Logician: Thank you, I know the combination.

The logician then enters the combination correctly. What is it?

Answer and solution at the end of the newsletter.

Camino del Norte part 1

Followers of my newsletter will recall I wrote an 18-part series on bicycling the Camino de Santiago via the Camino Frances in 2024. Part 1 can be found in my October 16, 2024 newsletter.

A big mistake that trip was doing it by bicycle. It has been high on my short list to return and do a different route on foot ever since. For various reasons, I decided to do the northern route, known as the Camino del Norte in Spanish. From my first Camino, I heard it was very scenic as it went along the north coast of Spain. Although the “season” didn’t begin until April 1, I was itchy for an adventure in March and didn’t want to sit around waiting for April.

The map above shows the most popular Camino routes in Spain. The most popular by far is the Camino Frances in red. The Camino del Norte is shown in blue.

On March 11, I flew from Los Angeles to Madrid. I spent a few days in Madrid seeing the city and getting over my jetlag. Then I took a train to Bilbao where I spent another few days. I plan to write more about Madrid and Bilbao in a future newsletter.

You may notice from the map above that the Camino del Norte starts further east in Irun. I started in Bilbao because I wanted to keep the trip to about four weeks and was worried about encountering icy conditions in the Pyrenees. Anybody can start and end the Camino wherever they wish. Like me, most people have only so much time and choose their starting and ending points according to how much time they have and how far they walk per day. In the future, I may do the section I skipped from Irun to Bilbao.

On my last full day in Bilbao I saw the Guggenheim museum as soon as it opened. As impressive as that museum is, there is only so much to see in it. I saw everything by about 11AM and didn’t know what to do with myself the rest of the day. So, I decided to walk the first section of the Camino about 14 kilometers to Portugalete, which is still in the Bilbao metro area, and take a local train back to central Bilbao. That is exactly what I did, walking along the Nervión River as much as I could.

The most interesting thing I saw that day was the Vizkaya Bridge. It is known as a “transporter bridge.” I had never seen such a thing before. It contains a gondola that can hold up to six cars and 20 people. The gondola, supported by cables from the upper level, goes back and forth every eight minutes. In retrospect, I wish I hadridden it myself. At the time, I had no idea what it was and if it was even open to the public.

The next day, I saddled up with my too-heavy backpack and hit the trail on March 18 from Bilbao, 683 kilometers from the terminus of the Camino in Santiago. I consider my journey to have started at the Santiago Cathedral in Bilbao. I think is just a coincidence that it has the same name as the cathedral I would finish at in Santiago. Then again, they love the Santo Santiago (Saint James – one of Jesus’ closest friends) in northern Spain so maybe it isn’t such a coincidence. They believe the cathedral in Santiago contains his remains.

My first steps from the cathedral were towards the metro station where I reversed my train journey the previous day to Portugalete.

From there, I walked through the town and eventually came to a bicycle path that lead to the coastal town of Pobeña. During the day I encountered many bicyclists, I’m sure locals from Bilbao, but only one fellow pilgrim (what they call people who do the Camino) and I’m not even sure he was one or just somebody with a backpack taking a rest.

My first sight of the Atlantic Ocean was the Playa de Arena. This was a lovely beach. As it was still rather cold there were not many people. There were several surfers, the first time I had seen surfing in Europe.

After a short walk along the beach, I came to the small town of Pobeña. Said town had an Albergue (the term for a hostel for pilgrims), but the sign on the door said it was closed for the season and would reopen on April 1. Fortunately, the only “hotel” in town had plenty of room so I got a room there. I think I was the only guest. I put hotel in quotation marks, because it was more like a small restaurant that had several rooms to rent on the upper floors, a business model common along the Camino and I think southern Europe in general. I think the term for them in English, as used in Europe, is a guesthouse or inn.

My distance covered on day 1 was 26.2 kilometers. Next week I will continue with my journey to Islares.

Logic Puzzle Answer

2-2-9

Logic Puzzle Solution

After the Wizard’s second statement, we can reduce the possibilities to the following:

1. • 1-1-36
2. • 1-2-18
3. • 1-3-12
4. • 1-4-9
5. • 1-6-6
6. • 2-2-9
7. • 2-3-6

 

Note how they all have a product of 36 and are in ascending order. We need more information because there are seven possibilities.

After the third statement, let’s look at the sum of the numbers:

1. • 1+1+36 = 38
2. • 1+2+18 = 21
3. • 1+3+12 = 16
4. • 1+4+9 = 14
5. • 1+6+6 = 13
6. • 2+2+9 = 13
7. • 2+3+6 = 11

 

Since the logician needs more information, the combination must be one of the two that add up to 13, because all the others have a unique sum. So, we’re down to these:

1. • 1+6+6 = 13
2. • 2+2+9 = 13

 

The Wizard’s final statement gives it away as 2-2-9, because the last number is 1-6-6 is not unique.