Forum Members virtually on the Lana, Part 2 (Cuenca to Burgos) — GREAT planning guide

[VNwalking]

Day 0. Cuenca
If you are beginning the Lana in Cuenca (as many do), here are your options for getting there from Madrid:

Rome2rio

Discover how to get anywhere by searching plane, train, bus, car and ferry routes

www.rome2rio.com

Note from the mods: For Part 1 of this thread (a virtual walk from Alicante to Cuenca), go here.

 

[VNwalking]

Just for kicks, I checked to see if there are any vegetarian restaurants in Cuenca, and...voila! Three options:

https://www.happycow.net/europe/spain/cuenca/

Wow...we have choice! Two serve meat, so there is something for everyone's taste.
This sounds like a blessed oasis from fries and sad salads.

 

[VNwalking]

And if you are starting here (or taking a rest day), there are many reasons to linger:

Cuenca, Spain: tourism in Cuenca, Spain.

Cuenca tourism. Information about Cuenca Spain. Cities and towns of Cuenca, Castile la Mancha.Things to do in Cuenca, places to visit, what to see in Cuenca. Maps, tourist office, regions, tours.

www.spainisculture.com

This is the second stellar medieval city on the Rio Jucar that we encounter on this Camino, after Alcala de Jucar.

Here are a couple of impressions from various Forum posts — it looks more than amazing:

Old Cuenca is wonderful. It was a top move having a one day break here. I feel revitalised. Very impressive old buildings mixed in with great views [...] staying a full day in Cuenca was a top move, one of my better decisions. It's definitely got a day in it for sight seeing and relaxing. My hotel is recommended and 2 minutes from a wonderful string in a row of about 10 bars with big outside areas, all serving amazing tapas. It came alive whilst I was there around 8.00pm.

That has to be one of the most beautiful places I have been privileged to explore in Spain.

What can I say about Cuenca that hasn't already been said before? For me it is up there with Toledo. Many years ago when I was a student, someone in Madrid, probably in a bar, told me you had to see Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, Alcala de Henares, Avila, Aranjuez, El Escorial and Cuenca before you died. I don't want to jack it in just yet but as of today I've seen them all, and I think I might, just, put Cuenca foremost amongst them all. The old town and it's location is simply stunning and without any pretention. Peregrina 2000, if Alcala de Jucar is the Little Canyon then Cuenca is the Grand Canyon of Spain.

And the albergue is special, thanks in part to Luis, the stellar hospi (There were photos of him entering info into his famous albergue register in the virtual Lana thread part 1.)

And what a place it is. Clean and comfortable and an hospitalero who even interrupted his lunch break to sign me in. I've never seen so many Camino posters and maps, so much info. Looking at one map, I see it is possible to join the Ruta de la Lana from Javea, Valencia (Requena), Gallur as well as Alicante. The albergue registry is a thing of beauty. Every pilgrim neatly inscribed followed by a wax crayon flag of their country of origin. It is a piece of art.

The albergue in Cuenca (great location by the way) was very cold due to stone construction and no heating. My sleeping bag and two blankets were needed to sleep and luckily there were more than enough for me as alone but the temperature was too uncomfortable to stay for any length of time if not covered up. There is no kitchen but a microwave. Plus point: the shower was very hot.

 

[peregrina2000]

Just reporting in to say that I spent about an hour re-reading the Alicante-Cuenca thread and deleting posts as I had promised.

From 455 original posts, we are down to 234. I think that’s a good ratio to strive for in this thread — half serious, half banter.

My Part I awards:

Most threads that produced a belly laugh — BP
Most amazing visuals — Ninja
Most supportive and encouraging — VN (close second, AJ)
Most rambling off-topic posts — Peregrina2000

A few clean-up questions about things that I could add if anyone knows the answers

1. VN once said there were three routes into the Paracuellos castle (one looked scary). Does anyone know about that?

2. BP asked for help about a monument leaving Monteagudo and no one has been able to clear it up (now post 203). Anything to add?

It took a little more than two months to go from Alicante to Cuenca. I think it was a lot of fun, and also I think that we produced a very helpful and detailed planning document.

Onward from Cuenca! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

to see if there are any vegetarian restaurants in Cuenca

If the abstract art museum has attracted artists and other creative souls to Cuenca, we will probably find a few more “not so typical” restaurants — I see there are several Indian!

I wonder if the vegan/vegetarian crowd can tell me whether my impression is consistent with your impressions or more likely BS. I am not vegetarian, but when I am in Spain, if I ever see a vegetarian restaurant when I’m looking for lunch, I always eat there. I have never been disappointed (in Valladolid, Madrid, Mérida, and even in Jaca with LT, where we had to wait about two hours but our meal was very good). My theory is that since Spain is such a huge meat-eating country, these places have to be special or they won’t last.

In contrast, I have had many not-great meals in vegetarian restaurants in Portugal. Not sure why that should be the case, but it does suggest my theory may be more BS than accurate, since Portugal is also pretty heavy on the meat (running a close second to bacalhau).

 

[VNwalking]

Perhaps I’ll join you again now that my new hip is operational.

Re-upping the link to your wonderful blog, @Magwood, because it really paints a picture of what this camino feels like. I finally bookmarked it...long overdue! I hope you can chime in with your impressions.

A spectacular city in the rain

Today is our mini-break. A day off planned so that we could explore this beautiful city. And we have explored, both after arriving yesterday and today – and every step in the lashing rain. “C…

magwood.me

we might even have two days here.

Geeze, I'm thinking three. Or of an alternative way of getting there that takes in the natural history that is between here and Valencia:

Birding La Mancha Humeda and Serrania de Cuenca | Birdwatching Spain

In this 7-day birding tour in la Mancha and Serrania de Cuenca we will enjoy a nice variety of wildlife in the land of Don Quixote

birdwatchingspain.net

 

[VNwalking]

VN once said there were three routes into the Paracuellos castle

I got that from (I think) Undermanager's thread. Maybe check there?

if I ever see a vegetarian restaurant when I’m looking for lunch, I always eat there. I have never been disappointed (in Valladolid, Madrid, Mérida, and even in Jaca with LT, where we had to wait about two hours but our meal was very good). My theory is that since Spain is such a huge meat-eating country, these places have to be special or they won’t last.

That, and the fact that you can't just throw chips on a plate with whatever cheap meat happens to be around that day. To cook a decent vegetarian meal you to make an effort.

Ok, gang...Onward!
Day 16. Cuenca - Villar de Domingo Garcia. 34.4km.
Part 1; Cuenca to Noheda 24.5km
The distance I am quoting today comes from my OSMand app; the distance quoted in the guides is roughly 30 km. I'm sorry AJ, there is not much in the way of options to break this up. One potential choice, though, is to go as far as Noheda, which is roughly 24.5km from Cuenca. I see nowhere to stay there, but you could taxi back to Cuenca and continue the next day.

There is an Roman Villa just a little past Noheda that certainly looks worth a look;
Perhaps it will mean that a place to stay here will manifest in the future:

A Spanish hamlet pins hopes of prosperity on its Roman Empire legacy

Villar de Domingo García, population 218, is home to an astounding archaeological site containing the largest figurative Roman mosaic found to date

english.elpais.com

There are some wonderful photos here:

Roman villa of Noheda: the largest Roman mosaic in the world is in Spain | Fascinating Spain

The mosaics in the Roman villa of Noheda, in Cuenca, are among the best preserved in all of Spain. A place to discover in Castilla-La Mancha.

fascinatingspain.com

It says

Guided tours to this lost corner are only offered on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays at closed hours. They cost barely three euros. Meanwhile, all other days except Mondays are saved for group visits. Reservations are mandatory. Furthermore, in Villar de Domingo García there is a remarkable visitors’ centre with additional information about the Roman villa of Noheda.

More here:

The largest figurative Roman mosaic in the world discovered in Spain - Alcoy Today

During the Roman occupation of Spain, there lived a man who was so wealthy that he could have his wine

alcoytoday.com

And:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281590431_First_preliminary_results_on_the_marmora_of_the_Late_Roman_villa_of_Noheda_Cuenca_Spain

To be continued to VdDG in a further post.

 

[C clearly]

Ok, gang...Onward!

No dilly dallying anymore?

there is not much in the way of options to break this up. One potential choice, though, is to go as far as Noheda, which is roughly 24.5km from Cuenca. I see nowhere to stay there, but you could taxi back to Cuenca and continue the next day.

A better plan, knowing AJ and his beloved, would be to get a taxi ride out of Cuenca 8 or 10 km and then walk from there to Villar de Domingo Garcia.

Google shows some lodging in Chillaron de Cuenca, but you'd want to confirm that before setting out from Cuenca. You could spend an extra half-day in Cuenca, walk 9 km to Chillaron, and then have about 20 km to go the next day to Villar.

 

[VNwalking]

No dilly dallying anymore?

Haha...I got the distinct feeling that there is a desire to move.

A better plan, knowing AJ and his beloved, would be to get a taxi ride out of Cuenca 8 or 10 km and then walk from there to Villar de Domingo Garcia

This is definitely a possibility for those who are not purists wanting to walk every step.

I was thinking that stopping in Noheda would be a wonderful option because of the amazing Roman villa...although to be sure not everybody might share my fascination with such things.

You could spend an extra half-day in Cuenca, walk 9 km to Chillaron, and then have about 20 km to go the next day to Villar.

This works, too!

 

[VNwalking]

Day 16. Cuenca - Villar de Domingo Garcia. 34.4km.
Part 2; Noheda - Villar de Domingo Garcia. 9.9km

After Noheda, there are some kilometers of road walking on a busy road, so it's a place to take care.

In case of rainy weather the first part of the way is either on the road or on sandy tracks, but after Noheda, the mud is the miserable sticky kind. Luis at the albergue in Cuenca recommends following the road the whole way because of mud. @Magwood and @Ninja followed the marked Camino where it left the road after Noheda, and soon discovered the last section has the kind of surface to be avoided after a rain (photo from Magwood's blog)!

Google shows some lodging in Chillaron de Cuenca

It's also the only place to have our second breakfast! Here's what @Magwood says:

Chillarón is the only village we pass through with facilities. The hostal we called into was buzzing with locals looking for their coffee and croissant fix. We passed through three more villages, but no more opportunities for refreshment.

And today, if you're as lucky as Magwood was, you might have company:

For much of the way we were escorted by dozens of soaring eagles.

Go to Bar Goyo for the key for the albergue at Villar de Domingo Garcia. Several people report that it's small and damp. But, well...pilgrims do not demand...it's amazing and a source of gratitude that there are albergues at all out here where peregrinos are few and far between.

 

[Ninja]

Take a look at happy Bar Goyo! I too might have a credential stamp on my forehead by the time @AJGuillaume reach Villar de Domingo Garcia

 

[peregrina2000]

I had not known about the Roman villa. It certainly looks amazing. To add some more detail to how to visit, here are two screen shots from the official site. Visits available Thursdays through Sundays with seasonal variations. Looks like a visit will require advance planning, but wow.

I’m wondering if any of the Lana vets saw or passed the site — I don’t remember hearing anything about it. I don’t think it’s not mentioned in the association’s guide either, so I bet this is a very recent development.


.


VN, all the wikiloc tracks put the distance to Villar de Domingo García at about 27 - 30 km. I can’t remember if your distance was higher or lower than wikiloc’s the last time I compared but there does seem to be some not trivial spread. Wonder why. Some routing takes you through Bascuñana de San Pedro (but there is no place to stay there), which may be a bit longer, but the wikiloc routes all go directly to Villar de Domingo García.

A 36 km day would take you to Torralba, where there are three casas rurales, but I have no info on whether they take individuals, and they are not on WhatsApp. For the albergue, call the ayuntamiento — 969 270 101. It’s in the centro social and not guaranteed that they will take you, so calling ahead seems essential.

 

[AJGuillaume]

I'm looking out for AJGuillaume to knock those distances back.

Me too.

We're coming, wait for us!

Part 1; Cuenca to Noheda 24.5km
The distance I am quoting today comes from my OSMand app; the distance quoted in the guides is roughly 30 km. I'm sorry AJ, there is not much in the way of options to break this up. One potential choice, though, is to go as far as Noheda, which is roughly 24.5km from Cuenca. I see nowhere to stay there, but you could taxi back to Cuenca and continue the next day.

Slow walkers always find ways to break stages up
According to the Amigos' guide book, the distance from Cuenca to Noheda is 19.3 km, which would be acceptable, but as has been pointed out, there's no where to sleep.
A taxi ride back to Cuenca and then back to Noheda could definitely be considered, although it might be an expensive option, as rome2rio reckons it would cost us €60 to €75 one way.

