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Oldtimers can I pick your brains for a sec ?

JoroAtanasof

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
one too many
So since 2018 i compleated Camino Frances/Portuges/Primitivo/Norte . Some of them more than once . It may sounds like a lot (FB) but not in this forum ..... I don't have any plans for 2025 camino and to be honest i dont feel the calling like i used to . However just in case can you recomend some of the other routes ? 2 or 3 weeks time perhaps , April till October ? And yes i have other plans for 2025 like TMB and possibly bikepacking ruta de la plata (i don't think of it as camino/pilgimage though ) .
 
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Kiwi-family said:
Mozarabe? Levante? Invierno?
Or are you drawn to something else? Kilamanjaro? Machu Picchu? Everest Base Camp? Trans Siberian Railway? a cruise?
Click to expand...
i am quite interested what is your opinion/recommendations about those 3 caminos . Most of the places in your second sentence are memories a part from the cruises
 
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Perambulating Griffin said:
Ok... I'm interested. Do you have an itinerary for the first leg from Lourdes to Oloron?
Click to expand...
Lourdes is on the Piamonte route.

Camino del Piamonte | Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

El Camino del Piamonte es el camino jacobeo que discurre a lo largo del Prepirineo francés, pasando por Narbonne, Carcassonne, Lourdes y Oloron hasta Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, y que comparte trazado con el GR-78. Considerado hasta hace pocos años una variante del Camino de Arles, estamos ante un...
www.gronze.com

When you get to Oloron-Sainte-Marie you continue onto the Arles route to Somport, then the Camino Aragonés.

Camino de Arles | Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

El Camino de Arles, también conocido como Vía Tolosana por atravesar Toulouse, la capital de Occitania, es uno de los cuatro grandes itinerarios jacobeos de Francia. Mencionado ya en el Códice Calixtino (s. XII), con sus grandes hitos en Arles, Saint-Gilles, Montpellier y Toulouse, en la...
www.gronze.com

Camino Aragonés | Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

El Camino Francés por Aragón o Camino Aragonés enlaza el puerto de Somport en la frontera hispano-francesa con la localidad navarra de Puente la Reina, donde se une al Camino Francés procedente de Roncesvalles. El Camino Francés por Aragón debe su origen al Camino de Arles (Vía Tolosana), una de...
www.gronze.com
 
Perambulating Griffin said:
Ok... I'm interested. Do you have an itinerary for the first leg from Lourdes to Oloron?
Click to expand...

I had no guidebook in 2018 -- and relied entirely upon the good services of Amawalkers and the Forum's own sillydoll... (I had made previous visits to Lourdes in 1977 and 1978 for -- well, let's just say "professional reasons." It's a strange and wonderful place!) I don't think that there is a guidebook even today.

Day 1 - Lourdes to Betharram, 17 km.
Day 2 - Betharram to Arudy, 23.4 km
Day 3 - Arudy to Oloron, 23.2 km

Walking through that stretch of southern France was like walking through the Shire.... Absolutely green, and absolutely charming.

 
Last edited:
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Hi Joro
It sounds like you’re still feeling the pull …
For the time you have available - I think the Invierno would make you happy.
Also., in the future ; think about splitting the vdlp into chunks that fit your available time . But walking it (from March if starting at Sevilla. … so that you are part of the moving peregrin@s.
You will be surprised at how good this camino feels and the camaraderie you’ll experience.
From Salamanca…you could look into (research) the camino Torres /gierra combo. It’s one I haven’t walked yet but looks really good.
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
rappahannock_rev said:
Camino Aragones: Lourdes to Oloron, then up over the Somport Pass to Jaca, and from there on to Puente la Reina/Pamplona..... Did it in 2018.... Desperately wish that I could do it again someday!
Click to expand...

I walked the Aragones back in 2005 from Oloron and loved it. Two memorable experiences were being able to sneak in the Can Franc Estación and explore the ruins and a memorable night at the albergue at Eunate. At Eunate, time in the chapel by candlelight, returning to the albergue, and at lights out discovering someone had applied day-glo stars to tge ceiling so we slept under starlight.
 
rappahannock_rev said:
Camino Aragones: Lourdes to Oloron, then up over the Somport Pass to Jaca, and from there on to Puente la Reina/Pamplona..... Did it in 2018.... Desperately wish that I could do it again someday!
Click to expand...
I second Jeffrey's suggestion. For anyone interested in walking historic pilgrimage routes, this one was described in the 12th c Codex Calixtinus. "Three in particular are the pillars of extraordinary usefulness that the Lord has established in this world for the succour of His poor, these being the hospital in Jerusalem, the hospital of Monts Joux (Grand Saint-Bernard pass), and the hospital of St “Christina in Somport.”
 
