doncolin
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Inglés, Plata, Francés, Augusta, Norte, Primitivo, Portugués, Invierno
Based on a walk in May 2019 . . .
Well before you actually walk it, read up on this recently (re)establishedcamino, recognised officially since 2015. Be aware that you won't be able to avail yourself of facilities that exist on more established and more frequented caminos.
Speaking Spanish is very useful on this camino. If not essential.
Accommodation options - whether albergues or hotels - are not yet as regularly spaced as they are on other caminos. Unless you take a tent, you'll need to check out this aspect carefully.
There are few places to stock up with food and drink on this camino and we found only one bar open - in Puente de Domingo Flórez - until we got to the outskirts of Laxe on day 6.The public holiday of day 2 (Friday 17 May) was possibly a factor but it's best to make sure you have food and drink enough for several hours. There wasthough a shop next to the (closed) café in Toral de Morayo on Day 1, where we were able to get stuff for the sandwiches we later ate in Villavieja. Which was a very good move.
You need to be fit to very fit to tackle the climbs on this camino, especially the (beautiful but tough) route via Villavieja up to the Cornatel castle on Day1. If not, you can always go via the easier, shorter option after Santalla. But, on the latter case, you'll miss the fabulous views of the castle above you as you climb up from the N536, through the old mining village of Villavieja.
Even if you are fit, you'll surely benefit from using poles. I would say they are essential for parts of this camino.
In Castilla y León, the direction you walk in is the blunt end of the stylised conch shell on the signs (mojones), whereas in Galicia it's the 'feathered' end. But not always. And near A Laxe, there's a sign with both alternatives on it. Best to go with the direction of the accompanying arrows.
As of May 2019, you'll meet very few other pilgrims until you hit theCamino Sanabrés in Laxe. We saw just 1 in 5 days. But we did see him twice!
Some stretches on this caminopass through narrow, walled lanes in the middle of forests - e. g. from Diamondi down to Belesar. Very beautiful but, personally, I wouldn't like to think of either of my daughters walking these. Not everyone will be as concerned . . .
Consider going up to the mirador(viewpoint) de Orellón,overlookingLas Médulas. Stunning. And don't miss the 500m detour to the secondmirador of Las Pedrices after Las Médulas. Just as impressive, with plenty of information on the Roman mining methods.
Every guide I've read has the road from the Fontela/Fión crossroads northwards towards Belesar via Vilaravides, Vilatiñosa, etc. as the LU-P-5817 but it's actually the LU-P-5807. I have photos of the signs to prove it! Google Maps does have it correctly.
Which reminds me . . .If you're going to use your GPS or Google Maps, you need to know that the name of almost every village you want to know about is duplicated - if not triplicated or even quadruplicated - elsewhere in Galicia. Which can be veryconfusing. Sometimes you can only find one of the others and not the one you want.
Also be aware that city, town and village names can be in either Spanish or Galician. Or be with or without the definite article in Galician. For example:
Orense and Ourense
Laxe and A Laxe
Bandeira and A Bandeira
Once you hit the Camino Sanabrés at Laxe, the rural pongs are strong. And familiar if, like me, you hail from Cheshire in the UK.
Signage is generally very good but we missed a couple of turn-offs between Laxe and Bandeira. And at the entrance to the Polígono Lalín 2000 just before Laxe, when you come out of the woods near the Hotel Spa Norat. Just turn right and head for the large roundabout and the tunnel under the motorway, after which you'll arrive at the Laxealbergue.
The best news I can give you is that my walking colleague Geoff Jones, has produced a very accurate map of this camino, as least for the stretches we walked. Because we had only 7 days and because hotel accommodation was not available everywhere, we sometimes availed ourselves of transport to make sure we could get to Santiago in the time available, while walking a decent distance each day. Here's the link to Geoff's map.
Note:-
- You can, of course, increase or decrease the detail of this map.
- The blue line is the route we followed, where we actually walked. Starting and ending in our hotel/pension/hostel.
- Gaps are where we used my car.
- The brown line is what someone else has put in as the Camino.
- They normally coincide but there were places where we followed the yellow arrows and the path is different from the brown line shown in this map. Geoff theorised that the latter had been drawn up by a cyclist/motor-cyclist. If in doubt, follow the arrows!
- They also briefly deviate where we went wrong . . .
