Lleida to Logroño

[Lene Ostergaard]

Hello! I live in Tarragona, so have started the Camino St. Jaume from here. Now I am onto the Lleida - Logroño stretch, in order to join the Camino Frances. The section from Tarragona to Lleida was not terribly well marked, and it was rather difficult to find lodging. Has anyone done the Lleida - Logroño section, and how well is it marked? I am used to hike with quite detailed topographical maps, and the lack of detail in the Camino Catala guides is a bit discomforting.

 

[oursonpolaire]

It is more disconcerting, than discomforting, but it is certainly annoying. There may be a Spanish guide which someone knows of, and that may be of much use. I’m not sure I can be a lot of help here, although I walked part of the Ebro route two years ago. I copied maps from Gronze and Mundicamino and stitched them together in a notebook, comparing them with Google maps the night before--- hardly a perfect solution and it did not always work for me.

This page (https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/ruta-del-ebro.107/), perhaps, is one of your best sources. The first five pinned items might be your best sources in English. As you can see from day 5 of my account, I gave up on the stretch into Lleida/Lerida and took the bus from Tarrega. Day 9 refers to a difficult stretch, which would justify thumbing a lift, or taking a detour of a few extra km down country roads.

I did the stretch from Lleida/Lerida to Gallur, from where I branched west to Terrazona and Soria and other points. From Saragossa/Zaragoza, the camino more or less follows the Ebro river, and was well-marked and moderately well-served as far as I followed it.

I found the Lleida/Lerida to Fraga Candasnos Bujaraloz to Saragossa/Zaragoza tough, but from Saragossa/Zaragoza on, it was well-marked (with, however, some challenges in leaving towns). As well, I used Gronze at www.gronze.com/camino-ebro and Mundicamino (www.mundicamino.com/los-caminos/21/ruta-del-ebro/) to find accommodation– I found Mundicamino better on this stretch.

However, I just did a test of one spot (Ribaforada), 26km after Gallur and 10km before Tudela, and on research neither of the hotels Mundicamino quotes (NH Sancho el Fuerte or Hostal las Palmerallas) seem to exist at their mutual address of km104 on the carretera. There is no albergue there although, upon enquiry at the ajuntamiento, you may well find someone to rent you a room, perhaps above a restaurant.

Let us know how it goes, as the few of us who do these obscure routes can be a valuable source to others.

 

[Lene Ostergaard]

Thanks for your very generous and detailed reply and useful links.

I have the guide "El Camí Català de Sant Jaume. Des de Montserrat" by Joan Fiol Boada. It is in Catalan, but I can read that, and I have not encountered any other in Spanish or English. The maps are indicative sketches, rather than proper maps (see attached).

When I hiked from Tarragona to Lleida, the first about 100 km more or less coincides with the Ruta del Cister (GR175) for which there are very excellent topographical maps. For the remainder, I did as you, I printed out some screen shots from Google and found my way, with minor detours! I did not meet a single hiker any of the days (in June). The first three nights I stayed in alberges at Santa Creus (the municipal one), Poblet (the more expensive one at the monastery) and at the Vallbona de les Monges (the pilgrim one at the monastery). I did not find any accommodation in Juneda, but stayed privately with a very kind woman in Torregrossa, which is about 4 km off the trail.

Will try to complete the Lleida - Logroño part over new year, once the days gets a bit longer. I did the GR99 hike on the Ebro, which is well marked and where the lower sections coincide with the Camino de Ebro.

Will let you know how it goes, and how I resolve the logistics!

 

[Lene Ostergaard]

Lleida to Saragossa

End of February I hiked the 160 km from Lleida to Saragossa. Here is some information to solve the logistics of the hike. I used the guide "El Camí Català de Sant Jaume. Des de Montserrat" by Joan Fiol Boada, and for ease of reference, I have kept the stages and the km used in it, although I did break up the days a bit differently.

The route was well marked with yellow arrows, but it also helped to have the guide to point in the direction to look for them! I guess we all have our challenges on the camino, and one of mine is certainly to let go of my need to read maps all the time!

