| Remove ads on the forum by becoming a donating member. More here. |
|---|
That is still on my bucket list but I walked the Primitivo this year and last year and could walk it all over again. I am so sorry that I did not walk the San Salvador first.
I did the Salvador, then connected to the Norte at Avilés. Oviedo was a days walk at 29 km
Hi @OzAnnie - I walked the Via Francigena from the Swiss border to Rome last year. An amazing experience awaits you....Mel
Yes, the Buen Camino app.
I used this app for other routes many times and loved it. The recent upgrades to the app are disappointing, the map feature has changed, seems like it moved away from google map (no terrain feature etc), info hard to read, and this route only available in Spanish. Better than nothing but not smooth to use. Sorry if I sound fussy but the previous version was excellent. Thanks for the response though.Yes, the Buen Camino app.
APP del Camino de Santiago Buen Camino 2014 - 2024
Aplicación del Camino de Santiago profesional, con mapas, perfiles, alojamientos, planificador de etapas, a pie o en bici (Btt), en idiomas y actualizada.www.editorialbuencamino.com
Ack! I just opened my app and it's all different!
Hi Heidi We are going to walk the Madrid Camino in April 2020 . Please could you tell me which Albergues you enjoyed and if there are any to avoid Thank you
When are you going Annie? I think you will love the Sanabrés. Look forward to hearing about it all especially the VF.
Tks Elaine. I sent whatsapp as it’s not my thread
I will dig up my credencial from our walks and see if I can remember anything - in general, everything after Segovia was lovely. Old posts here are a reminder...
Windy Maps for Android.
thank you
Every camino is unique, and we tend to characterize each by what we remember most. Without doubt, the most beautiful is the Primitivo. No contest, I can understand why you've done it twice. We walked the Salvador just before the Primitivo, which was nice combo. We did the Madrid in Sept-Oct this year and loved it. We refer it is as the most villager-oriented. If you want scenery, don't bother. If you want tough walking, don't bother. If you want mountains, you only get a few days. If you want delightful villages and interaction with the villagers, it's got the other 7 caminos we have walked beat by a long shot. We combined this with the Camino Ignaciano, walking from Loiola (Loyola) to Logrono. That's tougher than the Primitivo with stunning scenery, but still not as good as the Primitivo. What's more, there was only one albergue, and staying in inns, while much more comfortable, is not our thing. This was another reason we liked the Madrid as there were plenty of albergues.
I find this very tempting!
If you want to know what walking in spring is like, I walked it in early May this year and made a YouTube video of my walk. Search for "Camino Madrid May 2019". Sorry - it's 26 minutes long but should give you a good idea of what to expect along the way. I loved it!
Love your film. Brings back memories. Bin there three times.
Thanks for that video! I was unable to watch it all at once, so I saved the link, which may make it easier for others to find.
I walked the Camino de Madrid to the Frances to the Invierno this fall, completing the route(s) about five weeks ago. I found both the Madrid and the Invierno challenging physically, due to the weather: very dry with the air full of dust on most of the Madrid, and very wet, with almost continual rain on the Invierno. I would repeat both, but with the hope of better weather. Maybe the spring will work for you. If you are on holiday, you will have to take your chances. If you are on pilgrimage, you will receive what you are given and open your heart to the learning that you receive along the way. I found both routes quite solitary (which suits me), but the Invierno more so, because many albergues are available along the route of the Madrid.Thanks for that video! I was unable to watch it all at once, so I saved the link, which may make it easier for others to find.
Those fields of emerald green waving in the wind with occasional smatterings of poppies are among my strongest memories of that walk. And as others have said, the people in the villages are a big plus. I walked alone but had lots of great conversations with people, for whom the presence of a peregrina was more of a novelty than an irritation.
Alvin, you say you walked in early May. How early? I see from my blog that I started on May 17 from the Plaza Castilla. I’m asking because I think there is a “green window” that closes in late spring or early summer, and then everything turns brown. For me, this walk would not have been as much of a show-stopper if the natural habitat had been all brown.
One thing that tells me we walked at slightly different times, assuming these things happen pretty regularly on the same dates, was the lack of cottonwood “snow” along the canal at Medina. When I walked, it was everywhere, in some spots pretty thick. Your video doesn’t show any, so maybe I walked a bit later than you.
And, for others who are wondering about the exit from Madrid, this video shows it like it is. No selective winnowing to omit ugly industrial parts.
LaurieThanks for that video! I was unable to watch it all at once, so I saved the link, which may make it easier for others to find.
Those fields of emerald green waving in the wind with occasional smatterings of poppies are among my strongest memories of that walk. And as others have said, the people in the villages are a big plus. I walked alone but had lots of great conversations with people, for whom the presence of a peregrina was more of a novelty than an irritation.
Alvin, you say you walked in early May. How early? I see from my blog that I started on May 17 from the Plaza Castilla. I’m asking because I think there is a “green window” that closes in late spring or early summer, and then everything turns brown. For me, this walk would not have been as much of a show-stopper if the natural habitat had been all brown.
