Three new albergues on the Mozárabe

[AlanSykes]

There will be three new albergues open on the camino from Almería over the next few weeks. A municipal one opens in Abla this weekend

https://www.facebook.com/Caminomoza...267891324163/1054258381325114/?type=3&theater

Then there's another new one just opened in Alcaracejos

http://caminomozarabe.es/inaugurada-la-casa-del-peregrino-albergue-municipal-en-alcaracejos/

And a (donativo) private one is due to open in Alcaudete próximamente (preferably before I pass by in October)

http://jaenjacobea.es/alcaudete-tendra-casa-acogida-peregrinos-proximamente/

I'd better get myself out there before the bed race starts.

 

[peregrina2000]

Well, I swore I wasn't going to walk another one of these long and solitary caminos, but if you're going to go for it, I am tempted to follow once again in your footsteps. I know you'll be going in autumn, do you think mid May is too late to start?

 

[AlanSykes]

Well, I swore I wasn't going to walk another one of these long and solitary caminos, but if you're going to go for it, I am tempted to follow once again in your footsteps. I know you'll be going in autumn, do you think mid May is too late to start?

I don't think I could cope with the heat - maximum temperature where I live so far this year is 26C. One year I hope to arrange my lambing so I can leave Seville as the almonds start to flower - apparently spring moves north at roughly walking pace, so I would have a whole month of the first day of spring, en principe.

 

[peregrina2000]

I don't think I could cope with the heat - maximum temperature where I live so far this year is 26C. One year I hope to arrange my lambing so I can leave Seville as the almonds start to flower - apparently spring moves north at roughly walking pace, so I would have a whole month of the first day of spring, en principe.

How many days do you estimate, Almeria to Santiago?

 

[AlanSykes]

How many days do you estimate, Almeria to Santiago?

If all goes well, I hoped I could do Cabo de Gata to Fisterra (c1600km) in 60 days, detouring via Guadalupe.

 

[Carel5]

How many days do you estimate, Almeria to Santiago?

It took me 27 days from Almeria to Merida, and there you are not yet halfway.

 

[Carel5]

There will be three new albergues open on the camino from Almería over the next few weeks. A municipal one opens in Abla this weekend

https://www.facebook.com/Caminomoza...267891324163/1054258381325114/?type=3&theater

Then there's another new one just opened in Alcaracejos

http://caminomozarabe.es/inaugurada-la-casa-del-peregrino-albergue-municipal-en-alcaracejos/

And a (donativo) private one is due to open in Alcaudete próximamente (preferably before I pass by in October)

http://jaenjacobea.es/alcaudete-tendra-casa-acogida-peregrinos-proximamente/

I'd better get myself out there before the bed race starts.

Here the news of the opening of the Abla albergue. Abla was the only town between Almeria and Granada without albergue.

The lady in the red dress is Mercedes Murillo, the driving force of the Amigos in Almeria.

http://almeria360.com/sociedad/3107...inos-del-camino-mozarabe-santiago_144021.html

 

[amancio]

I don't think I could cope with the heat - maximum temperature where I live so far this year is 26C. One year I hope to arrange my lambing so I can leave Seville as the almonds start to flower - apparently spring moves north at roughly walking pace, so I would have a whole month of the first day of spring, en principe.

haha! that is a weird theory... there are not so many almond trees in the Seville area. I live in the mountains in Granada and the almond blossoming time is beginning of February (a lot earlier than that near the coast), that would be too cold and wet to go anywhere in my opinion. I would say the best time to leave Almería would probably be end of March, you have to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains and reach altitudes over 1000 meter above sea level, you might even get snow. Once you leave Alcalá la Real and enter the Guadalquivir river valley, temperatures go a lot milder, but up to then, you have a lot of mountain, I am afraid....

Laurie, mid may would be too late in my opinion, it will be quite hot, mid may is ideal for high mountain caminos like Salvador or Vadiniense, because snow is gone by then and spring is all over the place. For the Via de la Plata, starting in Seville, I find beginning of April is just ideal, and even so you will still have cold days once you come to the meseta in Calzada de Béjar.

If you come around Granada, give us a shout, will be very happy to be of any assistance (or have a beer with you)

 

[Carel5]

I would say the best time to leave Almería would probably be end of March, you have to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains and reach altitudes over 1000 meter above sea level, you might even get snow. Once you leave Alcalá la Real and enter the Guadalquivir river valley, temperatures go a lot milder, but up to then, you have a lot of mountain, I am afraid....

Laurie, mid may would be too late in my opinion, it will be quite hot, mid may is ideal for high mountain caminos like Salvador or Vadiniense, because snow is gone by then and spring is all over the place. For the Via de la Plata, starting in Seville, I find beginning of April is just ideal, and even so you will still have cold days once you come to the meseta in Calzada de Béjar.

I agree with Amancio. I left Almeria on 2 April It was still cold in the mountains and I was glad that the albergues had small heaters. But the temperature during the day was very good for walking. Starting in March or early April, you reach indeed the plains before the heat waves of the summer.

 

[peregrina2000]

haha! that is a weird theory... there are not so many almond trees in the Seville area. I live in the mountains in Granada and the almond blossoming time is beginning of February (a lot earlier than that near the coast), that would be too cold and wet to go anywhere in my opinion. I would say the best time to leave Almería would probably be end of March, you have to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains and reach altitudes over 1000 meter above sea level, you might even get snow. Once you leave Alcalá la Real and enter the Guadalquivir river valley, temperatures go a lot milder, but up to then, you have a lot of mountain, I am afraid....

