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LIVE from the Camino Camino Manchego in December

Umwandert

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Current Caminos: Via Augusta + Camino Manchego
I've been in Ciudad Real since yesterday evening and will be walking the Camino Manchego in five stages to Toledo from tomorrow. I found very little information about this Camino and decided to do it at very short notice. After the Via Augusta, I actually wanted to walk the Camino del Sur, but that requires 7 days and I only have 6 available. So I switched plans.

Ciudad Real is a charming, not so small town with 74,000 inhabitants in Castilla-La Mancha, around an hour south of Madrid by train. Today I visited the Don Quixote Museum and the cathedral and went to the Christmas market in the city centre. The weather was sunny at 16 degrees, but it's supposed to get much colder tomorrow. So I also paid a visit to the Decathlon store on the eastern outskirts of the city to top up my equipment for cold days.

I've never walked a Camino in La Mancha before and I'm excited to see what awaits me. I've been reading @AlanSykes' reports with interest. He walked most of the Camino Manchego in October. Having had mixed experiences with official Wikiloc tracks on the Via Augusta, this time I'm using the Buen Camino app, which maps the Camino Manchego.

To be continued...


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Day 1: Ciudad Real - Malagon (according to Buen Camino 27 km, I walked 29 km)

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I was worried about the drop in temperature. When I stepped out of the hotel at 9.30am it was 5 degrees and I could see my breath. However, the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Well wrapped up, I left Ciudad Real past Puerto de Toledo and headed north. Initially on tarmac, the surface soon changed to gravel. At first I encountered a lot of joggers, later also mountain bikers.

At some distance from the railway line, I walked through fields and noticed the first Camino markings (small stickers on signs). I trusted the Buen Camino app, but soon there were slight deviations. There were several prohibition signs next to the path, but it was not closed off. I continued northwards on wide concrete slabs that tanks could drive on, perhaps a road was planned here that was never completed? By now it was more than 10 degrees. Gloves were not necessary, but I occasionally used my hood because of the wind.

The path was flat and easy to walk on, with gently undulating hills on the horizon. After a bend, the view opened up and a large wetland came into view. Very picturesque! I crossed the Puente de Hierro steel bridge to the other side. There were also many day trippers from the surrounding area here, as it was Sunday. Then I continued through olive groves and under the railway line to the first village on the path. Peralvillo consisted of just a few streets and an open bar. I treated myself to a Colacao and a Coca-Cola and got tapas to go with it, there was no stamp (‘Soy autonomo’ replied the owner), but at least my credential was signed.

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This was followed by a beautiful path through a nature reserve (?), always alongside a river. I saw plenty of birds. There were walkers and cyclists here too. I was pleasantly surprised, I had imagined the path to be much more lonely. Walking past cow pastures, grazing horses and still in bright sunshine was great fun. The surface eventually changed to tarmac and the houses of Fernán Caballero came into view.

This village is much larger than Peralvillo, but seemed totally deserted. Bars on the windows everywhere, parked cars but not a soul on the streets. Almost eerie. I reached the centre with the church and walked around it (unfortunately closed). It was 3pm. Two people came out of a neighbouring building and I took a closer look. It was a cafeteria, which was obviously not privately run but by the village. Once again my credential was signed, once again I ordered something to drink and this time I received migas, a speciality from La Mancha, as tapas. It looked like a Bavarian bread dumpling (Semmelknödel) that someone has sat on. The dish is actually made with toasted bread, but also with paprika, olive oil, garlic and fatty meat. It is eaten with grapes and I really enjoyed it!

Freshly fortified, I set off on the last section of the route to Malagon. I passed the cemetery and continued northwards along dirt roads. The wind picked up and I had to put my hood on. Then Buen Camino wanted to send me right onto the main road, while the arrows continued to point left. As I could already see the church tower of Malagon (an advantage when everything is so flat) I trusted the arrows. This path along a stream is maybe a little longer, but certainly much more pleasant than having to walk alongside the road. I'd had enough of that on the Via Augusta. I reached Malagon in the evening sun at 5.15pm and found the Los Molinos guesthouse ten minutes later.

I had called there a few days ago and reserved a room (25 euros) by phone. booking.com offered no choice in the town, only 7 km off camino. But according to google maps there are three accommodations in Malagon. However, the bar Los Molinos was barred and closed. After my call, the owner came out into the street and guided me in, the guesthouse is round the corner from the bar. I later had dinner in a nearby restaurant. After sunset it got really cold.

A successful start! Tomorrow I'm heading further north, 35 km to Urda, and I'll have to start earlier and probably take fewer long breaks. As the sun rises at 8.25am and sets at 5.50pm I only have just nine and a half hours of daylight for hiking. And I would like to arrive before sunset. Conveniently, I've pre-booked all the accommodation on this Camino (it's December and there are no albergues).

To be continued...


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Day 2: Malagon - Urda (35km officially and for me, as there was no room for error)

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The crucial question today was: would I manage to complete the longest stage by sunset? 35km in 9.5 hours on a flat path should actually work. But you don't walk a route like this without a plan. My plan looked like this: Hike the first 10km without a break to the only town on the route, then walk for an hour, followed by a 10-minute break. And repeat.

