- Sep 4, 2018
- 815
- 2,403
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances 2022
A couple days ago I started the Camino Madrid from Segovia. Some of you may recall that I posted a few months ago looking for a relatively flat Camino to test out my body to find out if I could make another try on the Camino Frances where I had been previously defeated by shin splints.
Day 1and 2
So far I am two short stages into it and it’s definitely flat. I did a 12 km day to Los Huertas, and a 21 km day to Santa Maria de Real de Nieva.
Luckily I picked up a little extra food in Segovia before I left, just because I’m normally cautious. Because in fact there was no store in Los Huertas. Dinner was at the bar which was not open in the morning and there was nothing at all open before the 21 kms to Santa Maria de Real de Nieva.
I took a slow day getting to Santa Maria, and there was a grocery store. I noticed that they closed at 8 o’clock on my way to the very very nice Rincon - Naif hotel, but when I returned at 7 o’clock, there was a sign on the door saying that they had closed at 6:30. There was a bar in town but they didn’t serve food. I asked some locals and they took me to a place that started serving dinner at 9 o’clock. The point being, though, if you’re doing this route be a bit careful about food and opening times.
Despite the food hassles the first couple days, I’m having a good time . I met one other walker the first day and she and her dog spent the night with me in the Los Huertas albergue, but mostly she is wild camping. A very interesting woman whose blog and Instagram I had looked at a few years ago called @pushbikegirl. Hieke has been on the road for years and bicycled almost everywhere on the planet. She funds her life off donations and the kindness of strangers. She is not heading to Santiago but walking north, then towards Barcelona and then back to Germany for Christmas! Now that’s slow travel!
As noted by previous travelers, I have only run into one English speaker since Segovia . My Spanish is at a very low level, but it’s already improving! It feels good to be able to negotiate the simple things . And despite some people disparaging it, my Spanish knowledge is almost completely from Duolingo.
For logistics, I made a screen link on my iphone to the Gronze.com Camino Madrid Page, and I’m using the excellent Mapy.CZ app for navigation.
I’ve gone over the other Camino Madrid threads for information , but don’t really have a list in my head of artistic and cultural sites that I don’t want to miss on this trail. If anybody can make some specific suggestions I would really appreciate it!
Thanks to @jungleboy and @Camino Chrissy for the Madrid suggestion!
I haven’t sketched so far on the road but I spent a few days in the incredibly beautiful city of Segovia and did several sketches. I had my oil paints in Segovia but shipped those ahead.
:
Day 1and 2
So far I am two short stages into it and it’s definitely flat. I did a 12 km day to Los Huertas, and a 21 km day to Santa Maria de Real de Nieva.
Luckily I picked up a little extra food in Segovia before I left, just because I’m normally cautious. Because in fact there was no store in Los Huertas. Dinner was at the bar which was not open in the morning and there was nothing at all open before the 21 kms to Santa Maria de Real de Nieva.
I took a slow day getting to Santa Maria, and there was a grocery store. I noticed that they closed at 8 o’clock on my way to the very very nice Rincon - Naif hotel, but when I returned at 7 o’clock, there was a sign on the door saying that they had closed at 6:30. There was a bar in town but they didn’t serve food. I asked some locals and they took me to a place that started serving dinner at 9 o’clock. The point being, though, if you’re doing this route be a bit careful about food and opening times.
Despite the food hassles the first couple days, I’m having a good time . I met one other walker the first day and she and her dog spent the night with me in the Los Huertas albergue, but mostly she is wild camping. A very interesting woman whose blog and Instagram I had looked at a few years ago called @pushbikegirl. Hieke has been on the road for years and bicycled almost everywhere on the planet. She funds her life off donations and the kindness of strangers. She is not heading to Santiago but walking north, then towards Barcelona and then back to Germany for Christmas! Now that’s slow travel!
As noted by previous travelers, I have only run into one English speaker since Segovia . My Spanish is at a very low level, but it’s already improving! It feels good to be able to negotiate the simple things . And despite some people disparaging it, my Spanish knowledge is almost completely from Duolingo.
For logistics, I made a screen link on my iphone to the Gronze.com Camino Madrid Page, and I’m using the excellent Mapy.CZ app for navigation.
I’ve gone over the other Camino Madrid threads for information , but don’t really have a list in my head of artistic and cultural sites that I don’t want to miss on this trail. If anybody can make some specific suggestions I would really appreciate it!
Thanks to @jungleboy and @Camino Chrissy for the Madrid suggestion!
I haven’t sketched so far on the road but I spent a few days in the incredibly beautiful city of Segovia and did several sketches. I had my oil paints in Segovia but shipped those ahead.
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