Laurie, mid may would be too late in my opinion, it will be quite hot, mid may is ideal for high mountain caminos like Salvador or Vadiniense, because snow is gone by then and spring is all over the place. For the Via de la Plata, starting in Seville, I find beginning of April is just ideal, and even so you will still have cold days once you come to the meseta in Calzada de Béjar.

If you come around Granada, give us a shout, will be very happy to be of any assistance (or have a beer with you)

This is not what I wanted to hear, Amancio. I cannot leave town till May 7 at the earliest, and could be walking on May 9. Maybe I'll have to go back to Ray y Rosa's map and find a more northerly route -- there are lots I want to walk, like the Baztan, Vasco Interior, Portugues Interior, but it's hard to figure out how to string them together. Maybe I should head back to the Olvidado -- Ender has told me that he is now putting a lot of his efforts into the Olvidado and that new albergues are popping up, do you know anything about that? Buen camino, Laurie

 

[amancio]

Hi, Laurie, well, Ender is your man, he is always around for anything you need!

They are starting to promote the Olvidado, and I think it would be ideal for that time of the year.


OTherwise, you can always go North and try to combine different caminos, like




norte
lebaniego
vadiniense
salvador
primitivo

or

norte
lebaniego
vadiniense
francés
invierno
sanabrés

or even

Madrid
vadiniense
lebaniego
norte
primitivo

etc...

my goodness, there are SO MANY combinations now!

the vadiniense is pretty well marked to follow either way, from León to Potes should be easy enough to follow

May is fine for the meseta too

From Almeria to Granada May would be fine, but crossing cordoba, extremadura and the meseta in june would be pretty much hell, I am afraid.

I always try to pick my caminos as per the time of the year; I have seen snow fall in Salvador in May, and at the end of April in Burgos.


But, as I said, Ender is your man, indeed!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Laurie, well, Ender is your man, he is always around for anything you need!

They are starting to promote the Olvidado, and I think it would be ideal for that time of the year.

OTherwise, you can always go North and try to combine different caminos, like

Thanks for those suggestions, but I've walked all of those routes, so think up some more!!!!!

But more seriously, Amancio, do you think that I could start around May 8 in either Granada or Malaga? That seems like I might stay ahead of most of the blistering weather. Buen camino, and thanks, Laurie

 

[amancio]

Laurie, I did imagine you would have already visited all those caminos! Even the olvidado?

if you leave Granada or Málaga by the 8th of may, you would have hot days for about three weeks, then once you are in the meseta you should be ok, the passage through Extremadura will be hot, but it should be bearable, I guess. It is always hard to find the right dates, I myself am currently trying to find a week off to go the camino in a couple of weeks, considering Salvador or Primitivo... Buen camino, compañera!

 

[peregrina2000]

Laurie, I did imagine you would have already visited all those caminos! Even the olvidado?

if you leave Granada or Málaga by the 8th of may, you would have hot days for about three weeks, then once you are in the meseta you should be ok, the passage through Extremadura will be hot, but it should be bearable, I guess. It is always hard to find the right dates, I myself am currently trying to find a week off to go the camino in a couple of weeks, considering Salvador or Primitivo... Buen camino, compañera!

Hi, Amancio,
I walked the Olvidado in 2014, but I would be happy to go back, especially now that Ender is working his magic! (If others are interested, Susanna and I did a little guide and it's in the Resources section and on the organization's website -- http://www.elcaminoolvidado.com/Camino Olvidado Guide.pdf
But it may need a good bit of updating in a year or so.

Anyway, back to the Mozarabe, I am leaning towards a Granada or Malaga start around May 8 or 9 -- any suggestions about which of the two starting points I should choose? I know magwood has a great blog from Malaga, but I do love Granada! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[amancio]

uhmmm.... Granada or Málaga, each has its own advantages, Málaga is a very attractive city, while in Granada you will find a lot more mountains and cooler weather for a couple of days, that is the main difference. Another thing is, you can join Via de la Plata in Mérida, or else take a "shortcut" through Monfragüe national park and join the VdlP near Aldeanueva del Camino, nearly in Salamanca, you shorten the way by 87 km.

In Godesalco you find this

En cualquier caso, si vienes de Córdoba, atento a la alternativa que nos propone el peregrino José-Antonio Ortega Ruiz, y que desviándose del Camino oficial desde Campanario o Magacela (Badajoz) hasta Aldeanueva del Camino (Cáceres), nos promete ahorrarnos 89 buenos kilómetros, al tiempo que nos hace pasar por lugares de tanto valor patrimonial y natural como Trujillo, Plasencia, el Parque Natural de Monfragüe y varias cañadas reales. Puedes leer la pequeña guía que ha preparado oecharle un vistazo al mapa.

which means "In any case, if you are coming from Cordoba, consider the alternative way suggested by pilgrim José Antonio Ortega Ruiz. It diverts from the official in Campanario or Magacela (Badajoz) and rejoins it in Aldeanueva del Camino (Cáceres), it promises to be a 89 km shortcut and also brings us to important legacy and culture places like Trujillo, Plasencia, Monfragüe National Park or several cattle ways. You can read his short guide here

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FtVkSjsyLhW7PLm8okH4SL4eweE8WLf2Ka_kvtMdWhg/edit?pref=2&pli=1

(it is in Spanish, but that should not be a problem for you, I believe)

There is also a map that clearly shows how this alternative makes a lot more sense than going down to Mérida and will also save you 3 or 4 hot days in Extremadura. Besides, Monfragüe National Park must be impressive


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-eRIyNLnPQ9MS1BUXl1SllSSDg/view?pref=2&pli=1

I take notice of the Olvidado, will call Ender and see how it looks for maybe next year or in a couple of years.

Un abrazo, Laurie, if you eventually choose Granada (and I am at home as opposed to in the Camino), give us a shout and we will go for tapas.