I'm not a morning person, especially not in winter. I found it correspondingly difficult to leave the hotel at 8am. It was 1 degree outside, I had breakfast in a nearby café and packed a chocolate triangle (Triangulo de chocolate) for later. There were a few clouds in the sky, but the sun was already making its presence felt. I walked the first few kilometres out of Malagon on dirt tracks through olive groves and vineyards. Unlike the day before, I didn't meet lots of walkers or cyclists. Only one lone mountainbiker.

I passed a chemical plant and a hilltop and suddenly the sun disappeared and the cold wind picked up. I now used both the hoods of my jumper and my jacket and plunged deep into the olive groves. I reached Fuente el Fresno at around 11.15am and saw my first windmill high above the town on a hill. In the centre, I first went to the town hall to get a stamp and then took a break in a bar. While I was sipping my hot colacao, a basketball game was on TV (the TV is always on in the bars). I bought a few more drinks at the supermarket.

The way out of the town was about 10 kilometres along the N-401 road to Toledo. At first I made good progress on a gravel track with lots of benches along the side, but then the benches disappeared and I continued along a dirt track. Luckily the sun had returned and it was now 8 degrees. I was glad I didn't have to walk on the road as there was a lot of traffic, no shoulder and the cars were speeding.

After my first break, I had to cross over to the other side of the road and was suddenly on a cañada, an old track where cattle were herded through the countryside (@VNwalking had provided more information about the cañadas here). The ground now became much rockier and I was forced to lift my legs and pay more attention to the ground than to the landscape around me. With the road still in sight, I struggled northwards.

The last kilometre before the turn-off tom Urda I had to get onto the road, but there was a one metre wide shoulder. A restaurant came into view, ideal for a break, but it was closed. Here I also met a hiker (not a pilgrim), he was carrying two rucksacks (it looked like he had his entire household with him). He was accompanied by a dog on a lead.

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After the junction, I still had 10 kilometres to go, but there was only the road and no path alongside it. This road looked smaller and as if nothing had been done to it since the 60s, dirty grey potholed asphalt. There was a slight ascent and I could see for kilometres. There was hardly any traffic, maybe four cars an hour. I don't normally like walking long distances on tarmac, but after the strenuous cañada, this old road suited me just fine. I quickly got into my rhythm and no longer had to pay attention to the surface.

Fun fact: I had a countdown, the remaining kilometres were displayed on small signs next to the road. 10, 9, 8... After I had passed the 6, a dirt track suddenly appeared on the left and a yellow arrow. I didn't really want to leave the road, but as there were hardly any stones on the path, I turned off. The path ran parallel to the road. I took my last break at 4.30pm and was confident that I would make it to sunset (5.50pm).

Urda didn't turn up for a long time. Even 3 kilometres before the finish I couldn't see any town because it was obviously located in a hollow. It wasn't until shortly after 5pm that I finally saw the church towers. I particularly enjoyed the last hour, as the sun bathed the path and the fields in a particularly beautiful golden light. At 5.30pm I reached the first houses and at 5.50pm I was standing in front of my hotel La Casa del Medico Hosteria Rural (66 euros). Precision landing!

However, everything was closed and nobody opened the door. And to my dismay, I couldn't make a phone call either because I had no network coverage. So I ran into the nearest open shop, a tobacconist's, and asked for help in my mediocre Spanish. Amazingly, I actually remembered the word for network coverage (cobertura). The girl behind the counter called the number for me and ten minutes later I was pretty exhausted in my warm room. Dinner (pulpo) was then in a nearby bar (this time Game of Thrones was on the TV).

Conclusion: A great day, I'm proud of how my plan worked out. And very glad that the sun was shining, otherwise it would have been more difficult. My legs will definitely remember the 35km tomorrow (28km to Los Yebenes). The Camino de Manchego can also be completed in four days, in which case the destination would be Sonseca tomorrow, but that's too far for me.

To be continued...

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Day 3: Urda - Los Yebenes (28km officially, 27km for me due to some bushwacking)

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I was the only hotel guest at the Casa del Medico, so I was surprised when an incredibly rich breakfast awaited me at 9am, including queso con membrillo (soft cheese with quince jelly). Freshly fortified and in a good mood, I left the hotel at 10am in 4 degree celsius and went to a supermarket to stock up on provisions, as today's stage was without any food options.

As soon as I left the town centre, I had network coverage again. That was important, of course, because otherwise I might not have found my way without the Buen Camino app. At first, I walked along a dirt track next to an arterial road. My destination was the N-401 to Toledo, which I had left yesterday to get to Urda. Urda is actually a diversion, I realised, you could also walk directly from Fuente el Fresno to Los Yebenes.

Soon crooked mojones appeared next to the dirt track, the sun was fortunately already shining strongly and there was hardly any wind, so I didn't need a hood. Unlike yesterday, this time I didn't have to walk on the less busy road; about 4 kilometres before the junction with the N-401, the Camino turned right into the fields. This section was very nice to walk, firm ground, the range of hills on the right and every now and then a farmer on a tractor waving.

