Ruta de Lana

[intrepidtraveler]

Has anyone in this group walked the Ruta de Lana within recent (last 5) years? If so, would you be willing to share your experience - accommodation, waymarking, weather, etc? Thanks in advance for any insights into this route.

The list of available Camino options seems to be getting longer by the day. I am starting to feel like the proverbial kid in the candy store....

 

[Kanga]

Yes, @peregrina2000, among others. There is a recent thread started by @Bad Pilgrim. There is a whole section of the forum for it - your thread has been moved there. If you get lost but can see this - here is the area:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/camino-de-la-lana.56/

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, intrepidtraveler,
I know exactly what you mean, there are way too many caminos. I have walked only a few days on the Lana. It was part of my journey when I walked the Ebro and connected with the Castellano-Aragonés and from there went on the Lana for a few days to get to Santo Domingo. I have a link that lists stages and some good info. I probably have some other bookmarks on my computer, so I'll check it later for you. http://www.caminosantiago.org/cpperegrino/caminos/caminover.asp?CaminoId=9

Definitely high on the list!

 

[intrepidtraveler]

Yes, @peregrina2000, among others. There is a recent thread started by @Bad Pilgrim. There is a whole section of the forum for it - your thread has been moved there. If you get lost but can see this - here is the area:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/camino-de-la-lana.56/

Thanks, Kanga for setting me straight.

 

[intrepidtraveler]

Hi, intrepidtraveler,
I know exactly what you mean, there are way too many caminos. I have walked only a few days on the Lana. It was part of my journey when I walked the Ebro and connected with the Castellano-Aragonés and from there went on the Lana for a few days to get to Santo Domingo. I have a link that lists stages and some good info. I probably have some other bookmarks on my computer, so I'll check it later for you. http://www.caminosantiago.org/cpperegrino/caminos/caminover.asp?CaminoId=9

Definitely high on the list!

Thank you @peregrina2000 for the link. It looks like there is an opportunity for me to practice my Spanish as well as learn about the Ruta de Lana.

 

[Kanga]

@intrepidtraveler I rely on Google translate for websites in Spanish. Weird results, but I can usually figure out what it means.

 

[Isca-camigo]

Hi I am intending to walk from Benidorm/Vilajoyosa ( they are feeder routes into the main one at Villena) to Cuenca next march, I was going to walk the whole Camino and on to Santiago but decided to do part of another route after Cuenca. The information I could find on this site that is relevant is Bad Pilgrims and FreeScot he has a blog at the top of the Lana site. The Alicante amigos of Camino de Santiago http://www.encaminodesdealicante.org have a free guide with maps, comments on each etapa and it's variants, giving distances, it's quite upto date I think( I have seen a 2016 date on one of the accomodations, which it also lists with telephone numbers), look at the heading 'Other Camino's' ( Otro Camino's') and go on there. Other information I have found which is quite good is a poster on wikiloc called Twin.Astir https://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/user.do?id=537934 he gives the route from Alicante to Cuenca, it not so much the GPS route details he gives but the lengthy comments on each etapa and it's scenery and problems such as ranches which have closed access, he gives alternatives.
It looks a beautiful route, probably the most beautiful part if you start from Alicante is in some sections after Cuenca,probably the gorge if you take the variant to Sigueza and back on the main route the gorge after Retorillio de Soria.

Buen Camino

 

[intrepidtraveler]

@intrepidtraveler I rely on Google translate for websites in Spanish. Weird results, but I can usually figure out what it means.

Thanks, Kanga. Google Translate will undoubtedly be by my side while I navigate this page. In an attempt to have more meaningful interactions on my Camino outings, I have been taking Spanish classes, joined conversation groups, you name it. My retirement age brain is not picking up new languages like it did in years gone by so having a relationship (codependent) with the likes of Google Translate is still a necessity. At best my Spanish language skills might be described as "still evolving."

 

[Kanga]

"Still evolving" - I think that's how I'd describe Google Translate too!

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Has anyone in this group walked the Ruta de Lana within recent (last 5) years? If so, would you be willing to share your experience - accommodation, waymarking, weather, etc? Thanks in advance for any insights into this route.

The list of available Camino options seems to be getting longer by the day. I am starting to feel like the proverbial kid in the candy store....

Hi Intrepidtraveler.

I walked the Lana this year in June-July. Really one of my favourite Caminos. I think I wrote something about it in the Lana section of this Forum. I would definitely do it again. I had some problems with my foot that slowed me down, as well as the weather that was horrible (rain and storm) for several days. I guess it was bad luck. Waymarking was excellent the first weeks but then deteriorated in some regions. Accomodation is quite good but you have to look it up one or two days in advance to be sure to get the cheaper alternatives.