A better plan, knowing AJ and his beloved, would be to get a taxi ride out of Cuenca 8 or 10 km and then walk from there to Villar de Domingo Garcia.

Google shows some lodging in Chillaron de Cuenca, but you'd want to confirm that before setting out from Cuenca. You could spend an extra half-day in Cuenca, walk 9 km to Chillaron, and then have about 20 km to go the next day to Villar.

Oh, @C clearly , how well you know us!!
Chillarón is actually on the train line from Cuenca, and a ticket is likely to be less than €10 for a 10 minute ride.
The option of walking 8.7 km from Cuenca to Chillarón de Cuenca is the one we would consider. Having some extra time in Cuenca is appealing, and in Chillarón there is a choice of staying at the Hostal Los Ángeles, or at the Hotel Midama. The latter offers a 20% discount for pilgrims:

Aprovechando que la Ruta de la Lana pasa por la puerta de nuestro hotel camino a Santiago, todos los peregrinos que pernocten tendrán un 20% de descuento.

Then we would have 19.3 km to walk to Villar de Domingo García the next day, a good day's walk.

This is definitely a possibility for those who are not purists wanting to walk every step.

Nah, we're not purists, we're slow walkers and realists

I was thinking that stopping in Noheda would be a wonderful option because of the amazing Roman villa...although to be sure not everybody might share my fascination with such things.

Obviously, walking at our pace all the way to Villar de Domingo García from Chillarón means we might not have enough time to stop in Noheda. That would be a shame, as we share your fascination for such things, @VNwalking .

Part 2; Noheda - Villar de Domingo Garcia. 9.9km

After Noheda, there are some kilometers of road walking on a busy road, so it's a place to take care.

In case of rainy weather the first part of the way is either on the road or on sandy tracks, but after Noheda, the mud is the miserable sticky kind. Luis at the albergue in Cuenca recommends following the road the whole way because of mud. @Magwood and @Ninja followed the marked Camino where it left the road after Noheda, and soon discovered the last section has the kind of surface to be avoided after a rain (photo from Magwood's blog)!

Ah, lovely mud. We had that on the Podiensis in 2018, and the lovely people on the Podiensis installed boot brushes:

VN, all the wikiloc tracks put the distance to Villar de Domingo García at about 27 - 30 km. I can’t remember if your distance was higher or lower than wikiloc’s the last time I compared but there does seem to be some not trivial spread. Wonder why. Some routing takes you through Bascuñana de San Pedro (but there is no place to stay there), which may be a bit longer, but the wikiloc routes all go directly to Villar de Domingo García.

Interestingly, the Amigos' guide book gives this stage as:

ETAPA 3: CUENCA – BASCUÑANA DE SAN PEDRO (24,2 KM)

with an alternative:

Itinerario alternativo por Villar de Domingo García (10,7 Km)

It is interesting, as the guide book also indicates that the only accommodation is:

Centro social (acogida no garantizada)

Tondos to Bascuñana de San Pedro is 8.5 km, so the total distance from Cuenca to Villar de Domingo García at 26.4 km, according to the Amigos. I guess it all comes down to the start and end points.

Aaaah, it's good to be walking again!

 

[Magwood]

My Wikiloc app clocked 30 km for this stage, although we did take the road most of the way due to dreadfully muddy tracks. Not sure how this affected distance. You can view the track here

@VNwalking would it be useful to post my Wikiloc track for each stage?

 

[peregrina2000]

Tondos to Bascuñana de San Pedro is 8.5 km, so the total distance from Cuenca to Villar de Domingo García at 26.4 km, according to the Amigos. I guess it all comes down to the start and end points.

I think you have solved the mystery, AJ. Cuenca to Bascuñana is 24, plus 11more to continue to Villar de Domingo García. That’s VN’s total, roughly.

If you look at a map,though, you will see that Bascuñana is not on a direct route to Villar de Domingo García. None of the Lana tracks that I have seen go through Bascuñana. The sketch of Maggie’s walk shows it clearly. So unless you plan to go to Bascuña (and I have yet to hear of a reason to do so ) it is about 30.




Update on visiting the Roman villa outside Noheda. I got a quick response to the questions I emailed to the Red Arqueológica de Castilla y La Mancha. Tickets can ONLY be acquired online. You must go on a guided tour, lasts about 45 minutes. The link for doing that is here.

Ticket availability is shown through May. Because of covid, only 5 people can go in at a time
Tickets are free until the 31st of May.

The online calendar for 2021 only shows tours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The text says they do tours on Thursdays. I have written again to see whether that’s a covid schedule or a likely perment change. That’s a small window for peregrinos on foot, but maybe some of us will be able to coincide with a tour day. These mosaics look spectacular, and there is a lot more excavation to do. I read that they have uncovered 4000 sq m of the entire estate, which corresponds to about 5% of the total. This must have been one wealthy Roman!

And not surprisingly, there was a lawsuit by the landowner who claimed he was entitled to 50 million euros for the government’s actions taking the land.

Spanish law allows the landowner to receive 50% of the value of the find, but it requires the owner to notify the government within 30 days of the find. This landowner found the ruins about twenty years ago and said nothing. But there is of course a complicated explanation of why that happened, involving inheritance, uncertainty about the legitimacy of the government agency in charge, etc. The finding occurred when the owner discovered that the lands were flooding and hired some workers to do some drainage work. They found a mosaic of Helen of Troy and covered it all back up.

The trial court awarded the owner the 7,500 € that correspond to the value of the surface area. An interesting article in El País explains the lawsuit and has a short video showing some of the mosics.

El exdueño de la villa de Noheda reclama 49 millones ante el Supremo

El Tribunal Superior de Castilla-La Mancha respaldó en 2018 la expropiación del suelo rústico por 7.500 euros, pero dejó en el aire la valoración del yacimiento romano

elpais.com

In 2020, the Tribunal Supremo upheld the lower court’s ruling.

El Supremo zanja el litigio por el precio de los terrenos de Noheda | Las Noticias de Cuenca

Avala la sentencia del TSJCM y da la razón al Ayuntamiento de Villar de Domingo García: el precio de la expropiación solo incluye el valor de las tierras, no el arqueológico

www.lasnoticiasdecuenca.es

 

[peregrina2000]

Chillarón is actually on the train line from Cuenca, and a ticket is likely to be less than €10 for a 10 minute ride.

Currently it would cost you 1.55€, reduced by 40% if you are eligible for their tarjeta dorada.
One train in the morning at 10:45.

But a short day’s walk would be nice too. There is an ethnographic museum and of course there’s a church, but it doesn’t seem to have much in the way of historical interest. You never know what you’ll encounter in these village churches, though. I’ve sat through First Communion practices, been invited to stay for a funeral, enjoyed choir practices, sat in the back during rosaries, seen baptisms, chatted with the señoras cleaning and/or decorating. If they are open, there is likely to be something going on inside, so I always stick my head in.

I found the ayuntamiento’s website with info on accommodations, history, etc. But you’re the whiz with the videos, AJ, so maybe there’s something I haven’t found.

 

[VNwalking]

I think you have solved the mystery, AJ. Cuenca to Bascuñana is 24, plus 11more to continue to Villar de Domingo García. That’s VN’s total, roughly.

Haha, nice theory but sorry, not.
My track is the normal one and goes nowhere near Bascuñana. I thought I must have made a mistake, but just recalculated and it's roughly the same...
Well, go figure. It'll have to remain a mystery.

 

[VNwalking]

Day 17. Villar de Domingo Garcia - Villaconejos de Trabaque. 23.6 km.

Alan describes what sounds like a wonderful day's walk. (It's gradually downhill all the way there, so there's that. )

A great day, 90% off tarmac. Couple of villages en route, Albalate de las Nogueras very handsome with partially Romanesque church replacing the minaret, and excellent coffee in a truck stop at the entrance to the village. Rolling russet countryside, and the final 6km besides the Río Trabaque, with apple trees and quinces groaning with ripe fruit.

The first village, Torralba, has a bar. @Magwood found it closed until 9:30 AM — though there was an open tienda next door.
@Undermanager was clearly here later in the day has very nice things to say about Torrala,:

Torralba is a pretty village, with quite a few facilities for the tired traveller for such a small place, or it seems to according to Google Maps. It would, certainly on first impressions, be a better option than yesterday's place! The first bar, Bar Carman, serves coffee but has nothing to eat, although I am offered a biscuit. I have a coffee then decide to go on a morning pub crawl and try Bar Goyo Luis, but get sidetracked as there is a great shop next door.

It sounds like there's also a bar in Albalate de las Nogueras. I got curious about that church in Albalate de las Nogueras, because it sounds fascinating (nice to finally have more Romanesque).
Here it is (from the link below):

A good place to pause! There is a lot of good information and photos here:

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Albalate de las Nogueras | Portal de Cultura de Castilla-La Mancha

cultura.castillalamancha.es

Once in Villaconejos, we are again ìn peregrino heaven in terms of heartfelt hospitality. Pepe and his kindness sound special:

The albergue in Villaconejos is a pilgrim palace, the former house of the caretaker of the ermita of the Immaculate Conception at the entrance to the village, kitchen, spacious sitting room, three bedrooms with three bunks and three single beds, loo and shower, donativo.

Hugely hospitable hospitalero Pepe very kindly invited me to dinner. He is the energetic president of the Cuenca amigos, and he and I and a couple of his fellow amigos had a very convivial feast in the nearby cave where he and his ancestors have made wine for centuries. And we did sample some of his products, ¿cómo no?

A most enjoyable and memorable evening.

This was @Bad Pilgrim and @Magwood & @Ninja's experience too. This sounds like a special stop:

We find the albergue, which is situated in a house attached to the ermita de la Inmaculada, the former residence of the caretaker of the church. We are met by the very friendly hospitalero Pepe (646 128 868). We have heard very good things about Pepe, relating to food and drink and true enough, after checking us in he tells us he will be back at around 20:30 to take us for dinner. Now there’s an offer that would be hard to decline. There are several bedrooms at the albergue with plenty of blankets to go round. We are allocated a room with a bunk and a single. There is one small fan heater to share between the various rooms. The kitchen has a microwave and hot plate and there is a lovely garden which would be delightful in warmer weather.

I have no idea how Pepe and his friends can keep up this traditional welcoming of peregrinos in Villaconejos. There must be pilgrims coming by every other day in spring, for example. They are truly very industrious members of the Asociación!

So what can I say? These people always come up with something that makes pilgrims feel welcome. I took two hours of Antonio's spare time as he guided me through the area. How they keep this up is a mystery to me. They are true ambassadors of the Lana!

There were six of us at the albergue at Villaconejos. We were treated to a wonderful tour of the cave.

Pepe signed us in at the albergue but couldn’t join us in the evening due to an out of town taxi job (a man of many employments!). But Antonio, his cousin Martin, and the characterful Paulino prepared a feast for us (including catering to my vegan diet) and entertained us with tales of old about the cave and how the wine was produced. Such wonderful, charming and uplifting people who go to so much trouble for we pilgrims. Paulino drove to find us on the road to the next day and bought us hot drinks before bidding us ‘buen camino’.

@Bad Pilgrim missed out on the meal in the Bodega, but got what sounded like sn amazing tour of the area from another amigo:

That same evening, Pepe came to stamp my credential. But due to his workload (he works in the fields... In 40 C), the traditional pilgrim dinner would be difficult to arrange. He had to be up early tomorrow, his friends were busy or out of town... He went out of his way to apologize. I said it was no problem at all. He said he would at least call his friend Antonio, whom I have also met before, so Antonio could have a chat with me. Well, that chat turned into a full-fledged guided tour of the region! Antonio invited me to do some sightseeing of the neighboring villages. Temperatures were dropping so why not? We jumped into his car.

We moved mostly along La Ruta del mimbre (wicker) that runs in the region, due to the historical importance of this product. The view of the mountains from the road was breathtaking: vertical cliffs, rocks and woods as far as the eyes could see. The road ran through a canyon with some pretty sharp curves. All the while Antonio told me everything that was to know about the villages and the landscape.

I hope we don't overwhelm them with the number of pilgrims in our little wave!

 

[peregrina2000]

This is another one of those parts where some people who want to walk longer distances may have a problem doing so.

I had pencilled in Cuenca to Torralba (36) but note that the albergue in Torralba is ”not guaranteed” and the casas rurales don’t seem to have individual rooms.

Then Torralba to Villaconejos would be about 13, plus another 23 to Valdeolivas, for a total of 35. In Valdeolivas there is a local acogida plus a hotel and CR.

Mid-30s is (or has been) my sweet spot, so these two stages would in theory be great, but not if there is no place to stay in Torralba.

