Getting Ready to do the 2018 Updates for Invierno Guide

[peregrina2000]

Hi, everyone,
I have taken the first step of printing out my notes and going through all the Invierno comments since February of last year when we finished up the 2017 edition. If there is anyone who walked this year and has comments on things that should be changed or added to the forum guide, PLEASE let me know. I will be posting questions, I am sure, when I get down into the weeds and try to make sense of everything.

Hoping that Charrito, Jerbear, and Kinky will be by my side again! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[t2andreo]

Laurie:

I plan to walk the Invierno in the later half of April. Previously, I have suggested it here as a viable alternative to the Sarria to Santiago segment.

It occurred to me that as I had not yet done it personally, I should. That would make my commentary better.

Currently, the plan is to start out of Ponferrada on Friday 13 April...an auspicious starting day... I was able to book hostals or albergues for all but one night, in Rodeiro. That will likely be done "on the fly."

As I booked my airfare first, before planning my pilgrimage, I end up having the better part of a week at Santiago. Oh well, places to go, friends to see, beers to drink and food to eat... It gives me slack time to change reservations if my pace is not up to 30 Km / day.

I look forward to the forthcoming update...unless I get there first...

 

[peregrina2000]

Laurie:

I plan to walk the Invierno in the later half of April. Previously, I have suggested it here as a viable alternative to the Sarria to Santiago segment.

It occurred to me that as I had not yet done it personally, I should. That would make my commentary better.

Currently, the plan is to start out of Ponferrada on Friday 13 April...an auspicious starting day... I was able to book hostals or albergues for all but one night, in Rodeiro. That will likely be done "on the fly."

As I booked my airfare first, before planning my pilgrimage, I end up having the better part of a week at Santiago. Oh well, places to go, friends to see, beers to drink and food to eat... It gives me slack time to change reservations if my pace is not up to 30 Km / day.

I look forward to the forthcoming update...unless I get there first...

Hi, t2,
wondering if you would mind posting the stages you intend to walk and where you have reserved. And I am happy to call a place in Rodeiro for you (on my cheap-o 3 cents a minute calling card) to round out the reservations.

I will definitely have the revisions done before you leave. There are some so far, not many crucial ones, but there are a few questions from last year that still appear to be unanswered. So if you are game, you will have an opportunity to clear up a couple of confusing places and achieve everlasting fame and gratitude.

 

[Mark Francis Auchincloss]

Hi Laurie,

You saw that I did it at end of June 2017 and my videos so I'm happy to help.

 

[Thomas1962]

Hi Laura,

Thanks again for all your work!
At the Duch Confraternity we do make different KML and PDF accomodation lists, also made one for the Invierno. For this one we 'borrowed' some of your info but also looked a few months ago for new reasonable accomodation. Feel free to 'borrow back' all the information which you can use!
The PDF is in Dutch, but I think most of it you can understand. If not, let me know.

https://www.santiago.nl/sites/defau...-gps/Spanje/Slaapplaatsen-ES-GPS-20171106.pdf

 

[t2andreo]

Laurie:

As requested, here are my currently planned daily stages on the Invierno:

4/13 Puente de Domingo Flórez
4/14 O’Barco de Valledorras
4/15 Quiroga (private albergue)
4/16 Montforte de Lemos
4/17 Chantada
4/18 Rodeiro - this is where I need a place to stay.
4/19 Lalin
4/20 Bandeira
4/21 Santiago - I'll be at the Hospederia San Martin Pinario

In several cases, the daily stages are long, perhaps overly ambitious. In any case, they are longer than I would normally like. However, my decisions were driven by the availability of reservable lodging. I used both booking.com and gronze.com.

Because this will be challenging some days, I have been walking from 5 - 10 km each day here. About a month before, I will introduce my fully loaded rucksack to my daily walks. Living in Southern Florida makes this easier. Today, I wore shorts again for the first time in a week...

Send me a PM to ask for whatever information you will need to make a reservation for me.

Thanks

Tom

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Laura,

Thanks again for all your work!
At the Duch Confraternity we do make different KML and PDF accomodation lists, also made one for the Invierno. For this one we 'borrowed' some of your info but also looked a few months ago for new reasonable accomodation. Feel free to 'borrow back' all the information which you can use!
The PDF is in Dutch, but I think most of it you can understand. If not, let me know.

https://www.santiago.nl/sites/defau...-gps/Spanje/Slaapplaatsen-ES-GPS-20171106.pdf

Wow, Thomas, that is quite a resource! Thank you so very much. Would you mind if i just stuck it at the end of the guide? I can ask my Dutch-American pal to translate the little bits at the top even though, as you say, it is all pretty obvious. You guys have some GREAT words -- slaapplaatsen, I love it!