One thing that tells me we walked at slightly different times, assuming these things happen pretty regularly on the same dates, was the lack of cottonwood “snow” along the canal at Medina. When I walked, it was everywhere, in some spots pretty thick. Your video doesn’t show any, so maybe I walked a bit later than you.
And, for others who are wondering about the exit from Madrid, this video shows it like it is. No selective winnowing to omit ugly industrial parts.
Edited to add a link to my Camino Madrid photos. I am like a kid in a candy shop, I have just discovered that all my photos from 2007 to whenever Google shut its picasa website are actually stored online. I haven’t seen any of them in years, and it’s an early Christmas present. The Madrid shots are here.
Annie, by that “wee bar” do you mean the one right after the pictures of the albergue in Castromonte? If so, those are pictures of Sr. Braulio and his wife in Bar Caribe. He has a great story, which you may have read. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...e-bar-owner-now-almost-100.42686/#post-437191
We will never forget that bar. We were starving, it was around 10am and the town seemed dead. We queried an old woman who must have been at least 100 years old and she told us that there was a bar open. She would take us there since she went every morning to buy fresh bread there. It was a slow walk, which was fine with us. We entered the bar, saw the bar keep and the old lady embrace each other, as they no doubt had done every morning for years. The old woman bundled her loaf of bread like a new born, gave us a wide smile and wished us a buen camino. We had a nice breakfast and asked if we could have some bocadillos a llevarse. Ten minutes later, lovingly made and wrapped bocadillos made on the wonderful bread were handed to us. We were refreshed and ready to walk another 5 hours. Castromonte, like so many stops along the Camino de Madrid, will always be in our thoughts. As I have noted previously, the Camino de Madrid is all about the villagers. Take time to talk to them and ask them to help you. They take great pride in their hospitality.
Yes - the hospi who came to open the wonderful Albergue told us how to find it. I think the only sign was lotteries.
We were told by those who walked the Camino de Madrid that we absolutely, positively MUST stop in Villeguillo. Best bar on any camino, and a nicely maintained albergue. They were right. We feasted at the bar, the only one in town, and came back to lounge and take advantage of the wifi. At one point, the proprietor, Kiki (not sure about spelling) and the mayor joined us. We took lots of photos and sent them back to be posted. Don't miss the mayor, as he looks like he walked straight our of a Velasquez portrait. Too many memories to catalog from this camino.
I walked the Madrid a few years ago, and reacted to your post by thinking — I don’t remember any place named Vileguillo. Just shows you how many terrific options there are on this camino. I think it must be the camino with the best and most albergues per peregrino in Spain.
Villeguillo is a pass through teeny village, 18km before Alcazaren. We modified our walking just to stop there. We loved it, and we did stop at the Cafe Real in Alcazaren. But then we continued on to Valdesillas. So many choices of delightful villages and unforgettable bars on this camino. I guess we have to go back...
Yep. That's Kiki with the thumbs up signal. We checked in at the albergue (he has the only key) and then came back begging for food. His first reaction was that dinner would be at 8pm. We put on our miserable face and the said 7pm. We switched to our mournful look and he said 6pm...just for us. We then went to our nuclear option and my wife put on her starving dog in the desert look. He sighed, cursing under his breath, then said he would serve us. But no choices. Whatever he had easy to make. The food kept coming and coming and coming. We were well past satisfecho when he proudly brought us ice cream for dessert. We simply had to eat it, waddling back to the albergue. That's one reason we walked 36kms the next day with only snacks along the way.
Attached is a photo of the mayor. It's obvious he enjoys his visits to this bar. The second photo is of the outside of the bar. It's hard to miss this very special spot on this camino.
Those mobile shops are wonderful. I was lucky to have one arrive in Castromonte, where I had landed without much in the way of food.
And then walking out of the bar back to the albergue, the truck arrived — some of the best fruit I have bought in Spain. Just another day on the amazing Camino de Madrid.
I’ve watched your YouTube video as well. It gave me the idea of walking this route.
Instead of starting in Madrid, you start in Guadalajara and connect with the Camino de Madrid in Manzanares el Real — 3 days or 4 depending on your distance preferences.
I saw your YouTube video before I went and that encouraged me to try that route. Now I’m planning the Madrid camino again in spring 2022.
Still the Best camino. Planning to walk it with my son next summer.
Welcome home, laineylainey! I’m sure you’ll see that @C clearly has just started a planning thread for the Camino de Madrid. I know some don’t like to plan ahead, but if you do, this thread will give you all the information you need and a lot that you don’t as well!
Thanks @peregrina2000 , most excellent and useful link! I have so enjoyed peoples' actual journeys and it will be great to see what, if anything, has changed.
This is great to read as I'm heading to a camino next April. I had planned on the Le Puy route, but am getting info that early April isn't the best time for this route, especially going solo. Sooo,,, now looking at other options, like the CdM. I will be starting right before Holy Week starts and really would love to be somewhere where they still have some old Easter traditions. How did you find it with securing accommodation around that time?
:
(the red sign at the far end of the street):
