Ideas for a 10 day winter camino?

[kulkija]

Hi, I am from Finland and I am planning to walk a ten day camino in March. My connection point to the camino is Barcelona. In February I walked from Sarria to Santiago. From Santiago I went by bus to Fisterra and Muxia. Now I have been considering to go by train to Pamplona and start from there. I would not want to walk more than 25 km per day. Thus I possibly could make to Burgos in 10 days. Other possibilities might be the English Way or a section of the Northern Way. Important to me is to be able to sleep in warm places under warm blankets. I want to keep my backpack as light as possible, not much clothing, no sleeping bag, etc. I have not made any final decision yet because I try to avoid very bad weather. The weather forecasts predict now some sun and some rain on the areas, not very cold. I am aware that the weather may change especially at this time of the year any time. I would appreciate comments and ideas about by plans.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The Camino Ingles is too short for you. Leon to Burgos is a good idea. There is plenty of transportation out of Burgos. Buen camino.

 

[Jan_D]

I agree with the above. The Norte isn't a great option before Easter either, as many of the albergues will be closed. Pamplona is a great place to start. Also, the Frances has the best year-round infrastructure; it's probably the easiest Camino to access without too much forward-planning.

As a side note: I'm not sure whether all the albergues will have blankets (or even heating for that matter) - personally, I'd pack a sleeping bag for a March camino, as it can get cold at night. But I suppose you can always buy one along the way if you find you need extra warmth.

 

[Eckart.S]

In march spring has come to southern Spain already. Therefore I recommend to walk the via de la plata from Seville. Look at the current weather forecast!
After about 10 days you will reach Merida. In addition Seville and Merida are very nice cities to visit.

 

[kulkija]

Thank you for the feedback so far. That idea about via de la plata sounds tempting. I looked at the weather forecast in Seville and Merida and it looked perfect for me. The fact is, however, that I know nothing about the via de la plata. I have to start looking for information available at the forum and elsewhere. I have the Brierley guide about camino frances but no guide about via de la plata. The year-around infrastructure of the Frances is one important factor. How is the infrastructure of via de la plata? Are there other pilgrims at this time of the year? I do not miss any crowds but it would be nice to see and meet a few fellow pilgrims. I am very excited about having now two interesting options.

 

[Eckart.S]

About infrastructure and other pilgrims:
If you are able to walk about 20km per day in average, the number of albergues ist sufficient. But you have to adapt your daily distance to the given infrastructure. Fortunately all the other pilgrims have to do the same, so you will meet them in the evening in the albergues and also during the day at the typical stops.
You will also find a place for dinner every day. But not every day there is a village in between for a lunch break.
When I walked this part of the via in march 2015, about 5 to 8 pilgrims stayed for the night at the same places. So I never felt lonely and always had some fellow pilgrims to talk and to go out for dinner.

 

[kulkija]

Thank you for this information. 20km per day average sounds ok. Is the waymarking clear on the route?

 

[Eckart.S]

I remember only one waymarking problem in this part of the via. It cost me about 5 minutes extra walking.
I have maps and gpx tracks installed on my cell phone, so by using GPS i can always look up where i am. I don´t think this would be necessary, as the other pilgrims found their way without GPS.

 

[kulkija]

Thanks for the info. At the moment I have not done any decision yet. After reading a great number of earlier posts on VDLP I definitely want to walk at least the section from Seville to Meride. But I would also like to have at least a few more days to use than I have this time. I will continue studying and comparing the two options, VLDP from Seville and CF from Pamplona. Also from the connections and costs point of view. I already have tickets to the flights Helsinki-Barcelona-Helsinki.