Any advice or suggestions from the Lana veterans in our midst?

And I know that it would mean missing out on the wonderful welcome and albergue in Villaconejos described in VN’s post.

Don’t mean to jump ahead, but it’s kind of like a house of cards where future stages depend on earlier ones. Gracias, amigos.

 

[Ninja]

I hope we don't overwhelm them with the number of pilgrims in our little wave!

I think Pepe, Antonio and Paulino will be very happy to see our group. If I’m not mistaken they miss us very much.

So let us all go to the wine cellar close to the albergue in Villaconejos de Trabaque. Oh the bread, freshly baked and then toasted on the fireplace. Oh the wine, the food! The stories! The hospitality! Let’s triple our donations. (@peregrina2000 you have to stop here )

 

[Magwood]

Here is the Wikiloc track for this stage. As happens fairly regularly I forgot to turn on the app until we had walked approximately 4 km, so this stage is around 23.5 km.
due to the dreadfully muddy conditions we walked entirely on the road.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Go to Bar Goyo for the key for the albergue at Villar de Domingo Garcia. Several people report that it's small and damp. But, well...pilgrims do not demand...it's amazing and a source of gratitude that there are albergues at all out here where peregrinos are few and far between.

Oh-kay. But that albergue is a threat to mankind. I can do warm, I can do cold, but not damp. Especially if you have already been there once, and you know what awaits at the end of the day, the walk towards Villar de Domingo García becomes gloomy. I did not look forward to arrive.

I have seen a casa rural on google maps, and I just wrote to them asking if they still are there. If only I could avoid the albergue next time... EDIT: They answered that they plan to re-open in April if it is pandemically possible. So the casa rural is indeed there: Las callejuelas .

Google Maps also shows a second "albergue de peregrinos" in town. I have no idea what that is about. As far as I know there is only one.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hey, @Bad Pilgrim, you've been here recently. What say you about the stage after Cuenca? Have you seen the Roman ruins? Sadly, they were closed when @alansykes went by.

First time I walked the Lana, they had just started the excavations. I met the mayor of Villar de Domingo García who was doing some digging there himself. Two years after, they had built the pavilion (?) on/around the spot. See picture below. No, I never went there. I don't remember why, but I have a faint memory they were closed then as well.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Day 16. Cuenca - Villar de Domingo Garcia. 34.4km.
Part 2; Noheda - Villar de Domingo Garcia. 9.9km

After Noheda, there are some kilometers of road walking on a busy road, so it's a place to take care.

In case of rainy weather the first part of the way is either on the road or on sandy tracks, but after Noheda, the mud is the miserable sticky kind. Luis at the albergue in Cuenca recommends following the road the whole way because of mud. @Magwood and @Ninja followed the marked Camino where it left the road after Noheda, and soon discovered the last section has the kind of surface to be avoided after a rain (photo from Magwood's blog)!
View attachment 91348


It's also the only place to have our second breakfast! Here's what @Magwood says:


And today, if you're as lucky as Magwood was, you might have company:


Go to Bar Goyo for the key for the albergue at Villar de Domingo Garcia. Several people report that it's small and damp. But, well...pilgrims do not demand...it's amazing and a source of gratitude that there are albergues at all out here where peregrinos are few and far between.

Hold your ensaladilla rusa and drop your napolitana,

Don't forget the abandoned village of Villalbila! Between Noheda and Villar de Domingo García, there are remnants of a village. I would say it is the largest abandoned town on any camino, at least the ones I have walked. Your imagination runs wild when you see the empty houses along the street and the crumbling church on the side of the hill.

But the ruins are not from the Civil war, nor the result of a secret nuclear testing: Villalbila was actually inhabited until the 1980's. Apparently they had no access to drinkable water because of their location. Sounds problematic! So people eventually moved to other towns in the area. I attached my pictures below. It is eerie or beautiful, depending on your state of mind.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Alan describes what sounds like a wonderful day's walk. (It's gradually downhill all the way there, so there's that. )

Gradually downhill for about 23 km is definitely a good thing for slow walkers, and even better if it is a wonderful day's walk.

It sounds like there's also a bar in Albalate de las Nogueras. I got curious about that church in Albalate de las Nogueras, because it sounds fascinating (nice to finally have more Romanesque).

The Amigos' guidebook also indicates that there is a Casa Rural El Museo in Albalate de las Nogueras. [Edited by mods to say that this Casa Rural cannot be rented on a room by room basis. Only whole house rental] So if there was a problem, we could try to walk the 16.2 km from Villar de Domingo García, and then the next day walk the 6 km to Villaconejos de Trabaque.
But I don't imagine that would be necessary. Unless we really wanted to spend some time enjoying the Romanesque church in Albalate....

 

[peregrina2000]

The Amigos' guidebook also indicates that there is a Casa Rural El Museo in Albalate de las Nogueras.

I haven’t seen El Museo but google maps shows Alojamientos Rurales Solana, (the link is to escapada rural listing) with two locations in town.Looks like a complex of sorts



Their facebook page lists a phone number. I can’t use my phone right now, but will try to send them a WhatsApp.

 

[VNwalking]

Day 18. Villaconejos de Trabaque - Salmerón. 28.3 km.
This is the standard stage listed by the Amigos. It's definitely possible to shorten it by staying in Valdeolivas at 21.2km, where there's an albergue at the Ermita de Emaculada.

Alan liked this stage a lot, a good sign:

Another 4 star day, starting with undulating hills on all sides, then a section besides the gorge of the fast flowing and melodious tree-lined Guadiela, then a slightly alarming crossing over its bridge with an overflowing section. The water was barely above my ankles, but the surface was very slippery and easy to have a nasty fall. The pale green water was delicious and it would be a lovely spot for a swim, wide and neck deep and cool, but I resisted the temptation. Shortly after you near Albendea, where there is a bar but I carried on to Valdeolivas. 6 more km, mostly the only tarmac of the day, but a very quiet road. Valdeolivas' impressive 4 tiered 12th century church tower had been visible from about 10km, and it would have been pleasant to visit its church, but it was all tightly shut up. The town was a pleasure, with several bars and tiendas, and the first cash machine since Cuenca. I had a pleasant and welcome lunch in the plaza Nueva, one of those increasingly rare places where there is no choice, you just eat what's put in front of you. Very good it was too. And then on another 6km to Salmerón, shortly after Valdeolivas making my first ever footsteps in Guadalajara province. The albergue in Salmerón is another treat, housed in the 16th century former office and prison of the Inquisition. The albergue is very much in the office section rather than the cells - high first floor room with five beds, loo and shower, 5€, key from the Cazador bar. My first night in a prison.

Any comments, Lana vets?

 

[Ninja]

It’s not always easy to find the one picture that will capture the day. Well, here’s one for the end of the day!

We have settled in the albergue in Salmerón at the former prison of the Inquisition, and in our minds we travel back in time. Then we walk around the corner from the albergue to find a bar in a cave/basement and are met by this painting.

It is getting dark outside, the wind howls…

 

[AJGuillaume]

Any comments, Lana vets?

I am definitely not a Lana vet, and as this is a fairly long stage for slow walkers, knowing whether we can walk this in two days is important. So I will be keen to know what the Lana vets have to say.

It's definitely possible to shorten it by staying in Valdeolivas at 21.2km, where there's an albergue at the Ermita de Emaculada.

The Amigos' guidebook lists a "Centro social (acogida no garantizada)" in both Albendea and Valdeolivas. Both would be potential stopovers for slow walkers, with 17.1 km to Albendea, and 21.2km (23.1 km according to the Amigos). Google maps shows a Casa Rural La Cañada in Albendea, a Casa Rural Del Río and a Casa Rural Maese Leonardo in Valdeolivas. I suppose all three are for rent as an entire house. I guess we could always try a phone call when we walk...

I couldn't find the hotel mentioned by @Undermanager :

Valdeolivas was a further 5kms on and perched on the end of a bit of an uphill slog. I arrive at 1:30pm. This is a large, very pretty medieval village, and another place to seriously considering staying a night in. I saw a hotel, a couple of bars and a shop and I can imagine it being even more beautiful at night. There's a Casa Ru4al here too apparently.

Updated info on lodging in Valdeolivas [added by a moderator]

I just got an email from the owner of the Casa Rural El Río in Valdeolivas (35 km from Torralba). They will rent individual rooms to peregrinos, 25€ per person. And he assured me that though they will rent you an individual room, this is not a pensión, and there will not be other unknown people renting rooms in the same house. So, it sounds like a good option for peregrinos, especially given the message I reported earlier that the Hotel Infantado in Valdeolivas is permanently closed.

For contacts, they responded to an email sent via Escapada Rural, but their phone is 969 317 177. That’s a land line, so no WhatsApp.


There's a taxi service in Cañaveras, 10 minutes away from Villaconejos de Trabaque, so our plan B, if my beloved felt this stage was too long, would be to call that service, and get a lift to say half way to Albendea.

Stopping in Valdeolivas would be nice, specially as there is a Romanesque church with paintings.
The place looks nice:

 

[AJGuillaume]

Even if we don't stop overnight in Valdeolivas, the church is really worth a visit:

 

[peregrina2000]

I appreciate going through these stages. My own calculating is taking me far afield from where most others are going these days, though.

My suggested stages those who like longer stages are:

Cuenca to Torralba (36), which I asked about in an earlier post. It has an acogida no garantizada and a couple of CRs that may not offer individual rooms.

Torralba to Valdeolivas (35). It has a few possibilities, as AJ has said:

CR El Río 969 317 177
CR Maese Leonardo +34 658 87 45 83
plus an acogida 969 317 031, that is not guaranteed.


I have written to the ayuntamiento in both places to see if they can give information about what’s available.

I’m guessing none of the forum vets have slept in either Torralba or Valdeolivas, but it would be lovely to be wrong!

 

[Magwood]

Here is the Wikiloc track for this stage. Once again we took the road as far as Valdeolivas in order to avoid the mud. But you can feel the joy we felt on leaving this town and finding ourselves on a beautiful sand track - the urge to skip was irresistible.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Just keep in mind that the camino never really enters Albendea. You have to turn left and go to explore if you want to find the bar, that looked more like a bakery than a bar when I was there. I didn't see or smell any traces of coffee but perhaps there is some if you ask. It looked very small!

Then we walk around the corner from the albergue to find a bar in a cave/basement and are met by this painting.

The bar is La Mazmorra (as written in the upper corner of the mural). I would question the historical accuracy of the painting: goat hair and a halloween pumpkin ?? Anyway, in spite of looking like a dungeon, La Mazmorra is the merrier of the two bars in town, thanks to the industrious and chatty owners who fed me all evening with tortillas and café con leche. The other bar, El cazador, where you get the keys to the albergue, has to be the gloomiest bar in Spain. I believe I wrote in my journal that it is like a never-ending funeral in there.

Cuenca to Torralba (36), which I asked about in an earlier post. It has an acogida no garantizada and a couple of CRs that may not offer individual rooms.

Torralba to Valdeolivas (35). It has a few possibilities, as AJ has said:

From Cuenca to Trillo (Trillo is coming up in the next post, I think), I struggled to change my stages when I walked the Lana the second time. I wanted to stay in new places for a change... impossible. I know you have proven there are ways to shorten stages. But for those like me who want to walk longer stages (25-35 kms) there are hardly any alternatives; you always end up in the same places (which are those given as end stages in the Asociation's guide). For example, the stage that @peregrina2000 suggests above - Torralba to Valdeolivas - has to be followed by either a short stage to Salmerón (and people used to longer stages don't want to do that), or a long stage from Valdeolivas to Viana de Mondéjar, that certainly has an albergue but where there is nothing else. I wouldn't know what to do there all day. Perhaps I am confusing you with this rambling. But my point is that people who walk longer stages are pretty much at the mercy of the official guide. If anyone has managed to break up their 30+ stages in this area, I would really like to know how!!

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Oh, I have quite a few photos from this stage. Let me explain. These are from Villaconejos to Valdeolivas. There are two pictures of the owerflowing section that Alan mentions. This is what it looks like in summer, so there is always water, I think. It's deeper than it looks: you have to remove shoes & socks to get through.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

And this is the part between Valdeolivas and Salméron. Salmerón is pretty!

The last picture is of the enormous heads that greet you when you enter the albergue/prison. Possibly stored there to be used in some procession/festival?

There was a thunderstorm when I spent the night there. The lightning cast ominous shadows around those heads... I had to go up from bed in the middle of the night to search for a door or a window that was rustling in the wind somewhere in the large building... Only with my flashlight, and the lightnings that kept illuminating the rooms. That place made the sportshall in Campillo de Altobuey feel like an amusement park...!