 

[Thomas1962]

Wow, Thomas, that is quite a resource! Thank you so very much. Would you mind if i just stuck it at the end of the guide? I can ask my Dutch-American pal to translate the little bits at the top even though, as you say, it is all pretty obvious. You guys have some GREAT words -- slaapplaatsen, I love it!

Sure Laurie, as you wish. It's freeware
Feel also free to use these data in your guide in any other way. If you want you can also put a link in your guide to the kml file which supports the info in your guide. If you want I can also translate some of the info, or even remake the PDF in english.
Have a good night in your 'slaapplaats'!

 

[MikeJS]

Laurie:

As requested, here are my currently planned daily stages on the Invierno:

4/13 Puente de Domingo Flórez
4/14 O’Barco de Valledorras
4/15 Quiroga (private albergue)
4/16 Montforte de Lemos
4/17 Chantada
4/18 Rodeiro - this is where I need a place to stay.
4/19 Lalin
4/20 Bandeira
4/21 Santiago - I'll be at the Hospederia San Martin Pinario

In several cases, the daily stages are long, perhaps overly ambitious. In any case, they are longer than I would normally like. However, my decisions were driven by the availability of reservable lodging. I used both booking.com and gronze.com.

Because this will be challenging some days, I have been walking from 5 - 10 km each day here. About a month before, I will introduce my fully loaded rucksack to my daily walks. Living in Southern Florida makes this easier. Today, I wore shorts again for the first time in a week...

Send me a PM to ask for whatever information you will need to make a reservation for me.

Thanks

Tom

That is similar to my route last year - see https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8066938832227877465#allposts for details.

 

[t2andreo]

I have since changed my plans after discussions on the side with Laurie. If you review the 2017 CSJ Guide to the Camino Invierno, focus on the three suggested daily routings Lauri compiled. She has stages arrayed for a 9, 10 and 12-day camino. I chose to follow the 10-day plan but with a few changes to accommodate finding reservable lodging. Those reservations are now made.

My first day will be to Borrenes, and the second to O'Barco. After that, I follow the 10-day Laurie plan until coming off Rodeiro. There I adjusted my day to end at Lalin, then Bandeira, followed by a long(ish) last day into Santiago.

I am in no rush. The Apostle will still be there when I arrive, regardless of the time.

Hope this helps.

 

[amancio]

wow! this information is greatly welcome, I have just planned my 9 day camino (a group of 6 - 10 friends) for the beginning of June, I will share my expected accommodations very soon, see what Laurie thinks. I am basically starting easy and finishing on 35+ days at the end. Your guide will be most certainly welcome, Laurie, and I will be happy to translate it into Spanish is you want me to (I already translated one for the Camino Ingles by Johnie Walker). I am looking for possible ways to fit in the Medulas hills right in the itinerary, from Borrenes or Carrucedo over the mountains, I am sure there must be a more interesting way than the current camino route.
I will be in touch, so!

 

[peregrina2000]

I am looking for possible ways to fit in the Medulas hills right in the itinerary, from Borrenes or Carrucedo over the mountains, I am sure there must be a more interesting way than the current camino route.
I will be in touch, so!

I was intrigued by that comment! So I went hunting a bit on wikiloc. You are right, Amancio. This route is for cycles so surely it's walkable.
https://www.wikiloc.com/mountain-biking-trails/borrenes-las-medulas-borrenes-4994074

That trail takes you right past the Mirador de Orellán, which is by far the best viewing point, IMO. From there, if you are going to stay in As Médulas you can cut down through the forest, but if you stay on this track you will intersect with the camino further on and you hang a left and head to Puente Domingo Flórez. Wow, what a great idea!

Buen camino, Laurie

p.s. Happy to look at your stages. And if you think that having a Spanish version of our little guide is a good idea, that would be awfully nice of you to translate it. I know that the guy in the information hut in Ponferrada has a copy in English and I bet he would be happy to have it in Spanish.

 

[Peacewalker]

Thank you to all for the terrific information on the Camino Invierno! The accommodation spreadsheet is a very helpful addition to the fabulous guide! I will be walking the Camino Invierno at the end of April this year and plan about 12 stops. I have not reserved ahead except in Ponferrada but have carefully considered my potential stops. This looks like a beautiful Way and one I look forward to very much. Thanks to all again!
Claudine

 

[amancio]

That trail takes you right past the Mirador de Orellán, which is by far the best viewing point, IMO. From there, if you are going to stay in As Médulas you can cut down through the forest, but if you stay on this track you will intersect with the camino further on and you hang a left and head to Puente Domingo Flórez. Wow, what a great idea!

Buen camino, Laurie

p.s. Happy to look at your stages. And if you think that having a Spanish version of our little guide is a good idea, that would be awfully nice of you to translate it. I know that the guy in the information hut in Ponferrada has a copy in English and I bet he would be happy to have it in Spanish.

