Greetings all, with many happy and encouraging wishes during this season!!
I have two questions and hope that someone will have some ideas. Thank you for any responses!
I hope to walk the Aragones again sometime, perhaps even this coming year. Rather than connecting to the Frances near Obanos, is there a way to go up the "end" of the mountain near Tiebas to get to the mirador de Alto de Perdon? Distance wise it is about 15K and would make a nice ending to the Aragones.
I have walked from San Millan de la Cogolla via the highway to Santo Domingo de la Calzada. I wonder if there is another way perhaps through the mountains rather than via the highway? If so, how difficult might it be?I have researched Wickiloc and have not found a route for either of these questions. If someone finds a route, would you please post a link.
From San Millan de la Cogolla, I have walked an alternative way: the mountain way through the Sierra Demanda. I have no link for it. I can only describe it for you.
You can get directions for this route from the Tourist office at San Millan. Though the information they give is sketchy, it's enough to get you going. Getting to that trail head is fairly straightforward. It is about 1/2 way up the road on which the bus takes people to the Monasterio de Suso. You can easily walk up to the trailhead from the town.
The trailhead is located just after a hairpin turn. You can identify the hairpin turn as follows: right at the curve of the hairpin turn in question, to the right side of the road as you walk up, there is a house with a somewhat big yard. The house is on the cliffside overlooking the lowlands. There is only one house that fits that description. (If you google map for direction from San Millan de la Cogolla to Monasterio de Susao, and get the satellite picture, you will see that hairpin turn with the yard and the house on the right side of the road if you are heading towards the Monasterio de Suso. When you are actually there on that road though, the yard will look a whole lot smaller. I think they must have built another house in that yard closer to the road since the satellite picture was taken.)
Anyhow, continue walking up the road after the hairpin turn. Shortly you will see a dirt path going steeply up to your right. That is the trailhead. The trailhead is marked but you cannot see the trail marker from the road. You can only see it after you have made the right turn. So just remember that you have to make a 90 degree right turn uphill onto a wide mud path fairly soon after the hairpin turn. (You will see, before the hairpin turn, other trailheads to your left along the road but do not get confused by them.)
Once you have turned right from the road onto the trailhead then you can see the trail marker for Villar de Torres on the right side of the trail. This confirms you have made the correct turn. (There were no camino arrows along the route when I walked it, just trail markers.) Villar de Torres is what you need to look for and follow on all the trail markers.
From that point on it's a fairly steep ascent on a mud and rocky trail until you get to a T. At this T there is no marker to tell you which way to turn. Turn right at this T. Thereafter the trail is plush, fairly flat, with gentle ups and downs. Keep straight and ignore the spur trails mostly coming in from you left. You will see a few forks. Keep straight and stay on the main trail unless you see a trail marker. The main trail is the plush trail. The route is not hard. It is beautiful, sheltered from the wind, mostly shaded from the sun and supremely plush to walk on. By plush I mean lined with grass. It's like walking on deep pile carpeting. Eventually, as you exit the mountains going down hill, you will have an open view of the countryside. Just before hitting the bottom, you will need to take a 90 degree turn to the left rather than go straight. There is a marker there but you have to pay attention. The trail will eventually take you to Villar de Torres. Shortly before reaching that village there is a fork, with the right fork heading up again and the left fork heading down. There is no marker there or thereafter. Take the left fork down toward the village. There at the edge of the village you hit a T. Take a right turn at the T into town. Hopefully you will run into a few locals to point your way to the road. Otherwise find the Iglesia at the Plaza Ayuntamiento. If you just keep going downhill on the main drag from the Plaza Ayuntamiento you will come upon LR 204, where you take a left and walk towards Ciruena. You will pass Ciruena on the far side, without entering it at all, and easily connect back to the main camino.
The total distance from San Millan de Cogolla to Villar de Torres is 8 Ks. This is the great part. The next 6 Ks from Villar de Torres to Ciruena on the LR 204 is not so great but okay. Then 5 more Ks on the main camino route takes you to Santo Domingo.
I'm looking for a mountain route that goes farther perhaps to Manzanares de Rioja and then use the Camino De Santo Domingo to connect back to the main Camino route. If anyone has walked that way please post.