 

[peregrina2000]

For example, the stage that @peregrina2000 suggests above - Torralba to Valdeolivas - has to be followed by either a short stage to Salmerón (and people used to longer stages don't want to do that), or a long stage from Valdeolivas to Viana de Mondéjar, that certainly has an albergue but where there is nothing else.

Thanks, BP. Actually, my idea was in fact to walk from Valdeolivas to Viana de Mondejar (28), taking a shorter day there so I would be able to walk the next day the Tetas de Viana alternative that @alansykes really enjoyed. I know this is getting way ahead, but then from Viana de Mondejar - Tetas - Cifuentes (30)

So, back to your original point about how hard it is to do longer stages. Do you think these two days are bad ideas? Any memories of those towns or their acogidas?

Cuenca to Torralba (36) and Torralba to Valdeolivas (35)

Many thanks. Hope you are no longer drowning in work!

 

[VNwalking]

Perhaps I am confusing you with this rambling.

No, you're very clear!

Actually, my idea was in fact to walk from Valdeolivas to Viana de Mondejar (28), taking a shorter day there so I would be able to walk the next day the Tetas de Viana

Viana de Mondejar - Tetas - Cifuentes (30)

Pinning this for later...


Also coming up is Sigüenza. Sorry BP, I can't resist. Perhaps we can take a rest day there while you tell us about the 'official' Lana? Actually, if I were walking this in real life I would go seriously off-piste to go from there to Cassilas de Berlanga to take in San Baudelo, rejoining the Lana at Fresno de Caracena.

But that's days ahead of us! Back to Salméron...which in spite of the spooky albergue seems to be excessively quiet. Searching for castles, churches, etc, brings up nothing. Time to do our laundry, I guess.

 

[Ninja]

The other bar, El cazador, where you get the keys to the albergue, has to be the gloomiest bar in Spain. I believe I wrote in my journal that it is like a never-ending funeral in there.

That is truly a spot on description of the bar! I could add; pure Twin Peaks. (Or Zone Blanc – a French TV-Series).

@Magwood and I didn’t really go to explore much of Salmerón, mainly because of the weather. There was a certain amount of picturesque decay about the village … eg. the door of the church - and especially the fountain (which I liked a lot).

 

[peregrina2000]

Just to say that I have heard from a forum member who walked the Lana and stayed in Torralba! Sounds like it’s a good place to stay:

As you enter the village there is a villa on your left. This is (was 15/09/18) the albergue. You need to find the hosp. who runs "Bar Goyo". I ended up going to the plaza and drank in the bar next to Ayunt - this is wrong bar. I was then taken to Bar Goyo by a local by a roundabout route. Before you get to the plaza turn left and then ask directions. It is a village so you will not go far wrong. The Alb was donativo (10 euros) and had at least three large bedrooms. The one I had had two single beds not bunks. The water was hot and plentiful - the Hosp. turns the water on for you- plus, being the "La Lana" I had the place to myself. Return key to Bar Goyo where you can get breakfast.

And I found @undermanager’s report, which was also quite positive:

Torralba is a pretty village, with quite a few facilities for the tired traveller for such a small place, or it seems to according to Google Maps. It would, certainly on first impressions, be a better option than yesterday's place! The first bar, Bar Carman, serves coffee but has nothing to eat, although I am offered a biscuit. I have a coffee then decide to go on a morning pub crawl and try Bar Goyo Luis, but get sidetracked as there is a great shop next door. Breakfast! I buy a crusty bread, a hunk of what looks like luncheon meat from the fridge and a couple of bananas. Who would have thought that a bread, luncheon meat and banana sandwich was the tastiest thing ever? So I spend the next half hour relaxing on the strategically placed chair outside the shop, admiring the traffic on the main road. Life is good.

I really like this village and after spending some 25 minutes here, I feel I can speak as an authority ; if your little legs can manage it from Cuenca, I'd definitely stay here. It has a lovely atmosphere with just a minor not major road going through it, is very friendly, most people I've met in the last half hour are sober, it has some impressive ruins on a hill, an albergue, maybe hotels, two bars, a shop and a 24 hour funeral parlour - what more do you need?

I know that walking on the next day from Torralba to Valdeolivas means missing out on the wonderful amigos group, but I would like to have the information so I will know my options.

Actually, if I were walking this in real life I would go seriously off-piste to go from there to Cassilas de Berlanga to take in San Baudelo,

I have some other ideas about that, I’ll post when we get closer.

And p.s. VN, I have all the Tetas information and can put it up when you get there. No need for you to do all the work.

 

[Pilger Franz]

The Amigos' guidebook lists a "Centro social (acogida no garantizada)" in both Albendea and Valdeolivas. Both would be potential stopovers for slow walkers, with 17.1 km to Albendea, and 21.2km (23.1 km according to the Amigos). Google maps shows a Casa Rural La Cañada in Albendea, a Casa Rural Del Río and a Casa Rural Maese Leonardo in Valdeolivas. I suppose all three are for rent as an entire house. I guess we could always try a phone call when we walk...

Note from the mods: In 2023, I had WhatsApp contact with this casa rural. It is permanently closed and there is no other option in Albendea, according to the owner of the Casa Rural Gabriela.

In 2018 and again in 2019 I stayed in Albendea in the Casa rural Gabriela opposite to the bar/panaderia.
(+34) 969 316 010 (+34) 695 986 505 - Pilgrims are welcome.

 

[Pilger Franz]

Just keep in mind that the camino never really enters Albendea. You have to turn left and go to explore if you want to find the bar, that looked more like a bakery than a bar when I was there. I didn't see or smell any traces of coffee but perhaps there is some if you ask. It looked very small!

You should follow the smell of bread. The bar is upstairs and will be opened on pilgrim's request

 

[Pilger Franz]

I’m guessing none of the forum vets have slept in either Torralba or Valdeolivas, but it would be lovely to be wrong!

In 2019 I stayed overnight in Torralba. Ask for the Bar Goyo und Luis, the hospitalero. The albergue was in a former Seniors' home. In comparison with the albergue in Villar de Santo Domingo it was more like a mansion.

 

[AlanSykes]

The other bar, El cazador, where you get the keys to the albergue, has to be the gloomiest bar in Spain. I believe I wrote in my journal that it is like a never-ending funeral in there

Sadly the Mazmorra bar was shut when I went through. I put in my vote for the Cazador to win the prize for "La Mancha's surliest barman, 2017". To be fair, he may have been monosyllabic, but he did make a really very decent bocadillo (and breakfast) to get me through the following day's complete lack of any provisions. I prefer a mono-(or, in his case, virtually nono-)syllabic barman who provides good food to a friendly one who doesn't. Next time (ahhh, next time....) I'll sleep in Valdeolivas and eat again at its excellent Café Martín.

But I slept really well in Salmerón's prison.

 

[Ninja]

Will we make it to Trillo tomorrow?

 

[VNwalking]

Will we make it to Trillo tomorrow?

Not quite...stopping short so we can go up the Tetas. And clean all that mud off our boots!
Day 19. Salmerón - Viana de Mondéjar. 21, 5 km.
Without the temptation of the side journey of the mountain (coming next!), I would definitely go all the way to Trillo because it looks like a much more happening place.
It is admittedly a very short stage but VdM has a new albergue, so there's that.

Once again I am cribbing your notes, Alan. I'm up to my neck in the work so I'm hoping all the rest of you who have also done this Camino can fill in the blanks:

Another wonderful day. With hindsight, it might be better to stay in Valdeolivas, despite Salmerón's splendid albergue. The rest of the village is a bit sad, with a tienda only open from 10-2, and I only saw men older than me (57) the whole time I was there. Amazingly, the bar was open at 8 so I got coffee, and the owner, a contender for this year's "Surliest Spanish Barman" award, kindly made me a bocadillo to take away, as Viana de Mondéjar has no tienda, open or closed.

There is a sharpish rise out of the village, c300m in an hour, but the reward was breath-taking views back over about 80km of Cuenca province. Then a woodland path until the camino is illegally blocked by a new landowner. Pepe in Villaconejos and Luis in Cuenca both told me to ignore the padlocked gate and "prohibido el paso" signs and walk over the fence 20 yards to the left of the gate. So, slightly nervously, I did, shortly afterwards passing a hideously vulgar new hacienda which Señor Latifundista has built for himself right next to the crumbling remains of Villaescusa de los Palositos' Romanesque church. Very sad, and irritating to have to crawl under his massive gates to get off his land. Apparently the charming man generously allows the former villagers back to the church to lay flowers on their family graves on one day a year.

Anyway, after that it's fabulous again, and soon you get you the first sight of the twin peaks of the Tetas de Viana, with a goat track leading you towards them through sweet smelling juniper and thyme and rosemary.

It felt like a lot more than the 21km it took, but wonderful. The albergue in Viana de Mondéjar is brand new, with 3 bunks, 1 blanket, no pillows and a spacious sitting room, free. The number to call is on the door. - a nice young man from the ayuntamiento drove out from Trillo with the key. The view from the bedroom is straight up to the Tetas, possibly the best view from any albergue I've stayed in. The village has a midweek population of 5, so the bar is usually closed, but José, the owner, saw me and opened up and we had a couple of cañas and a chat. Very kind

What's with all these fincas and their locked gates? This one sounds like it took over what used to be a village.

There's nothing else to do here besides our laundry and to get ready for our adventure tomorrow:

VN, I have all the Tetas information and can put it up when you get there. No need for you to do all the work.

Gracias amiga!

 

[AlanSykes]

I'm something of a militant where it comes to people trying to close off rights of way, although not usually when I'm a guest in a foreign country. But in the case of Villaescusa de los Palositos I had active encouragement from several people to "hacer valer nuestros derechos" (as Luis Cañas of Cuenca puts it in an article he wrote about the village) and ignore the "prohibido el paso" signs and walk through to sigh over the increasingly ruined state of the 12th century church of the Asunción - "digno ejemplo de arquitectura románica rural", as Luis calls it. There are some articles (including Luis') here:

http://www.villaescusadepalositos.es/tablalana.htm

I was clearly not alone in exercising my rights, as the fence at the south of the property is barely knee high where people have crossed it, and it was interesting that the first question the barman in Viana de Mondéjar asked me was which route I'd taken, nodding approvingly when I told him. I gather the village may be for sale so one can hope that the next owners will be less selfish about illegally blocking a cañada real and ancient vía pecuaria, not to mention a Jacobeo route.

This is my wikiloc of the day, including descriptions of the attempted blockades in and out of Villaescusa and how to cross them:

Salmerón to Viana de Mondéjar vía Villaescusa de los Palositos, Ruta de la Lana

Salmerón to Viana de Mondéjar vía Villaescusa de los Palositos, Ruta de la Lana Hiking trail in Salmerón, Castilla-La Mancha (España). Download its GPS track and follow the route on a map. Record your own itinerary from the Wikiloc app, upload the trail and share it with the community.

www.wikiloc.com

 

[C clearly]

That is very helpful - both the KML track and the encouragement to follow it. One thing I worry about if straying across fences is the presence of dogs. Is there risk of them here?

 

[VNwalking]

One thing I worry about if straying across fences is the presence of dogs. Is there risk of them here?

My question too.

I'm something of a militant where it comes to people trying to close off rights of way, although not usually when I'm a guest in a foreign country. But in the case of Villaescusa de los Palositos I had active encouragement from several people to "hacer valer nuestros derechos"

So how is it these rights-of-way are being closed off? Are rich people buying abandoned villages and then closing off the access?

 

[AlanSykes]

. One thing I worry about if straying across fences is the presence of dogs. Is there risk of them here?

Good point. There were none here, and indeed I had no nasty dog experiences on the whole of the Lana (unlike some places after Córdoba on the Mozárabe). The only odd thing I encountered was some huge canine footprints near Mirabueno, miles from any farm, which the turismo person at Pelegrina thought might possibly belong to a wolf.

Ender told me later, when I reported in to him, that he knew exactly where it was and would be back the next day to cut it.

Three cheers for Ender. I always try to keep any styles and gates over my land in scrupulous order, which seems to result in nobody ever leaving gates open and livestock escaping. There is one farmer a few miles down the valley who hates ramblers so I always take wire-cutters with me if I'm walking down that way in case he's trying to block the right of way over his patch. I think he's getting the message as I doubt I'm the only one.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Without the temptation of the side journey of the mountain (coming next!), I would definitely go all the way to Trillo because it looks like a much more happening place.
It is admittedly a very short stage but VdM has a new albergue, so there's that.