Well, I have been to Las Médulas 9 years ago, and to Peñalba de Santiago, boty by car, and I more or less know what the area is like. I understand that by going through the actual core of the Medulas, which is my plan, you are skipping two little towns like Carrucedo and As Medulas, but you are instead walking through some truely unique landscape.

The Camino could improve in this area. Like it could improve in the Camino del Norte, I cannot understand how Valdediós is not included in the official Camino, it would be the ideal junction for choosing Gijón/Oviedo, and would only add 2 km to a 860 km route. Valdediós is a must!!!

As to translating the guide, I would only be honoured, I love every chance to put back into the Camino all the goodness it brings to me, translating is my job, it is what helps me pay for bills and bring food home every month, but I will only be delighted to do this for free for a good cause. The only thing is, it would be better to do this once I have walked the Camino de Invierno myself, since there is no big rush, I should be able to have it finished some time this year.

You can rest assured I will be back with lots more questions in the next few months!

 

[Albertagirl]

Hi, everyone,
I have taken the first step of printing out my notes and going through all the Invierno comments since February of last year when we finished up the 2017 edition. If there is anyone who walked this year and has comments on things that should be changed or added to the forum guide, PLEASE let me know. I will be posting questions, I am sure, when I get down into the weeds and try to make sense of everything.

Hoping that Charrito, Jerbear, and Kinky will be by my side again! Buen camino, Laurie

@peregrina2000
I have not walked this camino, but I completed the Sanabres in November of 2017 and, with respect to some comments in the 2017 Invierno guide, I have a couple of comments about accommodation on the last couple of days of this route, which are shared with the Invierno. First: A Laxe: the Invierno guide offers a hostal called Hostal Ramos as possible accommodation in A Laxe. As far as I know, there is no accommodation in A Laxe aside from the Xunta hostel and Gronze does not list anything else for A Laxe. I have tried to find some mention elsewhere of this hostal in A Laxe, without success. However, I stayed one night at Hotel Ramos in Silleda, 20 euros pilgrim price, and was content with the comfortable and private room and the service of the receptionist. At that time, three of four albergues in Silleda were closed and the remaining Gran Albergue seemed a little noisy for my preferences. The following night, I stayed in Pensión O Cruceiro da Ulla and was completely satisfied with the comfort of my room, the services, and the evening meal in the dining room. Far from finding it "charmless" [from the 2017 guide] I was absolutely delighted and surprised by the extremely spacious bathroom, which included a very large oval bathtub and ample hot water to fill it. I think that my room cost me about 22 euros.
While I was trying to find my way around the new forum site, I found myself on the resources site, from which I exited, but it appears to have decided that I wanted to post something and has entered a reference that I had done so: no content of course, but perhaps you could get it deleted. Thank you for your work in updating the guide to the Invierno, which I plan on walking one day.

 

[peregrina2000]

@peregrina2000
I have not walked this camino, but I completed the Sanabres in November of 2017 and, with respect to some comments in the 2017 Invierno guide, I have a couple of comments about accommodation on the last couple of days of this route, which are shared with the Invierno. First: A Laxe: the Invierno guide offers a hostal called Hostal Ramos as possible accommodation in A Laxe. As far as I know, there is no accommodation in A Laxe aside from the Xunta hostel and Gronze does not list anything else for A Laxe. I have tried to find some mention elsewhere of this hostal in A Laxe, without success. However, I stayed one night at Hotel Ramos in Silleda, 20 euros pilgrim price, and was content with the comfortable and private room and the service of the receptionist. At that time, three of four albergues in Silleda were closed and the remaining Gran Albergue seemed a little noisy for my preferences. The following night, I stayed in Pensión O Cruceiro da Ulla and was completely satisfied with the comfort of my room, the services, and the evening meal in the dining room. Far from finding it "charmless" [from the 2017 guide] I was absolutely delighted and surprised by the extremely spacious bathroom, which included a very large oval bathtub and ample hot water to fill it. I think that my room cost me about 22 euros.
While I was trying to find my way around the new forum site, I found myself on the resources site, from which I exited, but it appears to have decided that I wanted to post something and has entered a reference that I had done so: no content of course, but perhaps you could get it deleted. Thank you for your work in updating the guide to the Invierno, which I plan on walking one day.

Hi, Albertagirl, I am finally getting around to working on the updates. You are absolutely right, the only Hotel Ramos is in Silleda, so I have moved it. I have also stayed in the Pension El Cruce and I will remove the charmless reference. I think it was intended to say that the place is functional, clean, efficient, but maybe a bit sterile? Anyway, no need to say anything at all, like Bambi's mother used to say.

And to everyone else -- LAST CALL FOR UPDATES OR REVISIONS FOR THE 2018 INVIERNO GUIDE. Would love to hear from anyone else who used the guide this year. Buen camino, Laurie