Taking the Invierno off the road

[peregrina2000]

Today’s Diario de León reports that the Xunta is going to allocate 40 million euros to improve the trails on the Invierno, with the goal of taking the camino off the road.

The Xunta has done a study designating all of the stretches where the Camino goes along the side of roads, whether they are provincial, regional or national.

How this will be done is anyone’s guess, and it is not described in the article. But given the Xunta’s track record, I think it’s likely that they will be putting in off road asphalt or crushed gravel paths. I hope that I am wrong. That would be safer maybe, and safety is important, but not what most pilgrims would prefer. I am hoping that the Camino Associations in the area will be involved in the process and that something will be done other than turning the Invierno into a 150 km stretch of paved via verde paths.

 

[VNwalking]

May they not ruin it.

 

[Kiwi-family]

That adds a sense of urgency to walk this route before it happens

 

[peregrina2000]

That adds a sense of urgency to walk this route before it happens

Yes, 40 million euros for “trail improvements” over the approximately 120 kms of the Invierno that are in Galicia seems very ominous.

 

[unadara]

I haven’t walked the Invierno yet! But this week they are “improving” the forest path from Pendes to Potes.

 

[peregrina2000]

We’ve had many discussions on the forum about this phenomenon, but since the forum upgrade seems to have messed with the search function, I can’t post links here. Basically, people with far more knowledge than I about trails tell me that this is not the preferred way to maintain trails in the natural environment. I think almost every unpaved inch of a camino in Galicia is improved along these lines, but your picture, @unadara, shows that the trend is spreading east!

The one small solace is that as the years pass, the trail darkens in color and gets a layer of more natural material above it, but it is still not like walking on a real earthen trail.

 

[JustOneGuy]

I haven’t walked walked it yet! But this week they are “improving” the forest path from Pendes to Potes.

Is this what you mean, @peregrina2000, when you say "crushed gravel" (see the photo)?

I am used to infrastructure "improvements" in Spain, and I agree that they often have quite confused ideas about it...

However, I am also used to the fact that in Spain it is one thing to allocate funds, and another to DO the works. Just the process of apply for the permits and making the tender usually takes YEARS. So you have plenty of time to make your own way without this kind of ugliness...

 

[peregrina2000]

Is this what you mean, @peregrina2000, when you say "crushed gravel" (see the photo)?

Yes, @unadara’s picture is a great example of how the camino is usually improved by the government. The word in Spanish is hormigón.

 

[Tincatinker]

The fairly recent protests in Galicia are placed firmly in context here. Just imagine what €40,000,000 might do for local communities rather than spending it on keeping Peregrinos trail runners out of the mud or the roadside fag packets. If Turismo de Galicia’s idea of keeping Peregrinos safe is represented by that stretch of Autopista Peregrino paralleling the AP-9 into Sigüeiro on the Inglés…. May the gods protect the Invierno from Turismo de Galicia

 

[unadara]

The reason I took the photo is because one of my friends is a manager in Irish Cement and I was sending it home asking would it ever catch on in Ireland. We love our forest trails and hate it when they are upgraded to allow trucks in for felling. But I literally stopped and stared as I could not believe how difficult it was to descend on it. To spend public money in this way is shameful. As we say at home How many people asked for this? Probably none.

 

[domigee]

The fairly recent protests in Galicia are placed firmly in context here. Just imagine what €40,000,000 might do for local communities rather than spending it on keeping Peregrinos trail runners out of the mud or the roadside fag packets. If Turismo de Galicia’s idea of keeping Peregrinos safe is represented by that stretch of Autopista Peregrino paralleling the AP-9 into Sigüeiro on the Inglés…. May the gods protect the Invierno from Turismo de Galicia

I saw graffiti in a small village on the Invierno a few weeks ago, I wish I had taken a picture. Basically it said ‘shame on you, the authorities (listing the various ‘authorities’), putting all this money on the camino which doesn’t need it but letting our villages go to absolute ruin.
You ARE guilty.’
It was poignant.

 

[peregrina2000]

The search function is working again, so I thought I’d post a link to a thread on similar improvements on the Primitivo. And there was quite a lively discussion. 140 posts, no less!

 

[LTfit]

So terribly sad to see. Take a Camino stage off the shoulder of a highway yes, but please don't "improve" dirt paths through forests and farmland. That picture @unadara says it all .

That huge some of money could be much better allocated and actually benefit the pilgrim and local population. It really baffles me how the Xunta gets away with these "improvements".

This reminds me how I felt the morning of the climb after leaving Castrojeriz and seeing a "yellow brick road" (cement slabs) lay before me during the entire decent. This was in 2018 and was for me the second time walking the Francés from Sjpd to Santiago. In 2010 it was just a dirt path, not in the least dangerous. In the Basque region I had also witnessed some "improvements" and couldn't understand why a cement path was warranted on a flat section in the woods. And of course we all know what has happened to Foncebadón.

The pilgrim community can mobilize to make changes or actually avoid them, we've seen that with the Cruz de Hierro but too often it is a fait accompli.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I know the Invierno numbers are stepping up (no pun), but it seems at a slow rate. I know its exposure is partially in trying to divert some of the the Sarria crowds to the Invierno. Having just walked a large part of it, I don't see how trail "improvements" will lure many more pilgrims, especially first timers, to this much less traveled route unless funds for more infrastructure are added, which would help newbies feel more confident to consider walking it. I never would have walked it on my first Camino.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

That huge some of money could be much better allocated and actually benefit the pilgrim and local population. It really baffles me how the Xunta gets away with these "improvements".

I agree!

