Granada!

[peregrina2000]

I just opened my Sunday paper to find a short travel article on Granada. It's part of the "36 hours" series, so it's not really in depth, but for those considering the Mozarabe, it might make it more tempting. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...s&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

One glaring error -- referring to Granada as "one of the last cities in Spain where tapas are served rree with alcohol." Not sure what parts of Spain the authors have been to if they make that statement.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Thanks. I've been exploring the Mozárabe recently. The Camino is well marked and the scenery beautiful - walking through the Pueblos Blancos is wonderful!

 

[Bradypus]

One glaring error -- referring to Granada as "one of the last cities in Spain where tapas are served rree with alcohol." Not sure what parts of Spain the authors have been to if they make that statement.

Santiago must be amongst that shrinking list then - my favourite places all seem to offer something This little lot came with the first beer I bought at the end of my most recent camino.

 

[Felipe]

One glaring error -- referring to Granada as "one of the last cities in Spain where tapas are served rree with alcohol." Not sure what parts of Spain the authors have been to if they make that statement.

Still in León and suburbs. Not necessarily "tapas", but something similar (generally salty or spicy stuff).

 

[hel&scott]

Love Granada, looked at starting there but was put off by the surrounding mountains, it's still on the to do list though.

 

[Doug Bowne]

I just opened my Sunday paper to find a short travel article on Granada. It's part of the "36 hours" series, so it's not really in depth, but for those considering the Mozarabe, it might make it more tempting. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...s&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

One glaring error -- referring to Granada as "one of the last cities in Spain where tapas are served rree with alcohol." Not sure what parts of Spain the authors have been to if they make that statement.

 

[george.g]

Hi Laurie,
I'm not sure what you mean, but I guess like me you have found that some sort of "tapas" is served with any alcoholic drink, this may be something as simple as crisps or nuts, or something more exotic. I found to be common practice along every Camino route I've travelled.
Regards
George

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Laurie,
I'm not sure what you mean, but I guess like me you have found that some sort of "tapas" is served with any alcoholic drink, this may be something as simple as crisps or nuts, or something more exotic. I found to be common practice along every Camino route I've travelled.
Regards
George

Hi, George, Yes, I thought that this guy could not have been to many Spanish citites if he thought Granada was one of the few where this was the practice. In my experience it is the norm, though not always. BUT... now I have a mozarabe question for you. How many days did you take from Granada to Caceres? We are tentatively planning to start walking on April 14, does that seem like a good date to you? Where is your next Camino? Buen camino, Laurie

 

[AlanSykes]

One glaring error -- referring to Granada as "one of the last cities in Spain where tapas are served free with alcohol." Not sure what parts of Spain the authors have been to if they make that statement.

Very true, but I did find the tapas in Granada and surrounding area probably the most generous (and often tasty) in all of Spain. A couple of times on the Mozárabe I found myself in tiny villages with just a bar and no tienda and assumed I would have to break into my emergency rations, only to find that the bar, despite not doing meals, served tapas which effectively came to the same thing - in Huéneja, half way between Almería and Granada, the small and at first not very inviting bar came up with a delicious bowl of ratatouille, some pork stew and a plate of cured jamón and cheese with my 2€ drinks.

 

[george.g]

Hi Laurie,
I took 19 days to walk from Granada, but I didn't stop on Cacares, what I have done for the last couple of years is Merida-Alcuescar-Valdesalor-Caesar, in order to make the Casar-Canaveral etapa a more doable 34kms and avoid a vary short 10kms day Cacares-Caesar, in Casar don't check in to the municipal until the second dorm has been unlocked! Otherwise you're next to the showers/toilets.
Next Camino??? Had a major PE a couple of weeks ago and am still in the recovery phase, but God willing perhaps a shorter Camino next year the Torres maybe?
I arrived in Granada on the 20th April the weather was mixed but not too hot, there were a few hot days however, but nothing too desperate!
I've got a real gem of a place to stay in Medellin:-
Micaela Diaz Rey, Calle Pedro de Alvarado 24, Medellin
+34924822816. +34628933149.
Can only accommodate 4 in two singles and a double.
Regards
George
PS I've got Micaelas permission to post her details.