I am so glad you are tempted by the side journey, @VNwalking , we have finally made it to Viana de Mondéjar. If you had decided to continue to Trillo, we would have stopped here anyway. And stopped again in Trillo. And for us slow walkers, it's not a "very short stage"

So, for me, on that glorious day when I finally get to the menacing sign, I am planning to forge ahead, at least that’s my intention now!

The intrepid @peregrina2000! Those are the situations where I'm much happier to have a companion in crime.

I have a companion in crime, and what's more, she would be against doing any detour, so she would also be forging ahead! And I in tow!

One thing I worry about if straying across fences is the presence of dogs. Is there risk of them here?

The only odd thing I encountered was some huge canine footprints near Mirabueno, miles from any farm, which the turismo person at Pelegrina thought might possibly belong to a wolf.

I have cynophobia since I was a child, having been bitten, and although I am slowly overcoming the fear, thanks to my lovely darling who seems to be able to control dogs, I would be totally freaked out if I came across a wolf!

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Torralba: As you enter the village there is a villa on your left. This is (was 15/09/18) the albergue. You need to find the hosp. who runs "Bar Goyo". I ended up going to the plaza and drank in the bar next to Ayunt - this is wrong bar. I was then taken to Bar Goyo by a local by a roundabout route. Before you get to the plaza turn left and then ask directions. It is a village so you will not go far wrong. The Alb was donativo (10 euros) and had at least three large bedrooms. The one I had had two single beds not bunks. The water was hot and plentiful - the Hosp. turns the water on for you- plus, being the "La Lana" I had the place to myself. Return key to Bar Goyo where you can get breakfast.

In 2018 and again in 2019 I stayed in Albendea in the Casa rural Gabriela opposite to the bar/panaderia.
(+34) 969 316 010 (+34) 695 986 505 - Pilgrims are welcome.

Napkins and napolitanas,

This is a total gamechanger! If it is possible to stay in Torralba and Albendea, it is easier to play with the stages between Cuenca and Trillo. Once again, the Asociation's guide is not up to date. There is no mention of the albergue in Torralba nor the Casa rural Gabriela in Albendea.

Note from the mods: The Casa Rural Gabriela in Albendea is permanently closed.

Contrary to Undermanager, I find Torralba to be utterly dull. I think there is an explanation: I flee the albergue in Villar de Domingo García as early as I can in the morning, walking a few hours in the compact darkness of the countryside, and arriving too early in Torralba at sunrise. I thought there was only one bar in Torralba, not two, and the one I go to is always closed that early in the morning. But I take notes from my fellow pilgrims in this thread. I will definitely check out these places more thoroughly the next time!

There is a special reason that I search for alternative ways to chop up this stretch. I feel I would be abusing of Pepe & Co:s hospitality in Villaconejos if I was to come by a third time. "Oh no, it's him again... the wandering fool!". They would be running out of ways to entertain me in the evening

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Day 19. Salmerón - Viana de Mondéjar. 21, 5 km.
Without the temptation of the side journey of the mountain (coming next!), I would definitely go all the way to Trillo because it looks like a much more happening place.
It is admittedly a very short stage but VdM has a new albergue, so there's that.

The albergue may be new. But without a bar (only opens occasionally?) and no store (AAARGH) I don't ever see myself staying there. I would have to carry food from Salmerón, which I find cumbersome. Whenever I reach Viana de Mondéjar, I can already hear the supermercados in Trillo calling my name...

There is a fuente in the village, which is often needed after those 22 kms without water.

What's with all these fincas and their locked gates? This one sounds like it took over what used to be a village

I, like Alan, spoke with Pepe in Villaconejos about this. He said one could walk through Villaescusa de Palositos, but he added that the difference is only about 500 mtrs compared to walking around the estate. Of course, if one wants to check out that church, it is worth a try. Pictures of the village can be seen here. But I can assure you there is nothing wrong with the other way. I saw the cutest calves ever there, but I lost them with my old cellphone...

One thing I worry about if straying across fences is the presence of dogs. Is there risk of them here?

l saw three of them playing around further down the trail as I was approaching the gates of Villaescusa. My heart rate increased a bit, because they were large ones and no people around if I would need help. The landowner surely lets them loose to roam the area as they please. Luckily they ran away before they saw me...

In general, this is a super pretty but deadly isolated stage. Leaving Salmerón in total darkness to begin walking up the mountain side is an experience. I clutched my flashlight, as it was my only means to disperse the invisible wildlife moving around and rustling close to me. There are some pictures below!

 

[peregrina2000]

In 2019 I stayed overnight in Torralba. Ask for the Bar Goyo und Luis, the hospitalero.

Go to Bar Goyo for the key for the albergue at Villar de Domingo Garcia.

I am going back through earlier stages to try to get a better lay of the land. So, there are two Bar Goyos, one in Torralba and one in Villar de Domingo García?

That seems to be the case
Torralba

Villar de Domingo García


Just checking because it seems so unusual, and it also is so easy for me to mix things like this up. Thanks!

 

[peregrina2000]

Since the forum search function has a four letter word minimum, I can’t search for ATM. So I’m not sure if someone has mentioned this already, but a note that I found scribbled somewhere says: “Use ATM in Valdeolivas”.

Can any of the veterans confirm if there is a stretch with no way to get cash coming up after Valdeolivas?

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Since the forum search function has a four letter word minimum, I can’t search for ATM. So I’m not sure if someone has mentioned this already, but a note that I found scribbled somewhere says: “Use ATM in Valdeolivas”.

Can any of the veterans confirm if there is a stretch with no way to get cash coming up after Valdeolivas?

According to Kevin O'Brien's guide there is an ATM in Valdeolivas. The next one is in Trillo!

 

[Pilger Franz]

So, there are two Bar Goyos, one in Torralba and one in Villar de Domingo García?

That's correct. It is the short name for Gregorio https://www.name-me.net/de/name/gregorio.html

 

[VNwalking]

Before we move on... I also have a
question: Looking at my OSMand map, I notice a marker for 'historic ruins' about 4.5 km past Salmeron. It's well before Villaescusa de los Palositos. Does anyone know what it might be?


(And it looks like whoever laid down this track went around the nasty finca, is that right?)

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

I notice a marker for 'historic ruins' about 4.5 km past Salmeron. It's well before Villaescusa de los Palositos. Does anyone know what it might be?

It must be the ruins of the ermita de San Matias. Sara Dhooma went there in her vlog, if you want to see it (at 01:20 in the video): Day 19- Sara Hikes the Ruta de la Lana Camino

I remember passing the sign - scribbled by hand - but I never ventured to go there. It is only 150 mtrs off Camino though. It is on your right side, right after the first 4 kms uphill where the camino starts to flatten out.

Info about the ermita in Spanish aquí !

(And it looks like whoever laid down this track went around the nasty finca, is that right?)

Correct. And I stress that it is only 500 mtrs longer than going through the finca. Kevin O'Brien says it is "several kilometers extra", but this is not the case.

 

[Pilger Franz]

The guia of the Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago en Alicante
www.encaminodesdealicante.org/otros-caminos/camino-de-la-lana
has been last updated 2017. Lots of inaccuracies as I found in 2018 and 2019.
Ruta de la Lana = Ruta de la Sorpresa

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Can any of the veterans confirm if there is a stretch with no way to get cash coming up after Valdeolivas?

According to Kevin O'Brien, the part before that is the trickier one: there is no ATM between Cuenca and Valdeolivas according to his guide. Still there is a Globalcaja in Villaconejos de Trabaque. I remember it, since I had pumped up my wallet in Cuenca, afraid to go bankrupt before Valdeolivas. I was surprised to find an ATM in Villaconejos, in spite of Kevin's instructions.

Take note: The ATM closes at 2 p.m. and is closed Saturday-Sunday. If you miss it, no more cash before Valdeolivas. But @Pilger Franz seems to know his way in the area: have you seen any ATM in Torralba, Albendea, and so on? They are so small, it would surprise me.

 

[VNwalking]

Info about the ermita in

Thanks, BP! It looks well worth the detour.

So today's the day for the Tetas!
I suggest we hash this out, and after that go back to discuss the regular way, and perhaps an alternative end point for the stage.

Day 20a. Viana de Mondéjar - Trillo via Tetas de Viana. ~13km.
@peregrina2000, please fire away. Here's Alan's account, for starters. The question that comes to my mind is how difficult it is to find the way to Trillo on the other side. My map is hopeless here, but it looks like navigating the way up is easy, but it's not clear that there's a way down on the other side. Do you have to backtrack towards Viana and intersect the Camino on that side?View attachment 92494

A half day, as I thought it would be silly to get so close and not climb up the Tetas de Viana. And I'm so glad I did, as the view from the top was breathtaking. First time since leaving the sea with no morning coffee or toast, but so it goes. Relatively easy ascent for the first hour, then a chain to help you on and finally a metal ladder to get you up the cliff to the top. And then 360° views. Just amazing. The descent towards Trillo was less pleasant, but nothing too hard - a scramble here and there, but soon back into pleasant woodland trails and so to Trillo, crossing the Tajo by a pretty 16th century bridge just where the Cifuentes river joins it.

And the Cifuentes joins it with a BANG, dropping through the middle of Trillo via four or five spectacular waterfalls. The albergue in Trillo is in the plaza de toros just by the Tajo; call the number on the door and someone will come with the key. 4 single beds, loos and showers, no blankets, one pillow, free. Judging by the huge looking glass, the bedroom is also the matador's changing room. According to my wikiloc, going up the Tetas was 465m of elevation over 13km - the direct route is about 7km with very little elevation. Not going up the Tetas would make going on to Cifuentes (c12km) very easy, or other people go directly to Trillo from Salmerón. I liked Trillo very much, and would recommend staying there.

 

[AJGuillaume]

This is @alansykes ' Wikiloc tracks:

Viana de Mondéjar - Trillo vía Tetas de Viana, Ruta de la Lana

Viana de Mondéjar - Trillo vía Tetas de Viana, Ruta de la Lana Hiking trail in Viana de Mondéjar, Castilla-La Mancha (España). Download its GPS track and follow the route on a map. Record your own itinerary from the Wikiloc app, upload the trail and share it with the community.

www.wikiloc.com

It looks like it's a scramble down for about 500m, and then there's a path.

 

[C clearly]

Well, this is getting to be fun! Does the cage on that ladder accommodate a pilgrim backpack? Do we come down that same ladder? I guess we could leave our backpacks at the bottom. Is it windy up there?

Wikipedia says:
Las Tetas de Viana are two limestone grinding stones eroded by boulevards that arise around them and by the rivers Tajo and de la Solana. They are made up of a common clay body and two limestone rock peaks between 20 and 30 meters thick that make them practically inaccessible due to the verticality of their wall. Only the southernmost is accessible through iron stairs that replaced old stone ones that served as access to the watchtower that stood there.

It looks like it's a scramble down for about 500m, and then there's a path.

Hmmm. I'd like to see some photos of that scramble.

 

[VNwalking]

Hmmm. I'd like to see some photos of that scramble.

Just found this — it's a gold mine. Maybe one of the many links there?

Ruta_159 Tetas de Viana. Viana de Mondejar. (Guadalajara).

Ruta_159 Tetas de Viana. Viana de Mondejar. (Guadalajara). Un asentamiento campaniforme en las Tetas de Viana. Taller de cerámica prehistórica en Viana de Mondéjar. Mitología castellana. El castill…

senderosesotericos.wordpress.com

 

[VNwalking]

And once we are in Trillo, because it's a short-ish day, can I interest anyone in a side trip to this place?? It's a 4 km round trip. It's in another one of those dreaded fincas, but is accessible; Wikiloc QR code below (Sorry, I can't find a way to copy the address from my phone). In terms of patrimomy, this is pretty sad, I have to say.
SPOILER="Rabbit hole warning!!!

Monasterio de Santa María de Óvila - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

es.m.wikipedia.org

Ruta_158 Monasterio Cisterciense de Santa María de Óvila. Trillo. (Guadalajara).