 

[Robo]

Is there no 'user ' or 'market' input on this ?
What a waste of money.
Hopefully we won't see paved or concrete surfaces like on other 'improved' sections elsewhere.
Might as well walk on the road......
Asphalt is probably softer on the feet!

Maybe someone has a friend with a construction business?

Might be time for a petition! Before the Bulldozers move in.

 

[Robo]

Today’s Diario de León reports that the Xunta is going to allocate 40 million euros to improve the trails on the Invierno, with the goal of taking the camino off the road.

The Xunta has done a study designating all of the stretches where the Camino goes along the side of roads, whether they are provincial, regional or national.

How this will be done is anyone’s guess, and it is not described in the article. But given the Xunta’s track record, I think it’s likely that they will be putting in off road asphalt or crushed gravel paths. I hope that I am wrong. That would be safer maybe, and safety is important, but not what most pilgrims would prefer. I am hoping that the Camino Associations in the area will be involved in the process and that something will be done other than turning the Invierno into a 150 km stretch of paved via verde paths.

Interesting article.
Whilst there is a fair bit of road walking on the Invierno, I'm struggling to recall any that was not on very minor roads with almost no traffic. Mostly I might see 3-4 cars a day.....on those minor roads.

Maybe 3 or 4 places of 2-3 kms it was busier, on larger roads? if that.
Maybe my memory is fading? it was 18 months ago!
Or perhaps I was just enjoying it too much.

Better get to these routes fast folks before they "pave paradise, and put up a parking lot"

 

[Tincatinker]

Yes, 40 million euros for “trail improvements” over the approximately 120 kms of the Invierno that are in Galicia seems very ominous.

That comes in at €333 / metre (€266/m if you accept the Junta's 150km).
Are they proposing Axminster carpet with a shell pattern in gold thread?

 

[peregrina2000]

That comes in at €333 / metre. Are they proposing Axminster carpet with a shell pattern in gold thread?

It reminds me of what they did when they put in a bridge over the river a few km before Lires on the route from Muxia to Finisterre (or a few km after Lires on the route from Finisterre to Muxia). For those of you who remember, there used to be “stepping stones” over the river. It was not a death-defying crossing, but the stones were frequently submerged up to knee height, and they were placed so far apart that it was extremely difficult for all but the most fleet-footed to cross. I did it once and was stunned that I didn’t fall in.

Well, the Xunta saw the problem, and they built a bridge. A bridge with a several hundred meter stone paved access, and a bridge that would probably withstand hurricane Milton.

Picture of the old stone crossing here. They only spent € 250,000 on the bridge, though, a mere drop in the budget in comparison to what they are going to do to the Invierno. You can see a picture of the concrete bridge here. It is truly ridiculous to think that someone would see that construction as the solution for a bunch of peregrinos who want to cross safely. Ender and his friends built a little wooden pedestrian bridge on the Salvador and it cost in the hundreds of euros!

 

[isawtman]

It's obvious that the Xunta must think the Frances will be overcrowded and people will have to do the Invierno. The Frances being overcrowded has been much discussed on this forum and perhaps the authorities have taken note.

 

[Liica]

The fairly recent protests in Galicia are placed firmly in context here. Just imagine what €40,000,000 might do for local communities rather than spending it on keeping Peregrinos trail runners out of the mud or the roadside fag packets. If Turismo de Galicia’s idea of keeping Peregrinos safe is represented by that stretch of Autopista Peregrino paralleling the AP-9 into Sigüeiro on the Inglés…. May the gods protect the Invierno from Turismo de Galicia

I,ve been stupid enough to divide 40Mio for 150kms

 

[Tincatinker]

It's obvious that the Xunta must think the Frances will be overcrowded and people will have to do the Invierno. The Frances being overcrowded has been much discussed on this forum and perhaps the authorities have taken note.

If the Xunta want to reduce numbers on the Frances all they have to do is dig up the senda and put the mud back…

 

[KariannNor]

the senda

And it is?

 

[Tincatinker]

The hammered limestone surfaced trackways, the autopista peregrinos. See @unadara ’s photo at #5

 

[isawtman]

If the Xunta want to reduce numbers on the Frances all they have to do is dig up the senda and put the mud back…

I don't think they are wanting to reduce the numbers on the Frances. They are just making sure there is an alternative if the numbers on the Frances continue to climb.

 

[domigee]

Think also of what they did on the way to Finisterre!

 

[VNwalking]

They are just making sure there is an alternative if the numbers on the Frances continue to climb.

There already is one, and they wat to ruin it. No comment.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I haven’t walked the Invierno yet! But this week they are “improving” the forest path from Pendes to Potes.

View attachment 178826

There's similar now on the first climb after the reservoir by Logroño on the Francès, wasn't there in 2022.

I actually don't mind it at that particular spot, as the original surface was pretty dodgy, and they have put down better resting spots than those that existed previously. Further along from there, multiple new motorway routes have ruined things far more extensively.

Putting down a surface like that on some persistently wet and muddy spots can be a good thing, and also making parallel trails to get people off the tarmac.

That stuff is better than the ribbed concrete "improvements" of decades past ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

This reminds me how I felt the morning of the climb after leaving Castrojeriz and seeing a "yellow brick road" (cement slabs) lay before me during the entire decent. This was in 2018 and was for me the second time walking the Francés from Sjpd to Santiago. In 2010 it was just a dirt path, not in the least dangerous.

At that precise point, I think that's not a Camino "improvement", but rather work done for the benefit of local farmers and their machinery.

 

[trecile]

And it is?

Senda is the Spanish word for path.