/BP

 

[Isca-camigo]

Hi BP I was reading your posts last year and they probably helped me switch from the Sureste to the Lana. Im going to be walking from Alicante on the 9th March, I was going to cut it short at Cuenca and move on to the Madrid but decided to tough it out on the tracks after Cuenca. I know you have said some paths would be impassable after rain because of mud and I have seen it written elsewhere, do you remember which sections they are and what the alternative was?

Mike

Ps the rains not too bad in March historically but if it's been a cold winter who knows?

 

[intrepidtraveler]

Hi Intrepidtraveler.

I walked the Lana this year in June-July. Really one of my favourite Caminos. I think I wrote something about it in the Lana section of this Forum. I would definitely do it again. I had some problems with my foot that slowed me down, as well as the weather that was horrible (rain and storm) for several days. I guess it was bad luck. Waymarking was excellent the first weeks but then deteriorated in some regions. Accomodation is quite good but you have to look it up one or two days in advance to be sure to get the cheaper alternatives.

What a coincidence. The other evening I spent time watching some YouTube videos of the Ruta de Lana. The next morning, there in my inbox, is the notification about your post on the Ruta de Lana. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Just a few more questions if you have a chance to reply....

It looks like you walked some seriously long days - 35-40kms. Was that by choice or was it necessary to find food/lodging? You also made a comment about the alternative routes not being noted in the guidebook which cost you some detours - where can I get this info in advance? Any issues with landowners closing off access to the route? I seem to recall this being an issue in years gone by.

Still trying to decide between the RdL and the Aragones-Frances-Salvador-Primitivo combo....

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hi again,

I will come back later to give you detailed info... I don't have it all within reach right now... What I can say right away is that the 35-40 kms was by choice: there are quite good options to divide the stages in much shorter segments if you want. It's just that there is a wide range of accomodations: from sports halls (free) to albergues (average price) or casas rurales (very expensive). If you are on a budget, the places to stay become fewer of course. The alternative routes, yes: I will go back to check on that in my notes. And there is one part where you have to go through a number of fences on private property, which I wouldn't have been able to get through if the owner hadn't come by to help me with the locks. And there were fences surrounding the path so you are kind of in a trap... Okay I will go back to get the exact names of those places...

Byyye

/BP

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Intrepidtraveler.

I walked the Lana this year in June-July. Really one of my favourite Caminos. I think I wrote something about it in the Lana section of this Forum. I would definitely do it again. I had some problems with my foot that slowed me down, as well as the weather that was horrible (rain and storm) for several days. I guess it was bad luck. Waymarking was excellent the first weeks but then deteriorated in some regions. Accomodation is quite good but you have to look it up one or two days in advance to be sure to get the cheaper alternatives.

/BP

They say good things come in threes. BP is back on after a long absence, and @Dave and @Kevin F. O*brien made a reappearance in the last few days, so there must be something about the end of the year that makes people want to reconnect with their forum friends! So glad to see all of you back here. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Okay, so I went back to the maps on the thread

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/guidebook-of-the-lana-advice-needed.47063/

to revive my journey last summer... Have you found the guide for the stages of the Lana there? The maps and directions are excellent, but some of the phone numbers are inaccurate and some albergues/hostels don't exist anymore. I made a choice not to take note of the changes, so unfortunately I cannot publish an update on this.

Anyway, the point where I thought I went wrong was in Mandayona where there is an alternative. The two stages are called Mandayona-Siguenza and Mandayona-Atienza and are perfectly indicated as two different stages in the maps on the thread above (in two separate maps). I thought I was lost but I was actually following one of them... Because of the lack of waymarking I got worried, backtracked and added 2 hours to that day's walk. That is where my foot problem began... Oh well. And it so happens that the stage between Mandayona and Atienza also was the one that was practically impossible to push through because of the mud: rural tracks 100 % for the first few kms. And it was the same stage where I had to climb over a fence because I couldn't figure out how to get the gate open, and then got help from the landowner herself concerning another gate. The last 7 kms into Atienza were also horrible - but beautiful of course - on a muddy path in the woods. My little foot was finito after that... And there was at least one place in between to divide the stage in two.

That said, I think that any stage on the Lana becomes difficult in or after rain since there is a lot of rural tracks. I don't think it had to do with the Mandayona-Atienza stage in particular. And perhaps it was my fault I didn't figure out how to open those gates. I haven't heard about it being a problem for other Laners out there!

