Is there another camino for me? 15 k stages. Sanabres?

[BarbaraW]

I would very much like to walk another camino, but 15 k, not too hilly, is now about my daily limit. I have about 16 days to walk and am looking at going mid March to early April.

My instinct is always to travel a new path, and I feel strongly drawn to the Sanabres, though I think that shorter stages will only be possible from Ourense. I don't like to be a picky pilgrim but the Portuguese coastal just doesn't appeal and I'd prefer to skip the Frances from Sarria. It's important to me to end in SdC but am not bothered about qualifying for a Compostela.

I'm thinking of walking the Frances to Sarria then train to Ourense and walk from there. Are there any options for starting the Sanabres further away? I've got myself thoroughly confused about the different options before Ourense, and am not sure whether some longer stages might be possible with a bit of help from public transport. I'm not fussy about accommodation, though like albergues and think I can manage without a pack transport service.

Alternatively I could walk further on the Frances then just get transport from there into Santiago. Would this feel very weird?

Would appreciate advice and ideas, especially about Sanabres options.

 

[Peregrinopaul]

You’d love the Sanabres. Some of the stages can easily be made shorter. For instance Santa Marta to Rionegro - an absolute must. Then Rionegro to Requejo, and then on to Lubian.

 

[dick bird]

i would have a look at a good website such as Gronze and look at possible stages and accommodation and the profile. From memory (I did it in 2012) the Sanabrés can be hilly and 15km stages might be difficult to arrange. Your problem really is that the the camino finishes in Santiago which is in the heart of Galicia, a notoriously hilly region of Spain. Have you thought about the Invierno? There are some ups and downs but it is a possibility, or the Camino de Madrid to Sahagún then bus to Sarria or Santiago? Unfortunately, unless you walk a well used camino, reducing the daily walking distance will be tricky.

 

[KGBurk]

How about this idea: from Sarria take the direct train to Puebla de Sanabria. Walk from there to SdC which is 236.9km. Over 16 stages that would be 14.8km per stage. Gronze shows this route as having 11 stages with the difficulty level of the stages breaking down as one @ 4 (level 5 is the toughest), five @ 3, four @ 2, and one @ 1. Using wikiloc or even google maps you may be able to find routes around the steeper hills. For example, for the first stage you could spend the night in Requejo making it just a 12km day and you could take a detour around the hill coming into Requejo (I found a detour using wikiloc). It would take some planning to shoot for 15km not-too-hilly days but planning is part of the fun ... at least for me.

 

[krystianw]

If you were to start from Puebla de Sababria, the first day or two might be tricky to break up into smaller chunks, but definitely doable. It's pretty hilly at first, but absolutely worthwhile - even if you'd need to do something like only 10km on the first day.

But after that, it would be very easy - once you cross into Galicia, there's a LOT of accommodation to choose from, so it wouldn't be logistically difficult to aim for your target ~15km/day. You'd probably want to take the Verin variant, though - the other one is pretty intense in terms of elevation changes.

Though when I was in that situation - forced to split up stages into 15-20km chunks because of an injury - I did the Laza variant anyway, and definitely didn't regret it. Crossing that area was possibly the most spectacular hike of my life.

 

[SabsP]

Do not understimate the downhill ( very rocky plus extemely slippery when wet ) when you choose the variant to the Monasterio de Oseira.
Especially Oseira to Vilarello.

Cea - O Castro (Dozón) | Vía de la Plata | Gronze.com

Etapa corta y sencilla, por la Galicia más montañosa, verde y rural, en la que cruzamos pequeñas parroquias y lugares. La interesante variante por Oseira, que alarga el recorrido en 4,3 km, nos permite visitar su magnífico conjunto monástico cisterciense. El albergue de peregrinos de Castro...

www.gronze.com