Buen Camino, however, made no sense to me, the app showed a strange spike that I ignored. Every now and then there were yellow arrows. One clearly pointed to the right behind a gate with a sign ‘Vaca sueltas’ (free-roaming cows). I opened and closed the gate, the landscape was now characterised by trees, an arroyo flowed to the left and the path became increasingly grassy. I dodged a few cow pats and then, around a bend, there they were: the vacas sueltas, in the middle of the path, looking at me challengingly.

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Fortunately, I know what to do in such situations. I took a deep breath... and heartily sang a Dolly Parton country song ("Joleeeene"). It worked, the cattle made way and I was able to pass unscathed. Dolly Parton always works with cattle. The path was now almost enchanted and I passed a ruined castle crumbling away on the hill to my right. Then I came to a fork in the road and two arrows that contradicted each other. One (a sticker on the back of a sign) pointed left across the arroyo, the other, on the style of sign on the other side, pointed right further along the ridge.

I consulted Buen Camino and realised that I should have been walking much closer to the road already for some time. So I turned left, hopped over a few stones across the arroyo without falling into the water and felt good. But…. “That was a bloody mistake” I shouted to some young cattle just 10 minutes in. I was standing on a grassy area at the edge of a dug up field, the path had disappeared. There was a fence to the right, the arroyo behind it, another fence to the left of the field, and behind that, undergrowth and the road. According to the app, the Camino should run here, but there was no sign of it. "What do I do now?" I asked the cattle, who showed me their rumps and ran off northwards.

I walked across the field and examined the fence, it was 2.50 metres high, tightly knotted wire and not under power. What would Dolly Parton do, I wondered? As a patented country girl, she would of course have a pair of wire cutters in her handbag. I followed along the fence and was lucky, after 10 minutes someone (a desperate pilgrim?) had actually cut the fence open so that I could easily hop into the knee-high bushes behind it. After a few minutes of bushwacking, I was finally on the N-401. There was plenty of traffic here, but a one metre wide shoulder. According to the app, the Camino would cross the N-401 in 2 kilometres, so I continued on the road, watched by a huge statue of the Madonna on a hill to the left.

After 2 kilometres I actually found an arrow that sent me left onto a dirt track. But even here the path disappeared after a while and I had to fight my way over a scree field with lots of stones. As my trail runners are already quite worn out, I felt every stone and got annoyed. And again I was fenced in, running on an area to the left of the road that was perhaps 50 metres wide and fenced in on both sides. A path appeared behind the left-hand fence, but there was also a sign warning me that ‘Toros Bravos’ were waiting for me behind the fence. Does Dolly Parton also work with bulls? I'd rather not find out.

I realised that I was making better progress along the fence on the right-hand side (i.e. towards the road) because there were fewer stones there. An hour later I came to an open gate, beyond which was freedom, the road! But a big yellow arrow pointed to the left and I dutifully followed the now more passable path. At some distance from the road, I continued northwards, Los Yebenes had already been shining in the sun on the hillside in front of me for some time. I, on the other hand, was walking in the shade, as quite a few clouds had gathered in the meantime.

For the next few kilometres, I had to cross the road again and again as the Camino happily jumped from dirt track to dirt track. About 6 kilometres before the village, I came to an end and joined the road. Buen Camino still indicated a path on the right-hand side, but I didn't see it. I now marched at a brisk pace towards Los Yebenes, which was only approaching very slowly.

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When I reached the exit from the motorway to my destination, a white car suddenly stopped, a man in a yellow high-visibility waistcoat jumped out and shouted across the road, asking what I was doing here. Fittingly, I was only 20 metres from a ‘No pedestrians’ traffic sign. I shouted back that I had lost my Camino and wanted to get to Los Yebenes as quickly as possible. He kindly let me move on. After leaving the N-401, I discovered a parallel dirt track on the right-hand side and took it. The last few kilometres dragged on endlessly, especially as the road was now constantly climbing slightly, as the town is located on a slope. At 4.45pm I reached some farms and was greeted by an orchestra of barking dogs. The gates were open twice, but thankfully the dogs didn't get as far as the path.

At 5pm I reached the industrial estate and ten minutes later the first residential buildings. I was overtaken by some joggers and noticed a huge deer statue. I bravely fought my way up the hill. At 5.20pm I was standing in front of my hotel, Casa Apelio (30 euros, booked directly via the website), in the town centre. As on the previous days, there was no one there, a sign informed me that it was siesta time between 4pm and 6pm, but there was also a telephone number. I rang and was let in a few minutes later. Later I ate in the restaurant. There were only raciones, bocadillos and hamburguesas on the menu, and every second dish contained venison. So I ordered venison in monteña sauce, which tasted fantastically tender.

Conclusion: An unexpectedly challenging day that showed me once again that you can't rely 100 per cent on apps. Actually, adventures like this mostly happen to me when I walk a path in reverse. But common sense (and Dolly Parton) helped me over critical sections today. Tomorrow is the shortest stage, 18 kilometres to Sonseca, which leads over the only significant hill of the entire Camino. It also offers a town halfway along the route. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Camino Manchego continues.

To be continued...

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