Ruta_158 Monasterio Cisterciense de Santa María de Óvila. Trillo. (Guadalajara). Abducidos en TRILLO . Hipnosis regresiva. ( Jose Antonio Plaza). Minuto: 98:00 – 120:00 Ovnis, el gran secreto…

senderosesotericos.wordpress.com

EL PATRIMONIO EXPOLIADO (I)

MONASTERIO CISTERCIENSE DE SANTA MARÍA DE ÓVILA (GUADALAJARA, España) RESTOS DEL MONASTERIO DE ÓVILA Guadajara, España Este es el aspecto q...

cosasquenuncapudedecirte.blogspot.com

Monastery of Santa Maria de Ovila · SIX degrees · Environmental Design Archives Exhibitions

Archive Resources

exhibits.ced.berkeley.edu

 

[AJGuillaume]

I have found another Wikiloc track which takes us from Viana de Mondéjar to Trillo:

Viana de Mondéjar - Trillo

Viana de Mondéjar - Trillo Hiking trail in Viana de Mondéjar, Castilla-La Mancha (España). Download its GPS track and follow the route on a map. Record your own itinerary from the Wikiloc app, upload the trail and share it with the community.

www.wikiloc.com

The difference is that at the bottom of what I call "the scramble", where @alansykes turned left, this one goes right. It is shorter by about 2 km.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Here's a nice little video showing Trillo, Las Tetas de Viana and Viana de Mondéjar:

Well, this is getting to be fun! Does the cage on that ladder accommodate a pilgrim backpack? Do we come down that same ladder? I guess we could leave our backpacks at the bottom. Is it windy up there?

Hmmm. I'd like to see some photos of that scramble.

I found this video of a group of walkers walking from Trillo to Viana de Mondéjar via Las Tetas de Viana, and although the video is a bit long, it does answer a few questions:
- it doesn't look like the cage on metal ladder accommodates a pilgrim's backpack
- if you're going up the Teta Redonda (which I believe is the only one where there is access to the summit), then you have to come down the same way.
- before they get to the place between the two mounts, you can see parts of the scramble.

I had found another video of two Spaniards who walked up to the top, but I can't share it here. There are too many references to Las Tetas which may offend people. The video shows that there is reasonable signage, and confirms that you have to leave the backpack at the bottom of the metal ladder.

 

[AJGuillaume]

And once we are in Trillo, because it's a short-ish day, can I interest anyone in a side trip to this place?? It's a 4 km round trip. It's in another one of those dreaded fincas, but is accessible; Wikiloc QR code below (Sorry, I can't find a way to copy the address from my phone). In terms of patrimomy, this is pretty sad, I have to say.
SPOILER="Rabbit hole warning!!!

Even by slow walkers' standards, it is indeed a short-ish day, in particular if we take the shorter route shared in post #100. So we will definitely love to join you, @VNwalking !

In real life, we would possibly have a rest day in Trillo, it looks like a nice place, so we could even walk to Santa Maria de Ovila on our rest day. If we can't stay in the albergue for 2 nights, we could stay at the Hostal las Viñas, if it is still around.

 

[AlanSykes]

I think I must have left my mochila at the bottom of the ladder, but as I hadn't seen any other walkers since Alatoz (or until Burgos) security wasn't really an issue.



And the view from the top was amazing (one teta from the other):



Trillo is a very nice place. I liked the Meson Victor to eat: wonderful wide glass front looking over the cascades, and decent food as well. Rather posh clientele - the town is quite rich, presumably benefitting from the highly paid jobs at the nuclear power station nearby, which I assume pays for the plush albergues at Viana de Mondéjar and Trillo, and the excellent signage in the area.

 

[peregrina2000]

AJ and VN give us all the info we need, but I always like to dig into it myself, not because I question the information they give, but because it gives me more a sense of whether I can handle it.

I think a good place to start is with Alan’s wikiloc tracks.

Viana de Mondéjar - Trillo vía Tetas de Viana, Ruta de la Lana

Viana de Mondéjar - Trillo vía Tetas de Viana, Ruta de la Lana Hiking trail in Viana de Mondéjar, Castilla-La Mancha (España). Download its GPS track and follow the route on a map. Record your own itinerary from the Wikiloc app, upload the trail and share it with the community.

www.wikiloc.com

That shows, from Viana to Trillo, 13 km with 465 m elevation gain.

There are two tetas, and I think that Alan has climbed the more popular one, the Redonda, aka Teta Sur. Looks like the camino has a direct connection with the trail that goes up, so it’s a matter of leaving the camino, going up and down, and then continuing on.

So, I am going on the assumption that we all would want to climb the Teta Redonda.

I have looked at some of the other links and found a video that is pretty boring but shoes the ascent/scramble. As others have said, backpacks definitely won’t fit through the stairway, which is enclosed, presumably to prevent falling.

Trillo looks very nice (the video AJ posts shows the twin towers of the nuclear plant in the background). Another option for those who want to walk longer stages would be to go on another 13 km to Cifuentes, making it a 26 km day if my calculations are right. Albergue and a couple of hostales in Cifuentes.

In Cifuentes, Hostal San Roquelooks fine. Albergue is in the polideportivo.

Thanks to @alansykes for correcting some of the errors I had posted here.

 

[AlanSykes]

I think the Teta Sur (aka Teta Redonda) is the one that's easily accessible. You'd probably need mountaineering equipment to get up the Teta Larga. There was no wind on the top the day I was there, but I imagine that's an exception. There is a local saying about the tetas that "todos las ven pero pocos las maman”, which is certainly true of the Teta Larga.

The pic shows Trillo (the little white cross middle right) and the tetas of its nuclear power station from the Teta Sur.

 

[AJGuillaume]

So today's the day for the Tetas!
I suggest we hash this out, and after that go back to discuss the regular way, and perhaps an alternative end point for the stage

The Tetas have been 'hashed out', methinks, so let's see what the regular way would be.

I am so glad you are tempted by the side journey, @VNwalking , we have finally made it to Viana de Mondéjar. If you had decided to continue to Trillo, we would have stopped here anyway. And stopped again in Trillo.

For the really slow walkers, and those who would enjoy Trillo, one of the alternative end points from Viana de Mondéjar is indeed Trillo. But that's a really, really short stage, only 7.4 km. Most pilgrims would walk further.

Trillo looks very nice (the video AJ posts shows the twin towers of the nuclear plant in the background). Another option for those who want to walk longer stages would be to go on another 13 km to Cifuentes, making it a 26 km day if my calculations are right. Albergue and a couple of hostales in Cifuentes.

Day 20. Viana de Mondéjar - Cifuentes. 20.4 km

From Trillo, it is indeed only 13 km to Cifuentes. If you have walked from Viana de Mondéjar to Cifuentes, without the side trip to Las Tetas, then it is 20.4 km.

If you stopped in Trillo, you could walk even further, as @Magwood and @Ninja did in 2019, to Masegoso de Tajuña. That's 24 km from Trillo. It could be a little too much for the slow walkers we are. If only we weren't slow walkers... @alansykes , who also walked to Masegoso de Tajuña, describes Cifuentes in a way that would make a pilgrim want to go further:

After that the Cifuentes is less melodramatic, leading you steadily upwards to Cifuentes town, via two other villages which both have coffee. I found Cifuentes a bit depressing and was glad I wasn't staying there - for example, the outstanding doorway to the ancient synagogue now has a horrible modern metal door.

In Cifuentes, we have the option of sleeping at the Polideportivo Municipal, keys at the municipal office, or at the Hostal San Roque, or at the Hostal Las Secuoyas (no-frills website ).

@Bad Pilgrim walked to Cifuentes and stayed at the San Roque in 2019.

If you're going to heed @alansykes advice, and walk on to Masegoso de Tajuña, you'll go past Moranchel on the Camino, and then take a left turn after about 3 km. In Moranchel:

I arrived at the wonderful village of Moranchel, with some fabulous paintings of houses and businesses on the fronts of houses.

Check out @Undermanager 's beautiful photo, as well as those @Magwood has in her blog.

In Masegoso de Tajuña, our veterans stayed at the Restaurante Hostal Las Vegas. Nothing flash, as @Magwood notes in her blog:

[...] we continue, making a diversion from the camino to stay in a hostal on the busy N-204, around 2-3 km off camino. We know about this place, Hostal Las Vegas, through a forum member AS. We wonder why it is called Las Vegas, assuming the name relates to its US cousin. But then I google and discover that ‘vega’ relates to low, flat, fertile ground.
Although we knew that the place is referred to as a truck stop, we had expectations of a cosy room with possibilities to use washing/drying facilities. Forget it! The room is basic, with a tiny radiator that barely heats the room, especially when draped with soaking wet gear, and a definite ‘no’in response to a request for laundry facilities.

The good thing about walking on to Masegoso de Tajuña, is that it would make tomorrow's stage a little bit shorter. Nevertheless, for the purpose of this virtual Camino, we'll stop in Cifuentes.

Now I was wondering whether you had bad weather, @alansykes , to think of Cifuentes as depressing.

Cifuentes is a modern, small town that feels a bit like Casas Ibáñez. Smaller than a city but larger than a rural pueblo. It boasts no less than two big churches, thrown together near the busy plaza mayor. Unfortunately, the whole square also serves as a parking lot...! I've never seen that before. The rest of the square is charming, with arcades and old houses all around... Sometimes too old houses, probably in need of a restoration. How nice to have stopped here for the day, instead of struggling 26 more kms to Mandayona...!

I'll leave you with this video of Cifuentes, and you can decide:

 

[peregrina2000]

One of these videos alerted me to the fact that this part of the Lana, in Guadalajara province, is located in the Alcarría, which reminded me that the Nobel prize winner Camilo José Cela has a book called Viaje a la Alcarría, which I read in college. It is a travelogue, describing a short walking trip he took in the region in the 40s or 50s. I don’t remember loving it, but maybe now that I am hoping to walk there too, it would be more interesting. The Alcarría, I have now learned, refers to the plateau that extends through most of Guadalajara province, with little bits in Cuenca province and some in Madrid province. And Cifuentes is described as its capital.

So count me in for a night in Cifuentes, even though @alansykes found it depressing. Actually, it looks like it has a very nice plaza mayor, perhaps the only triangular plaza mayor in Spain. It’s one of those arcaded plazas, with columns and covered space for the markets that used to take place. The church with its romanesque doorway looks very nice too.

And BP says in his post that he had heard that the Secuoyas hostal (which is right in the Plaza Mayor) is actually a better place to stay than the San Roque, which is not in as central a location. Kevin O’Brien’s guide cautions against the Secuoyas, and there are several bad reviews on tripadvisor, but a review from 2020 says that there have been some renovations.

 

[VNwalking]

The Alcarría, I have now learned, refers to the plateau that extends through most of Guadalajara province, with little bits in Cuenca province and some in Madrid province.

It seems a natural landscape-based place name, and to heck with criteria of ownership or political control. Like The Alava on the Vasco/Viejo. So interesting.

There seem to be a bunch of options here for different length stages. Las Inviernas is a little farther along — OSMand says 24.5km from Trillo — but it doesn't look like there's any where to stay..

 

[AJGuillaume]

There seem to be a bunch of options here for different length stages. Las Inviernas is a little farther along — OSMand says 24.5km from Trillo — but it doesn't look like there's any where to stay..

There are indeed a bunch of options for different length stages. In fact, @Undermanager walked 41 km from Trillo to Mandayona, where we're heading to tomorrow. Wow . You have the admiration of the slow walkers, @Undermanager !

Las Inviernas is 25.6 km from Trillo, according to the Amigos' guide book. One could try to sleep in the "local municipal", but the Amigos' guide book states: "(acogida no garantizada)". It's at the Ayuntamiento, with keys obtained obviously from the Ayuntamiento.

 

[peregrina2000]

Looking for information about a possible albergue in Las Inviernas, I came across some information that may be helpful for earlier stages. This is translated from a Gronze report:

TORRALBA: They will let you sleep in the social center (on the floor, no shower). But if you go to the Bar Goyo and ask for Luís, he has a casa rural where he takes in pilgrims, 15 euros breakfast included. You can also eat meals in the same bar. Luis is a great guy. He arrived from Madrid to take over the bar and and he quickly became a beloved member of the pueblo. He’s fun to talk to, and the tapas he gives when you order a drink are terrific.

VIANA DE MONDÉJAR: Viana is part of the municipality of Trillo, and it has an exceptional albergue, opened in 2010. Go to the town’s only bar, and if no one is there, call the number that is on the door of the albergue. No Vodafone coverage here! This albergue has 6 beds, shower, microwave. It’s great. Fingers crossed that they keep on maintaining it.

And for anyone who wants to try to stay in Las Inviernas, as AJ mentioned above — I’ve found a telephone number — calling ahead seems to be essential. 949 817 455

 

[peregrina2000]

Question for the Lana vets. I never have paid any attention to the availability of grocery stores, and things have always worked out. If there’s not a store, there’s a bar, and if all the bar serves is potato chips in a bag, well, I probably have some nuts and yogurt and fruit in my pack. But I have seen a couple of recommendations for making sure to have food because there are towns with good places to stay but no place to buy groceries and no bar to eat.

Going back through my notes, I have seen people say to bring food to.

Herrumblar
Viana de Mondejar

Is that right? Any other places between Alicante and where we are now, Cifuentes?