Well before you actually walk it, read up on this recently (re)establishedcamino, recognised officially since 2015. Be aware that you won't be able to avail yourself of facilities that exist on more established and more frequented caminos.
Speaking Spanish is very useful on this camino. If not essential.
Accommodation options - whether albergues or hotels - are not yet as regularly spaced as they are on other caminos. Unless you take a tent, you'll need to check out this aspect carefully.
There are few places to stock up with food and drink on this camino and we found only one bar open - in Puente de Domingo Flórez - until we got to the outskirts of Laxe on day 6.The public holiday of day 2 (Friday 17 May) was possibly a factor but it's best to make sure you have food and drink enough for several hours. There wasthough a shop next to the (closed) café in Toral de Morayo on Day 1, where we were able to get stuff for the sandwiches we later ate in Villavieja. Which was a very good move.
You need to be fit to very fit to tackle the climbs on this camino, especially the (beautiful but tough) route via Villavieja up to the Cornatel castle on Day1. If not, you can always go via the easier, shorter option after Santalla. But, on the latter case, you'll miss the fabulous views of the castle above you as you climb up from the N536, through the old mining village of Villavieja.
Even if you are fit, you'll surely benefit from using poles. I would say they are essential for parts of this camino.
In Castilla y León, the direction you walk in is the blunt end of the stylised conch shell on the signs (mojones), whereas in Galicia it's the 'feathered' end. But not always. And near A Laxe, there's a sign with both alternatives on it. Best to go with the direction of the accompanying arrows.
As of May 2019, you'll meet very few other pilgrims until you hit theCamino Sanabrés in Laxe. We saw just 1 in 5 days. But we did see him twice!
Some stretches on this caminopass through narrow, walled lanes in the middle of forests - e. g. from Diamondi down to Belesar. Very beautiful but, personally, I wouldn't like to think of either of my daughters walking these. Not everyone will be as concerned . . .
Consider going up to the mirador(viewpoint) de Orellón,overlookingLas Médulas. Stunning. And don't miss the 500m detour to the secondmirador of Las Pedrices after Las Médulas. Just as impressive, with plenty of information on the Roman mining methods.
Every guide I've read has the road from the Fontela/Fión crossroads northwards towards Belesar via Vilaravides, Vilatiñosa, etc. as the LU-P-5817 but it's actually the LU-P-5807. I have photos of the signs to prove it! Google Maps does have it correctly.
Which reminds me . . .If you're going to use your GPS or Google Maps, you need to know that the name of almost every village you want to know about is duplicated - if not triplicated or even quadruplicated - elsewhere in Galicia. Which can be veryconfusing. Sometimes you can only find one of the others and not the one you want.
Also be aware that city, town and village names can be in either Spanish or Galician. Or be with or without the definite article in Galician. For example:
Orense and Ourense
Laxe and A Laxe
Bandeira and A Bandeira
Once you hit the Camino Sanabrés at Laxe, the rural pongs are strong. And familiar if, like me, you hail from Cheshire in the UK.
Signage is generally very good but we missed a couple of turn-offs between Laxe and Bandeira. And at the entrance to the Polígono Lalín 2000 just before Laxe, when you come out of the woods near the Hotel Spa Norat. Just turn right and head for the large roundabout and the tunnel under the motorway, after which you'll arrive at the Laxealbergue.
The best news I can give you is that my walking colleague Geoff Jones, has produced a very accurate map of this camino, as least for the stretches we walked. Because we had only 7 days and because hotel accommodation was not available everywhere, we sometimes availed ourselves of transport to make sure we could get to Santiago in the time available, while walking a decent distance each day. Here's the link to Geoff's map.
Note:-
- You can, of course, increase or decrease the detail of this map.
- The blue line is the route we followed, where we actually walked. Starting and ending in our hotel/pension/hostel.
- Gaps are where we used my car.
- The brown line is what someone else has put in as the Camino.
- They normally coincide but there were places where we followed the yellow arrows and the path is different from the brown line shown in this map. Geoff theorised that the latter had been drawn up by a cyclist/motor-cyclist. If in doubt, follow the arrows!
- They also briefly deviate where we went wrong . . .
I must admit that I have never found an open bar between Ponferrada and Las Médulas. Apart from the ones in Toral, I haven't even seen any of them. So my first stop after Ponferrada has always been Las Médulas. (Last year I entered Toral at the same time that the owner came to open, but I decided to push on since it was early).
)