 

[camino07]

Hi Laurie,
I took 19 days to walk from Granada, but I didn't stop on Cacares, what I have done for the last couple of years is Merida-Alcuescar-Valdesalor-Caesar, in order to make the Casar-Canaveral etapa a more doable 34kms and avoid a vary short 10kms day Cacares-Caesar, in Casar don't check in to the municipal until the second dorm has been unlocked! Otherwise you're next to the showers/toilets.
Next Camino??? Had a major PE a couple of weeks ago and am still in the recovery phase, but God willing perhaps a shorter Camino next year the Torres maybe?
I arrived in Granada on the 20th April the weather was mixed but not too hot, there were a few hot days however, but nothing too desperate!
I've got a real gem of a place to stay in Medellin:-
Micaela Diaz Rey, Calle Pedro de Alvarado 24, Medellin
+34924822816. +34628933149.
Can only accommodate 4 in two singles and a double.
Regards
George
PS I've got Micaelas permission to post her details.

Hope you have a good recovery from your PE. Not a minor thing to have.
Cheers, Heather

 

[george.g]

Hi Heather, yes things got a little intense for a while, when you think you are invincible it's a little disconcerting to find out you're not!
Thank you for your good wishes, can you remember where we first met, on the top of a big hill somewhere?
Regards
George

 

[notion900]

Book ahead online for Alhambra tickets. They sell out weeks ahead at peak times.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Laurie,
I took 19 days to walk from Granada, but I didn't stop on Cacares, what I have done for the last couple of years is Merida-Alcuescar-Valdesalor-Caesar, in order to make the Casar-Canaveral etapa a more doable 34kms and avoid a vary short 10kms day Cacares-Caesar, in Casar don't check in to the municipal until the second dorm has been unlocked! Otherwise you're next to the showers/toilets.
Next Camino??? Had a major PE a couple of weeks ago and am still in the recovery phase, but God willing perhaps a shorter Camino next year the Torres maybe?
I arrived in Granada on the 20th April the weather was mixed but not too hot, there were a few hot days however, but nothing too desperate!
I've got a real gem of a place to stay in Medellin:-
Micaela Diaz Rey, Calle Pedro de Alvarado 24, Medellin
+34924822816. +34628933149.
Can only accommodate 4 in two singles and a double.
Regards
George
PS I've got Micaelas permission to post her details.

Hi, George, I had to google PE to see that it is a pulmonary embollism. I don't know that writing a post on a forum is an appropriate way to express my concern for such a major event, but I do hope that your recovery proceeds well. Having access to us camino fanatics online, though, may be a good activity for someone who needs to stay put for a while. Though the Camino does put my own mortality front and center in a lot of ways, your recent experience is a far sharper reminder. Wishing you the very best.

Thanks for the details about Medellin. I don't think that I will make it past Caceres next year. I too am hoping for Camino Torres in the future, I think Maggie may give it a whirl this year. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[glauder@xtra.co.nz]

Hi, George, Yes, I thought that this guy could not have been to many Spanish citites if he thought Granada was one of the few where this was the practice. In my experience it is the norm, though not always. BUT... now I have a mozarabe question for you. How many days did you take from Granada to Caceres? We are tentatively planning to start walking on April 14, does that seem like a good date to you? Where is your next Camino? Buen camino, Laurie

Hi
I too am seriously considering starting in Almeria in April. I was planning to leave NZ around the 11th April but could leave earlier so that I could join you. I did the VDLP last Oct Nov from Seville and loved it so much I cant wait to start again.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi
I too am seriously considering starting in Almeria in April. I was planning to leave NZ around the 11th April but could leave earlier so that I could join you. I did the VDLP last Oct Nov from Seville and loved it so much I cant wait to start again.