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Question for the Lana vets. I never have paid any attention to the availability of grocery stores, and things have always worked out. If there’s not a store, there’s a bar, and if all the bar serves is potato chips in a bag, well, I probably have some nuts and yogurt and fruit in my pack. But I have seen a couple of recommendations for making sure to have food because there are towns with good places to stay but no place to buy groceries and no bar to eat.

Going back through my notes, I have seen people say to bring food to.

Herrumblar
Viana de Mondejar

Is that right? Any other places between Alicante and where we are now, Cifuentes?

Google maps says 1 supermercado and 1 store in Herrumblar, and I know there is at least 1 bar. In Viana de Mondéjar, there is no place to buy food and I have never seen the bar open.

When I have time I can do an extensive overview of Alicante-Burgos regarding foodless villages. Right now, Alatoz comes to my mind. But there are at least 2 bars in Alatoz.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

There are indeed a bunch of options for different length stages. In fact, @Undermanager walked 41 km from Trillo to Mandayona, where we're heading to tomorrow. Wow . You have the admiration of the slow walkers, @Undermanager !

Las Inviernas is 25.6 km from Trillo, according to the Amigos' guide book. One could try to sleep in the "local municipal", but the Amigos' guide book states: "(acogida no garantizada)". It's at the Ayuntamiento, with keys obtained obviously from the Ayuntamiento.

Trillo to Mandayona is a very long stage, but I managed in 2017 thanks to strategically placed coffe breaks in Cifuentes and the truck stop a few kms before Mandayona. The bar in Las Inviernas may also be open, so if you are lucky you can have a café con leche there as well.

Las Inviernas is very small and I am almost certain there is no store to buy anything. I think it would be difficult to find any entertainment there. Cifuentes - Mandayona with all their facilities would be the preferred stage for most of us, I think.

 

[VNwalking]

OSMand tells me that just short of Cifuentes and a little off the Camino is this place:

RCGU-26: Cifuentes. El camino de la Cueva del Beato - Caminos de Guadalajara

Ruta entre Cifuentes y la ermita de la Cueva del Beato

caminosdeguadalajara.es

Do any of you vets know anything about it first (or second-) hand? My connection's too dodgy to open the link.

 

[peregrina2000]

OSMand tells me that just short of Cifuentes and a little off the Camino is this place:

RCGU-26: Cifuentes. El camino de la Cueva del Beato - Caminos de Guadalajara

Ruta entre Cifuentes y la ermita de la Cueva del Beato

caminosdeguadalajara.es

Do any of you vets know anything about it first (or second-) hand? My connection's too dodgy to open the link.

Not a vet and no first hand knowledge, but my internet connection is working so I poked around a bit. First off, I would say that having a 6 km loop option for after a stage of 20 km seems like a great idea, like your Torre Vilariño loop on the Invierno, VN.

Some more information on the spot — the ermita is dedicated to Cifuentes’ patron saint (so there will be a pilgrimage there from the town on the saint day). A hermit, Blas de Oreto, reportedly lived there and was martyred there in 585 A.D. Then to add a bit more recent gruesome local lore, the story is that in the early 20th century, a priest who lived in the residence attached to the church murdered another priest and threw his body into a well, which today bears the name Sima del Fraile.

Some pictures of the romería.

Turismo en Guadalajara

turismoenguadalajara.es

And by the way, there is a “donde dormir” button on the bottom of this page that lets you search what seems to be all of the pueblos in Guadalajara province with lodging. Though there are other ways to narrow the search, if you just pick the town from the drop down list, it brings up all lodging options. At least that‘s what I saw when I put in Cifuentes or Mandayona.

 

[VNwalking]

Wow, thanks, Laurie!

Some more information on the spot — the ermita is dedicated to Cifuentes’ patron saint (so there will be a pilgrimage there from the town on the saint day). A hermit, Blas de Oreto, reportedly lived there and was martyred there in 585 A.D.

Because I can't open the links I couldn't tell— is it an old and interesting Ermita?

Then to add a bit more recent gruesome local lore, the story is that in the early 20th century, a priest who lived in the residence attached to the church murdered another priest and threw his body into a well,

Egad.
(You don't get to choose your colleagues in the religious life. The politics can be intense.
(Only half-joking) )

 

[peregrina2000]

Because I can't open the links I couldn't tell— is it an old and interesting Ermita?

17th century, remodeled in the 50s. You can see the attached residence where the murder allegedly took place. Maybe not too spectacular, but I would definitely be up for the walk if you and I coincide, VN. Maybe you can see this thumbnail.

 

[peregrina2000]

And if you wanted to make it a 10 km circle, though that might be pushing things, here is a wikiloc track that takes you both to the Cueva and ermita of the Virgen de Loreto, and adds on a detour up to the Ermita de San Blas (not to be confused with the ermita of the same name in Trillo), which doesn’t look like a must-see visit. Some dispute among those who study these things whether that is where the Spanish saint San Blas was martyred, apparently.

And don’t forget there’s a castle in Cifuentes we can walk up to, too, so we will definitely keep ourselves entertained!

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

one of the alternative end points from Viana de Mondéjar is indeed Trillo.

Hey, did anyone point out where the albergue in Trillo is? The old bull ring, next to the river. Just turn left after the bridge when you enter town. It's spacious and I remember it as free? I didn't need to go to the Ayuntamiento: the hospitalero came with the keys after I phoned them. The thing is that there were no windows I could open, so it was impossible to dry clothes in there. (I didn't want to hang my clothes on display outside, because it may attract unwanted attention from roaming teenagers who keep you up all night by harrassing you... Yes it has happened before.)

Hostal Capadocia is the posh alternative with 45 euros for a single pilgrim, but it includes breakfast and having your clothes washed and dried far away from any juvenile delincuents.

Pictures of the stretch Viana de Mondéjar-Trillo below. First difficulty: This stretch is a maze. I believe the waymarking is insufficient. Several paths cross and split and it is not always clear where to go. Second difficulty is that the goat path leading up to and around the Tetas turns into a slippery stream in pouring rain. Those 7 kms took forever to complete, as the rain slowed me down and turned some parts of the narrow trail into a mudbath.

But the photos below are from two years ago, in a beautiful summer weather! With more uncensored, unashamed pictures of the Tetas !

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

So count me in for a night in Cifuentes, even though @alansykes found it depressing. Actually, it looks like it has a very nice plaza mayor, perhaps the only triangular plaza mayor in Spain. It’s one of those arcaded plazas, with columns and covered space for the markets that used to take place. The church with its romanesque doorway looks very nice too.

The Hostal San Roque is at the end of town, so I would like to try the Hostal Secuoya which is more central. Then again, Cifuentes is not big so it is easy to walk from San Roque to the centre and back again.

I am sure there are better pictures around of the way to Cifuentes, and of the town itself, but here is my contribution... I think I posted them two years ago but I rehash them here anyway!

 

[AlanSykes]

I must have hit Cifuentes on a bad day (the pic suggests it was fairly grey). The bar I stopped in for coffee was unfriendly, which is never a good start. But I see from Google earth that they seem to have removed the horrible metal bar that used to desecrate the glorious doorway to the synagogue, which is a definite improvement. Otherwise my main memory is of the eponymous 100 fuentes in every part of the town, including the source of the Cifuentes itself. On 27 September 1810 King Joseph Bonaparte (Pepe Botella, as some Spaniards dismissively call him) met genéral Joseph Hugo, his governor of Guadalajara province, at Brihuega and offered him the choice of becoming count of Cifuentes or of Sigüenza. Victor Hugo's father chose (to my mind the obvious choice) Sigüenza.

 

[AJGuillaume]

I looked at how many days (real time days) @VNwalking left between posts, and I hope I have left enough time since my last post for comments to be made. So here goes for the next stage.

Day 21. Cifuentes - Mandayona. 26 km

Slow walkers, brace yourselves, there aren't many options to break this stage into smaller ones. The Amigos' guide states:

Salvo esta última población, el resto de localidades de paso son pequeñas y con escasos servicios.

which I translate as "you're lucky if you'll find a bar, and take a packed lunch" .

As I mentioned earlier, Las Inviernas might offer a place to sleep, but with the words "(acogida no garantizada)" in the Amigos' guide, I wouldn't count on it. If we had stopped in Masegoso de Tajuña, we would have shortened this stage by 3 km.

This stage crosses a number of villages, and I'll quote @Undermanager and @Bad Pilgrim to describe them:

I arrived at the wonderful village of Moranchel, with some fabulous paintings of houses and businesses on the fronts of houses. A minute after the paintings, keep your eyes open on the left for some tables and chairs, opposite bungalow No 16! Listen for the TV outside the anonymous building. You have found the local fishing club headquarters and bar, the Coto de Pesca la Tajera. If it is open, pop in for a coffee and use Google Translate to tell some fishy tales about walking the Camino .

I think I mentioned he had some great photos in his thread, and @Magwood also has some in her blog. @Ninja , you must also have some great photos?

What to do if there isn't any bakery in town? You paint one, of course...!

Pressing on, It's mostly a flat walk all the way to Las Invernas, where I arrived at 2.00pm, and 27kms from Trillo. Here you will find a wonderfully local bar for local people. The coffee con leche was like coffee I've never tasted before but on the plus side, the 'una vaso de Agua' was exceptional. And that ambiance is to die for. This place is unique and deserves to be iñ B movie. Visit it without fail!

After La Moranchel and Las Inviernas came my favorite inhabited area of the day: El Truck Stop. How did medieval pilgrims survive without truck stops? I have no idea. A salty tortilla de patata, combined with a fine café con leche and a mature Coca-Cola.

You cross a railway bridge, then cross a motorway. There's a cafe there but I pressed on, until the village of Mirabueno. There is a grand old church that seems to be crumbling a lot, but the gargoyles are impressive. They're worth a look. I think I found a social club bar but it was closed. As you leave the village though, prepare to be amazed! Those views down down down into the valley are incredible, and Mandayona, my destination is thankfully down there - usually on these Camino's, the last section is 'up there' and a real killer!

The next pueblo, Mirabueno, looked empty. But be ready to fish out your camera when you reach the end of the village: the view of the fields and the hills from above comes as a surprise. A narrow path - with an incredible scenery - then leads down from Mirabueno, all the way to Mandayona. There are at least two fountains along the descent, with cool water from the hills.

In Mandayona, you can sleep at the Centro Social, where @Undermanager , @Magwood and @Ninja all stayed. You get the keys from the Ayuntamiento. Magwood wrote:

Ana tells me that the number to ring to give advance warning of your arrival is 949 305 002, and gives me permission to share her personal number 649 721 552. Such kindness, and so much appreciated.

@Undermanager arrived unannounced, and reported there were no problems to get into the Centro Social:

I now have a fantastic theatre hall and toilet on the first floor to myself, with a blow up mattress, a balcony to dry my clothes and a bar opposite. I'm in heaven. I should have phoned ahead, but turning up unannounced around 6.00pm, and still it's no trouble for people.
This place is hugely recommended. Plan to stay here if you can. There are four blow up mattresses, but space for about two hundred pilgrims!

One alternative is the Hostal rural Cumbres de Castilla, where @Bad Pilgrim slept. The Amigos' guide book lists a website for this Hostal rural, but the website is no longer active. Hopefully, the Hostal rural is still around. Google maps shows El Cuartel del Rio Dulce, which offers apartments, available through the usual online booking engine, but somewhat pricey. Restaurante Bar Milagros is where you'll get a good feed.

Now if you happen to stay at the Centro social with @Magwood , you might get a performance. Check out her post and the photos .

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Yes, I have seen something that looks like a bar in Moranchel. But it has always been closed at my arrival, perhaps because I start too early from Cifuentes. The pictures of the colorful Moranchel below are taken at dawn! Maybe Undermanager caught them later in the morning.

The bar in Las Inviernas is cozy, I agree, but in such a small village I don't think it opens regularly. Lucky for me, they were open just as a thunder storm broke loose above me (the terrain is flat flat flat on this stage and there is nowhere to hide!). I waited out the storm in the bar together with some of the locals, while the wind howled outside.

Hostal (Hotel) Cumbres de Castilla is still on Google Maps. It was the ony place I could find when I first was I Mandayona, and I liked it so much that I returned a second time. It is about 40 euros, breakfast included.

Mandayona has a few bars, a store and an ATM. And here is the famous split of the Lana where we, just before entering town, have to decide whether to go left (to Atienza directly) or right (through Sigüenza). Do zoom in on the last two photos: there is resolution enough to read about the 2 alternatives!

 

[peregrina2000]

One alternative is the Hostal rural Cumbres de Castilla, where @Bad Pilgrim slept. The Amigos' guide book lists a website for this Hostal rural, but the website is no longer active.