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So cool someone remembers the albergue at Eunate. I was a hospi there in very early 2007 (freeeezing!) and can well recall those stars on the ceiling!
...also the fun poking around that creepy abandoned train station up on the mountain, I did that in about 2011. Wow has it changed since then!
It's kinda fun, being an old-timer.
 
Congratulations on your adventures! Maybe consider volunteering at one of your favorite albuergues on your favorite route?
 
I think I might have a little idea of how you feel. I went on my last (?) Camino in 2023. I SWORE in 2019 that I would never go back. That was after the Camino de Madrid in August. Felt like it came full circle for me, and maybe it was time for some other journeys. If you think at some point, you might squeeze out one more Canino, look into the Camino Sanabres. It's spectacular, and "up and coming", I think it's going to be a great one in the future (hopefully not too crowded). Start in Zamora (Salamanca if you want to add some more days). It veers off the Via de Plata in La Granja de Moreruela. Trains go direct from Madrid to Zamora (nice 2 day walk to La Granja). You know the Camino will most likely haunt again; we should probably both be ready. Peace, Bob
 

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Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Through your eyes, I am an 'oldtimer.' Through my eyes and through my infused spirit, I am a newborn babe. And since I do not consider myself an 'oldtimer,' please do not call me an 'oldtimer.' It goes against my basic grain.
 
Hi Joro
Like you I’ve been walking the Caminos since 2015 and I’ve decided I want to do one more so next year June -July I’m walking the vdlp, 45 days with a few rest days thrown in so I’ll probably plan 50 days for the whole journey.
 
Ha, who you calling an ol' timer ? So my h'pence worth as you mentioned bikepacking La via de la Plata. Spain has a plethora of biking routes, caminos, via verdes, the Romans, the Moors, so much history; add Portugal and you could enjoy a lifetime of bike touring here. Perhaps, like you, I have no "calling" to travel the Caminos but I enjoy meeting the peregrinos, the scenery and of course the resources the Camino provides. Try some of the lesser known Caminos, go in to Portugal, it's a treasure trove so fill ya boots.

Richard

PS apologies for the British slang but you should understand OK.
 
Camino wristwatch
Perfect memento/gift in a presentation box. Engraving available, 25 character max.
I was sad to read that you no longer hear the Way calling you back. There are so many routes to Santiago but these are just roads and foothpaths. When your calling springs back to life you will know which route you need.
 
San Salvador is wonderful
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
It is a great (as in grand) Camino!

I wouldn't walk in June-July (The first part of this Camino is through the district of Extremadura = Extremely hard...) due to the high/extreme summer temperatures. This is a Camino with many highpoints, as it was a walkway/transport road when Romans reigned in Spain. You will find many traces of Romans along the route, f.ex. in Merida, which was a city for retired Roman legionaires:


So, Merida, Salamanca, and Zamora, are obvious resting days on your walk.

As of current, we have a Forum member who is serving as a hospitalero in the municipal albergue in Salamanca. Read about his adventures here.

I am going to walk it again some day, God and my better half willing...

Buen Camino!
 
You may consider the Via Francigena, Lucca to Rome? Maybe as bikepacking?
Preferably in late September / beginn of October?

Or the very rural and demanding Rennsteig in Thuringia? (best in late Summer, mid August to mid September)

Just my 2cents
 
JoroAtanasof said:
And yes i have other plans for 2025 like TMB and possibly bikepacking ruta de la plata (i don't think of it as camino/pilgimage though ) .
Click to expand...
So you mean Via de La Plata? It’s a wonderful fairly solitary Camino whether on bike or foot. I saw a lot of people on bikes when I walked in 2022.
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
OzAnnie said:
from March if starting at Sevilla
Click to expand...
Curious - possible to start earlier than March for this one? Don't mean to hijack this post, been but this route has tickling the back of my brain and I haven't yet started to look into it yet as I'm focused on my Spring 2025 plans now. But I've been concerned about the heat on this one and wondering how early to start it if walking all the way to Santiago.
 
JoroAtanasof said:
i am quite interested what is your opinion/recommendations about those 3 caminos . Most of the places in your second sentence are memories a part from the cruises
Click to expand...
I suggested them because they are different to what you have already done and I wondered if you were seeking some novelty.
 
A quick question for you. When I stayed there in 2005, in the morning when we came down to find the table set for breakfast, at each place was a small, cloth bag filled with lavender, and the bag had the sello of the albergue. Was that also a regular thing?
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I’m walking the vdlp next year starting in mid June. The expected temperature will be around 30 degrees which to be honest is not that much different to the meseta in July August so I find walking in those temperatures quite comfortable and easy on the muscles.
 
Just a reminder that weather info usually gives average highs and lows. Average high for Sevilla in June is 32C. This year (2022) Sevilla had a high of 42C during the June heatwave.
 
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