There are two public bus routes, which can be helpful:
Lleida- Saragossa: Agreda runs a route that stops in all the small villages along the camino until Pina de Ebro. Details here: https://www.agredasa.es/horarios-lineas-autobuses-zaragoza-agreda-automovil/
Pina de Ebro- Saragossa: Bus 310 runs along the camino. Details here: http://www.consorciozaragoza.es/content/linea-310-zaragoza-pina-de-ebro-por-fuentes

So onto the hike!!

Stage 5 Lleida to Fraga, 32.8 km. I decided to break this into two short days, as I also had to travel into Lleida. Stayed overnight in Alcarràs, the walk to which is mainly along the Segre river. From Alcarràs to Fraga, there is quite a bit of hiking along major infrastructure, but also through fruit orchards. In Fraga I stayed at Hostal Trébol, very close to the bus station and right on the camino. If you stop by the parish office at the church of San Pedro for your stamp, they will give you a voucher for one free night at this hostel (the municipal pays).

Stage 6 Fraga to Candasnos, 26.4 km. The hike has the only slow climb on the way to Saragossa. Once up, you are on the Els Monegres, a high plateau, which stretches all the way to the Ebro river, some 85 km further along. I did not find any lodging in Candasnos, so took the bus back to the hostel in Fraga.

Stage 7 Candasnos to Bujaraloz, 22.2 km. Flat hike through the agricultural landscapes of the Monegres. There is accommodation in Bujaraloz.

Stage 8 Bujaraloz to Fuentes de Ebro, 48 km. This is the longest stage on the Camino Sant Jaume, and too long for me, and probably many others. There are several ways to break it up: First there is accommodation in Pina de Ebro (Alojamiento Los Valles, recommended), 37.2 km into the stage. It is also possible to take the bus from to Hostal El Ciervo (9.2 km from Bujaraloz) or to Venta de Santa Lucia (19 km from Bujaraloz), or walk to Venta de Santa Lucia and then bus back to Bujaraloz, and continue the next day. I chose to bus to Hostal El Ciervo and walk to Pina de Ebro, which should have given me some 28 km to walk. I did a detour at some point (still following the yellow arrows, but obviously not as per the guide book), so ended up with 31 km to Pina de Ebro. The Monegres is a lonesome place, very few arrows to comfort you, there is simply nothing to put them on, no trees, no walls, no pavement, no traffic signs, nothing. The guide books description “after 3.2 km you pass a ruin on your left, continue straight” is kind of descriptive of the route, which nevertheless has its beauty with the endless widths and high skies, shared only with rabbits and birds. It can be windy (it was!), which is draining to walk against.

Stage 9 Fuentes de Ebro to Saragossa, 30.2 km. Since I had stayed overnight in Pina de Ebro, I only hiked to El Burgo de Ebro, some 24 km. I did not find any accommodation here, so bussed onwards to Saragossa. Coming back the next morning to continue the camino, I saw that there was an albergue for the exclusive use of certified pilgrims, you need to call +34678 443 187 to collect the keys from the parish office. Worth a try! Although spending an evening in Saragossa is not bad either, and it happened to be the carnival!

I met no other pilgrims on the route, even though the Ignatian Way is the same, but in opposite direction. After Pina de Ebro, the camino also more or less coincides with the GR99 Ebro route.

Next stage: Saragossa to Logroño…. to be continued

 

[lindam]

Thank you so much, Lene, for posting this helpful information. We may end up following in your footsteps later this spring and the details about accommodations, etc. will be very useful.

 

[Terrdil]

Was considering the Tarragona as that is where the cruise ship dumps me off in a couple of weeks. Did not find anything published on the Tarragona section but did find a published book on the "Guia practica del Camino Jacobeo del Ebro y Camino Catalan" by jacobeo.net. Appears to be in Spanish and published in 2006 or 2007. Setup like a normal guidebook with maps and descriptions.

 

[Lene Ostergaard]

I used the "El Camino de Santiago en Catalunya de Tarragona a LLeida" published by the Catalan government in 2010. It is in Catalan and available as a pdf file here: http://empresa.gencat.cat/web/.content/20_-_turisme/publicacions/documents/arxius/doc_46809376_1.pdf
I also used the maps for the GR175 Ruta del Cister, which partly coincides with the Camino Sant Jaume from Santes Creus to Vallbona de les Monges.
This camino is not so well serviced as the Camino Frances, there are far less albergues and you need to rely on other types of accommodation.
Wish you a great hike through Tarragona!