Walking the Aragones Route in Spring

[anitahle]

Hi All,

I've walked 2/3 of the Camino Frances last fall and would like to return to walk the entire Aragones route this spring. I was hoping to hit the trail as soon as possible, by mid-march at the latest.

Has anyone walked this route around this time who is willing to give me some insight? I am most interested in weather and road condition, albuerges/refugios closures, etc.

Greatly appreciate any and all insights and tips.

Grateful pilgrim,
anita (from CA, USA)

 

[jstys]

Hi Anita:

I walked the Aragones in early April last year. I started at the French/Spanish border in Somport. I flew from the US to Madrid, highspeed train to Zaragoza, bus to Jaca and then short ride on local bus to Somport.

The epicopal museum in Jace is really exceptional.

Trail was well marked, plenty of albuergues and bars. Spain had a 'cold Spring' last year. It got really windy and rainy when I met up with the Camino Frances. I didn't have much rain and only remember one very muddy spot.

I did end up finding a very good desciption of the whole route with albuergue information at the Tourist Office in Jaca. I ended up using that as my main source of information.

If you like Romanesque architecture, I recommend making side trip to the monestaries of San Juan de la Pena and Monestary of Leyre. Both are outstanding but you'll need to do some advanced planning as both are about (from what I can remember) 10-15 kilometers off the official route. Both have tourist accomedations and resturants. I spent the night at Leyre - which I really enjoyed. The hospitalero in Santa Catalina (?) drove me to San Juan and I foolishly decided to walk down only to experience rain, sleet and then a heavy snow.

You'll probobly see few pilgrims during the day. There were probobly 6-8 of us per night in the albuegues.

Let me know if I can help out with any other questions.

Jeff

 

[sillydoll]

A pilgrim who walked in April in 2009 (the same year I walked the Aragones in June) sent me a report on his walk.

http://2009pilgrims.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... gones.html

 

[anitahle]

Thank you for the encouragement and leads. Onward and toward with the research and planning. I may hit you up for more info. Thank you. anita

 

[camino07]

I wish you well on your walk,Anita. Would love to hear how it goes and if you come across any problems. I too will be walking the Aragones beginning 5th May. I hope the path will be repaired where there was an avalanche last year. Looking forward to getting on the road again....
Heather

 

[Alan Pearce]

The photo to the right of this post was taken at Somport Pass on April 7th 2008. It was still ski season then, and to follow the yellow arrows rather than take the safety of the road, I had to walk on frozen snow for about 1km until I descended below the snow line. The night of April 6th was below zero, and it was VERY chilly when I started walking.

buen camino

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

 

[naplesdon]

I can see the Pyrennes from my apartment and there is still snow on the tops of some of the mountains as of 26 mars. Whether or not you are aware this year has been the wettest winter in everyone's memory in Basque Country, rain is still forecast for the entire week before Easter and the temperatures are chilly. Good luck.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I walked in May last year from Lourdes. Here is a link to my blog.

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2012/05/lourdes-again.html

You can click "Newer Posts" to work your way forward to your beginning point.

Even though I walked a month later, you may find some good information. Feel free to PM me if you have questions, or post them on the blog.

I absolutely love this route and have walked it three times now. The other two times were in the Fall but now my favorite time is Spring and I hope to walk it again! The wildflowers were just spectacular and the walking weather perfect.

I guess if I had one piece of advice, it would be to take the BUS that goes from Jaca to San Juan de Pena. It is round trip, if you like. The trail to that monastery is dangerously rough, and if you take the bus round trip, you can begin walking the next day from Jaca to Santa Celia.

Since I had walked that route before, I walked down the mountain from the monastery directly to Santa Celia. That was about half on roadside, but still lovely. The first half, however, was down a steep rocky mountain, so if it's raining or snowing, I'd suggest you take the bus back to Jaca and stick to the trail.

There is a wonderful place to stay in Jaca called Casa Mamre. It is just a little more expensive than the municipal but well worth it. The priest there is wonderful and the meal is excellent. He can give you information on the bus and he will most likely let you stay two nights.

Also, at that time of year, I can not recommend Pepito Grillo in Canfranc. The man who owns it refuses to turn on the heat and it was snowing! It was like a huge refrigerator! Please do yourself a favor and pay for private lodging there.

On the other hand, Santa Celia, Arres, and Ruesta are not to be missed! I especially love Ruesta, and it's worth the walk, in my opinion! You can book ahead there online if you like.

Enjoy the walk!
I'm jealous! I want to go with you! ::laughing::
Let me know if you have any questions.
Annie

 

[nospacebar14]

I agree with Annie, Ruesta and Arres are not to be missed!

You can follow the road, too, from the old San Juan de La Pena monastery down to the town below. This is a few extra KMs but is much less rough. I had to walk it by starlight after overestimating the availability of lodging on the Camino Catalan, but that's a whole different story.