Hi, glauder,
Yes, a gaggle of four is tentatively planning to meet in Almería on April 13, to start walking early in the morning of April 14. Send me a PM if you are interested! We are intending to be a pretty loose group, so there is no commitment about walking together or meeting up together, but I do think we all like the idea that others will be on the Mozarábe at the same time we are, since it seems to be a pretty solitary camino. I will have GPS tracks for use if I can't find the arrows, and I know that at least one other member of the group has GPS as well. Can't wait! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[glauder@xtra.co.nz]

Hi, glauder,
Yes, a gaggle of four is tentatively planning to meet in Almería on April 13, to start walking early in the morning of April 14. Send me a PM if you are interested! We are intending to be a pretty loose group, so there is no commitment about walking together or meeting up together, but I do think we all like the idea that others will be on the Mozarábe at the same time we are, since it seems to be a pretty solitary camino. I will have GPS tracks for use if I can't find the arrows, and I know that at least one other member of the group has GPS as well. Can't wait! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[glauder@xtra.co.nz]

I would love to start with you and your friends. Im not sure how to PM you though ! I will make my flight bookings next week when I am Home in NZ as Im in Australia at present.Have you booked any place to stay in Almeria yet? Thanks Gwen Lauder

 

[peregrina2000]

I will send you a PM

 

[C clearly]

Almería on April 13

Maybe I'll start a spreadsheet for this route, just in case...

 

[Magwood]

Hey, @george.g, sincere best wishes for a speedy recovery. I am thinking that I will start with the aforementioned group in Almería in April and walk as far as Córdoba, then maybe hop on a bus to Mérida and walk to Salamanca and from there take the Torres. Perhaps we could coincide. As we missed each other in Santiago this year it would be good to get together again. I may be joined on the Torres by a forum member from Lisbon and possibly @marilyn van graan, with whom I walked from Madrid this year.

And maybe I can eat all your free tapas again!

 

[Magwood]

Maybe I'll start a spreadsheet for this route, just in case...

Just in case you might join us?

 

[peregrina2000]

Just in case you might join us?

Maybe I'll start a spreadsheet for this route, just in case...

April 14, starting from Almería.

 

[george.g]

Hi Maggie, thanks for your good wishes, I think I’ve been very lucky, my doctor said I have not sustained any permanent damage and can get back into shape so long as I listen to my body and don’t do anything too stupid!
He did say that if I hadn’t been as fit as I was, the outcome could have been very different, so perhaps, without sounding too melodramatic perhaps last years Camino saved my life.
As to next year I certainly like the idea of the Torres, Im not sure how I would get to Salamanca, probably by walking from Seville.
Have you drawn up a rough plan yet? Any idea when you would get to Salamanca?
Best regards to you and David
George

 

[Magwood]

So much to thank the camino for!

I have a very rough plan, that includes arriving in Salamanca mid May. A brief look at the stages on the Torres indicates 16 stages to Ponte de Lima and a further 6 to Santiago.

 

[george.g]

Hi Maggie.
Maybe there’s a beginning of a plan there, Thomas and his mum have expressed a interest in walking again, both have done Santiago to Fisterra and back and would like to walk for about two weeks, so perhaps Seville to Mérida with them, get them on their way back to UK, meet up then on to Salamanca and the Torres?
Regards
George

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Maggie, thanks for your good wishes, I think I’ve been very lucky, my doctor said I have not sustained any permanent damage and can get back into shape so long as I listen to my body and don’t do anything too stupid!
He did say that if I hadn’t been as fit as I was, the outcome could have been very different, so perhaps, without sounding too melodramatic perhaps last years Camino saved my life.
As to next year I certainly like the idea of the Torres, Im not sure how I would get to Salamanca, probably by walking from Seville.
Have you drawn up a rough plan yet? Any idea when you would get to Salamanca?
Best regards to you and David
George

So much to thank the camino for!

I have a very rough plan, that includes arriving in Salamanca mid May. A brief look at the stages on the Torres indicates 16 stages to Ponte de Lima and a further 6 to Santiago.

Hi, George and Maggie, First of all, it is very excellent news about your health, George! This is not what people mean when they say The Camino Provides, but in your case the gift may have been more than you could have ever imagined!

Ah, the Camino Torres, how I would love to be able to continue from Almeria with you, Maggie. But I'm on the "one month a year" plan for the next few years at least and that will take me about as far as Caceres. But I will hopefully follow in your footsteps the year after that! I am torn between the Caminho Portugues Interior and the Torres, so I will as always be able to rely on Maggie's marvelous blogs for my info.

Buen camino amigos, Laurie