I have tried calling their phone number (it’s a land line) and I get a rapid busy signal. Not a good sign.

There are two or three casas rurales four km down the Sigüenza alternative in Aragosa. Weird because this is a town with 15 inhabitants, but the town is near the Parque Natural Barranco del Río Dulce. VN will appreciate its geological uniqueness. I’ve sent them a WhatsApp to see if I learn anything.

 

[peregrina2000]

Reporting back in to say I got a WhatsApp back from Casa Rural Rio Dulce, a kind of fancy looking place in Aragosa. (@alansykes gives it a great rating, and we know he has excellent judgment ).

And I also heard from Villa Cangrejo which also looks nice.

Both say the same thing — we just don’t know but please be back in touch when you are a week or so away.

I think this is probably good advice about all the places we are hoping to stay in on the Lana. Or any other camino for that matter.

p.s. I found a whatsapp account for Cumbres de Castillo en Mandayona (the place whose website is no longer there) and will let you know if I hear back from them.

 

[Ninja]

I can’t contribute with any important info at all (as usual), but here is a photo of one of the fountains somewhere before Mandayona mentioned by @Bad Pilgrim. I simply love how nature takes over something man-made. And then, notice the yellow arrow … (pilgrims take it back).

 

[Ninja]

The very friendly bar Agustin in Mandayona was a sad little thing but the wine was good. Just opposite the bar was the ‘albergue’ at the Centro Social, a theatre where @Magwood, a Swiss pilgrim and I did a comedy performance. (The only applause came from a hail storm)

 

[AJGuillaume]

I can’t contribute with any important info at all

@Ninja , your photos are superb and are part of the important information. Thank you for sharing!

And here is the famous split of the Lana where we, just before entering town, have to decide whether to go left (to Atienza directly) or right (through Sigüenza).

I thought I would look first at the direct route to Atienza, and later write about the one via Sigüenza. It looks like the veterans of the Lana walked via Sigüenza in recent times. For @Bad Pilgrim , it was his first time in 2019:

I am excited about following a new route tomorrow, one that I don't know from before. It will be two days in unknown territory, before I am back on track in Atienza.

Day 22a. Mandayona - Atienza. 35.8 km

Reading the Amigos' description of this stage in their guide, the slow walkers are bound to despair:

La longitud de esta etapa es considerable y tiene un perfil marcadamente ascendente, por lo que es una de las más duras de todo la ruta. Las poblaciones intermedias son muy pequeñas y con escasos servicios, por lo que prácticamente se hace obligatorio llegar hasta Atienza.

which is translated as:
The length of this stage is considerable and has a markedly uphill profile, making it one of the hardest of the entire route. The intermediate villages are very small and have few services, making it practically obligatory to reach Atienza.

There is a glimmer of hope: just after Huérmeces del Cerro, after about 16 km from Mandayona, there is the albergue rural El Molino, mostly focussed on outdoor activities. It could offer a mid-stage break.

The villages we will cross are small, indeed. Baides, Viana de Jadraque, Huérmeces del Cerro, Santiuste, Cardeñosa, everyone of these villages has a population of less than 100 inhabitants.

Santiuste has a Romanesque style church.

During the first confinement in April 2020, the people of Viana de Jadraque contributed photos to make this video:

 

[Pilger Franz]

Hola AJGuillaume U2, are you actually walking on the ruta??

when I was in Atienza in 2018 the Albergue del Ayuntamiento (acogida no garantizada - Pza. España, 11 949399001 ayto. was too dirty - maybe this has changed meanwhile). So I turned around on my heels and went some 100 metres to Hostal rural El Mirador de Atienza (C. Barruelo, s/n 949399038 659643084; 22 € at that time, for pilgrims; very nice! The jefe was rather pilgrimminded) www.elmiradordeatienza.com reservas@elmiradordeatienza.com
Hope they are on service!

 

[AJGuillaume]

Hola @AJGuillaume U2, are you actually walking on the ruta?

Hola @Pilger Franz , it is a Camino I intend to walk after our Australian borders open up.

when I was in Atienza

Thank you for your lodging recommendation in Atienza, @Pilger Franz . I was going to talk about Atienza after we had gone through Sigüenza, so I'll refer to your post then. Muchas gracias!

I am going to hazard the guess that the reason you are not getting input or feedback is because your post, and @Pilger Franz’s, have given us all we need to know to make the decision to take the Sigüenza alternative.

I wasn't expecting much of a response, @peregrina2000 , except maybe from @Bad Pilgrim , who walked the direct route before going through Sigüenza. Hopefully I'll get more input from the veterans when we take the alternative.

However, that stage will have to wait: my daughter-in-law is Chinese Malaysian, and over the next two days my wife and I will be celebrating the Lunar New Year, and handing out 'ang paos', red packets, to the youngsters around us. We have a reunion dinner tonight, and tomorrow is a big day. She told us to make sure we're hungry tomorrow...

Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái or Kiong Hee Huat Tsai as my daughter-in-law speaks Hokkien.

 

[AlanSykes]

Reporting back in to say I got a WhatsApp back from Casa Rural Rio Dulce, a kind of fancy looking place in Aragosa.

I liked that casa rural very much indeed. A very comfortable place, luxurious even, rather wasted on a pilgrim. I can't remember the price, but it was not one of those places where you have to pay for the whole building whether you are 1 person or 6 - I think it cost me between 20-30€, very fair. Antonia, the charming dueña, worked as a translator at the Trillo nuclear power station (I discovered later), but politely let me talk to her in my very faulty Spanish. I wish I'd bought food to cook in her excellent kitchen, but I had quite a decent (adequate, anyway) meal at the motorway café near Mandayona. The Dulce Valley before and after Aragosa is simply gorgeous - melodious river, picturesque cliffs, cacophonous vultures, glorious scenery, well marked path, delicious water, total solitude.

 

[Bernice M]

Google maps says 1 supermercado and 1 store in Herrumblar, and I know there is at least 1 bar. In Viana de Mondéjar, there is no place to buy food and I have never seen the bar open.

When I have time I can do an extensive overview of Alicante-Burgos regarding foodless villages. Right now, Alatoz comes to my mind. But there are at least 2 bars in Alatoz.

In October 2019 there was a carnicería in Alatoz which sold a few groceries, plus salami and other long-ish lasting goods. Also I vaguely recall a small tienda for groceries.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Right. Looks like everybody is going to Sigüenza.

Day 22. Mandayona - Sigüenza. 25.5 km

@alansykes didn't go to Mandayona, he turned right at Mirabueno, and stopped at Aragosa. This only adds one km to the walk from Cifuentes. He stayed at the Casa Rural Rio Dulce, which he liked very much. From Aragosa to Sigüenza, it is about 21 km.

@Magwood walked from Mandayona to Sigüenza, 25.5 km. So did @Undermanager , who recorded 28 km for the day. @Bad Pilgrim also walked from Mandayona to Sigüenza.

I think the consensus is that it is a beautiful walk. I'll make my task easy by quoting from the veterans:

Then you follow the Dulce up its canyon, with occasional waterfalls, and at one point I counted over a dozen vultures overhead - a kettle of vultures. The Lana and the Camino del Cid are together here, and at Pelegrina they are joined by the Ruta de Don Quijote. Then out of the valley and up over scrubland to Sigüenza with its dominating castle and lovely cathedral and several Romanesque churches and winding old hillside streets, all for a population of 4500.

I loved the vultures here. So many, soaring and riding the thermals against the moon and some perching and posing for classic vulture shots. It's the one time I regret not having my superzoom camera! The gorge is very gorge-like, with big cliffs, lots of different flowers and birds around the water that flows through here, and many deer in the fields.
After passing through one pretty village with no facilities, you arrive after 17kms at Peligrina, with some impressive castle ruins high up on a hill. That must have created some painful backs! It was 11.15am when I arrived. There's a welcome cafe with great views as you get close to the castle but it's an uphill slog to get to it - how badly do you need that coffee? I stayed half an hour then left.

So here comes the part where I should marvel about the scenery on this stretch. The truth is that it is the most fascinating and beautiful since I started walking. But it has been described in detail by previous bloggers, so what can I possibly add... If you haven't read up on the Lana, this is a walk in a mountain gorge, with a lot of wildlife (mostly birds). Luckily it is totally flat. Then there is a short walk up a hill, followed by a trail in a thin woods (at about 1000 m altitude). Then a walk downhill to the medieval, and rather spectacular, city of Sigüenza. The best way to describe it is that it doesn't look like any of the previous stages. It is a quite surprising experience, all in all.

And from @Magwood 's blog:

From start to finish it was a perfect camino. [...]
We first pass through the village of Aragosa at 4 km, very pretty stone buildings dominated by the cliffs. There is a very highly regarded casa rural here, but no facilities. [...]
We are soon walking through a gorge with towering cliffs on either side, only a couple of hundred metres apart. There is a constant stream of vultures crossing from one side to the other, just like popping across the road to visit a friend. It is all so beautiful and dramatic with tall poplar trees lining the swollen river. We are walking with our necks bent and our eyes fixed on the sky. [...]
The next village we reach is even prettier, La Cabrera at around 12 km – again no services. [...]
The last village at 16 km, aptly named Pelegrina, does have a bar/restaurant but we have to make a diversion to reach it right at the top of the hill upon which it and its castle are perched.

@VNwalking has also found an alternative:

If we choose to go through Sigüenza, rather than the official route, it looks like there are a couple of ways to get there. Not wanting to jump ahead, but for now just to say that one of those ways leaves the Lana at Viana de Jadraque.

It's 10.6 km from Mandayona to Viana de Jadraque. From Viana de Jadraque, there is a 'Camino de Viana de Jadraque a Sigüenza', which looks like a country road. Looking for tracks, I came across one that shows that it is 14.3 km:

Viana de Jadraque - Sigüenza

Viana de Jadraque - Sigüenza Hiking trail in Viana de Jadraque, Castilla-La Mancha (España). Download its GPS track and follow the route on a map. Record your own itinerary from the Wikiloc app, upload the trail and share it with the community.

www.wikiloc.com

There are a number of others tracks that are slightly longer (about 18 km), which seem to take a more scenic route, along the Barranco de la Hoz, and the Arroyo de la Nava:

Viana de Jadraque-Barranco de la Hoz-Arroyo de la Nava-Moratilla de Henares-Siguenza

Viana de Jadraque-Barranco de la Hoz-Arroyo de la Nava-Moratilla de Henares-Siguenza Hiking trail in Viana de Jadraque, Castilla-La Mancha (España). Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. Viana de Jadraque-Barranco de la Hoz-Moratilla de Henares-Siguenza

www.wikiloc.com

So walking via Viana de Jadraque would be between about 25 km and 29 km, depending on which path you take.

Sigüenza offers a number of lodgings. There's the Residencia de Padres Josefinos. The comments about the Residencia range from "clean, decent" to "it’s not my favourite place", with a general opinion that it is basic. @alansykes points out that in addition to staying in the dorm, one can book a private room with ensuite.
As Sigüenza is of a reasonable size, there are many other options, including those listed in the Amigos' guide: Hotel Laberinto, and Casa rural El Arrabal de Sigüenza. And if you really want comfort and would to indulge, there is the Parador de Sigüenza. A quick scan through the usual online booking website shows there is quite a number of options.

Well worth a rest day.

In real life, the slow walkers amongst us would indeed welcome a rest day. Borrowing @Magwood 's words once again:

The town is very historic, with cathedral and several churches. The streets are lined with beautiful old buildings and it is thoroughly charming.

Indeed:

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks so much, AJ. I had read all of the fabulous live threads you carefully paste in your posts, but having the three commentaries in the same place for the same day give a very different flavor than reading one of them start to finish. As a planning tool, it is so very helpful. And I get that the theme of the day is canyon and vulture!

So, the options into Sigüenza. Looks to me like the choice is between the Barranco de la Hoz (starting at Viana de Jadraque) and the Cañon del Río Dulce (which is what the forum members describe). Choices choices, but my inclination would be to stay with the route through Aragosa and Pelegrina.

And now I know that there is no need to go up to Mandayona if I am planning to sleep in Aragosa. I had read that Alan stayed in Aragosa but I hadn’t paid careful enough attention to realize that the direct route there goes from Mirabueno and not Mandayona!

I was really surprised to see so so many lodging options in Sigüenza. The last time I was there, a day trip from Madrid in 1995, I had lunch in the parador and remember that the castle was undergoing a lot of renovations. It was a sleepy little place, surely without the 34 lodging options booking now shows! This is definitely a place for some serious down time!