/BP

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

They say good things come in threes. BP is back on after a long absence, and @Dave and @Kevin F. O*brien made a reappearance in the last few days, so there must be something about the end of the year that makes people want to reconnect with their forum friends! So glad to see all of you back here. Buen camino, Laurie

Hi again Laurie,

I am so happy to be back on the Forum and to hear from you all. Well it's the Mozárabe for me this summer, fingers crossed, and as usual I will go around June 22! I think I read that you will walk the Mozárabe in April...? If everything goes as planned, and I don't damage my feet as last year, if you remember, I will then take a bus or train (?) from Mérida to Ponferrada and also walk the Invierno, a second time. That was what I wanted to do last year, before my plans were thwarted...

Will you walk the Mozárabe from Almería?

I found what seems to be two excellent guides on

http://www.jacobeo.net/compartida/guia-mozarabe2017.pdf
http://caminomozarabedesantiago.es/documentos/guia-esp.pdf

so I won't have to hunt for or send for a guide from abroad this year.

Please tell me more about your plans for Spring/Summer!

/BP

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hi BP I was reading your posts last year and they probably helped me switch from the Sureste to the Lana. Im going to be walking from Alicante on the 9th March, I was going to cut it short at Cuenca and move on to the Madrid but decided to tough it out on the tracks after Cuenca. I know you have said some paths would be impassable after rain because of mud and I have seen it written elsewhere, do you remember which sections they are and what the alternative was?

Mike

Ps the rains not too bad in March historically but if it's been a cold winter who knows?

Hi Mike,

Read my response to Intrepidtraveler above, about the mud...

I am glad you will discover the Lana; I prefer this one to the Sureste, if I had to choose!

Will you write about it on the Forum while you are there?

/BP

 

[intrepidtraveler]

Okay, so I went back to the maps on the thread

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/guidebook-of-the-lana-advice-needed.47063/

to revive my journey last summer... Have you found the guide for the stages of the Lana there? The maps and directions are excellent, but some of the phone numbers are inaccurate and some albergues/hostels don't exist anymore. I made a choice not to take note of the changes, so unfortunately I cannot publish an update on this.

Anyway, the point where I thought I went wrong was in Mandayona where there is an alternative. The two stages are called Mandayona-Siguenza and Mandayona-Atienza and are perfectly indicated as two different stages in the maps on the thread above (in two separate maps). I thought I was lost but I was actually following one of them... Because of the lack of waymarking I got worried, backtracked and added 2 hours to that day's walk. That is where my foot problem began... Oh well. And it so happens that the stage between Mandayona and Atienza also was the one that was practically impossible to push through because of the mud: rural tracks 100 % for the first few kms. And it was the same stage where I had to climb over a fence because I couldn't figure out how to get the gate open, and then got help from the landowner herself concerning another gate. The last 7 kms into Atienza were also horrible - but beautiful of course - on a muddy path in the woods. My little foot was finito after that... And there was at least one place in between to divide the stage in two.

That said, I think that any stage on the Lana becomes difficult in or after rain since there is a lot of rural tracks. I don't think it had to do with the Mandayona-Atienza stage in particular. And perhaps it was my fault I didn't figure out how to open those gates. I haven't heard about it being a problem for other Laners out there!

/BP

Thanks so much for your thorough information, BP. Back in time @peregrino2000 posted a link to a Lana guide which I have skimmed over but not looked at in detail but will do so soon. May will be here before you know it.

 

[Isca-camigo]

Hi Mike,

Read my response to Intrepidtraveler above, about the mud...

I am glad you will discover the Lana; I prefer this one to the Sureste, if I had to choose!

Will you write about it on the Forum while you are there?

/BP

Hi BP thanks for the response, hopefully Mandayona to Atienza will not be a problem for me because I intend to go to Siguenza, which goes down the canyon of the Rio Dulce, the problem for me is then getting from Siguenza to Atienza which is give as 37km stage, the profile for it has a lot of sharp up and downs, and have seen written it's a bit of a tough one with no intermediate stops, but by chance I came across a website for an artist collective at the 17km point, so might contact them to see if there is another option.

I did have plans to write details about each stage, I have walked a few routes which have not had publicity on here, but apart from questions from other posters have not bothered to give details, with this one I was quite keen for some reason on giving info, but then I saw the KFOBrien post last week about possibly him doing a guide so I may go back to my usual way of just immersing myself in the walk without any other distractions.


Mike