- Time of past OR future Camino
- Aragon/CF 08, Arles 10, Le Puy 12, Geneva 14, VdlP 15, Norte/Primitivo 15, VF 17, Levante 18, Moz 19
Camino Olvidado: Bilbao to Congosto (near Ponferrada)
In preparing for this walk, I felt overwhelmed by the multiple sources of information and found sorting through it challenging. Much of it was from the pre-pandemic era. The multiple variants add to the complexity. Also, much of the information was oriented more towards private accommodations, rather than albergues, and was written by pilgrims who walk longer distances than I do.
So in the hopes of making it easier for others, here are my stages, and a few comments. I walked October 12 - November 3; 2022; 23 days. I used the orange Camino app for basic information. I used the Buen Camino Wise Pilgrim app for my map with GPS to prevent straying from the trail, and enderjace Wikilocs on occasion. I used the 2014 Susanne Scherman/Laurie Reynolds guide for some basics, as well as the 2019 Confraternity of Saint James guide by Roger Brankin. And I used Jose Antonia Cunarro’s (Ender’) guide. I don’t use Facebook very well and perhaps for that reason, did not find the Olvidado facebook sites useful. The most useful and recent guide to accommodations was notes by Omicko and the 3 page handwritten notes by AshireGal referenced on this Ivar site.
Unfortunately I had stormy, rainy, and extremely windy weather for parts of the walk, which meant I did not take mountain variants as I had planned: stages 10B, 12B, 13B and 14B. This was disappointing, but having almost gotten blown off the mountain between Arroyo and Olea, I was not taking more chances. It was sobering to learn what severe wind warning means.
Day 1. Bilbao to Guenes. 25 km. I don’t mind pavement in moderation, and find leaving cities and walking through old industrial areas interesting, perhaps because in Alaska we don’t have much of that. So it was fine. It is easy to miss the turnoff to the Olvidado, so I walked a bit more of the Camino Norte than I had intended and had to backtrack. I just didn’t initially see the Puente del Diablo bridge which was the landmark after which the Olvidado splits from the Norte. I met a Spanish pilgrim couple in the Alonsotegui Centro Social , just out of Bilbao, where I stopped for coffee, and we all had high hopes we would see much of one another. That did not happen; they were walking several days of a variant, and then I think when the weather turned nasty, they headed home to await better weather.
In Guenes, I stayed in Hotel Guenes 45 E. 946 690 964. There are several ways to avoid this expense. One, suggested by hospitalero Adolfo, is to walk to Guenes, take the train back to Bilbao, and the next morning, return by train to Guenes and continue. The other, which the Spanish couple were doing, was to walk to Guenes, take the train on to Balmaseda where the Albergue Juvenile is an inexpensive option, and return the next morning to Guenes by train and continue.
Day 2. Guenes to Nava de Ordunte. 23 km. I stayed in the wonderful Albergue de las Estrellas, of Adolfo and his wife Rosa. 662 773 055. Both were kind and helpful. Adolfo is, to the early portions of the Olvidado, as Cunarro (Enders) is to the later sections: a tireless promoter and supporter of pilgrims. They ask for a minimum of 8 E. Adolfo explained the route and lodging for the subsequent 3 days,
Day 3. Nava de Ordunte to Villasante 26 km. I stayed in Albergue Villasante, donativo. 626 825 930. Hospitalera Isabel is another example of the warmth and care provided by hospitaleros on this route. She fixed me a simple delicious dinner, provided a wonderful room, had coffee with me in the morning and joined me for several km as I continued in the morning. I was lucky. She was about to leave for a week or two, so I would have missed her if I had been later.
Day 4. Villasante to Quintanilla del Rebollar. 17 km. to the donativo Albergue Casa de Rafi. 628 703 672. Rafi is wonderful and warm. His house/albergue is old and musty but perfectly adequate for a good night’s sleep. There is a full kitchen, which is helpful if you are carrying food, as there is no food in the town. There is a Centro Social bar with limited hours for coffee. It was here that I met Chuchi, another of the amigos of the Camino Olvidado and someone who was helpful to me by text in the days that followed. Chuchi and Rafi recommended the accommodation for the next night.
Day 5. Quintanilla de Rebollar to Santelices. 18 km. Though this is Chuchi’s home town, he has not been successful in reopening an albergue here. So I stayed in Hotel Rural El Rincon de Las Merindades. 40 E included a large self-service breakfast as early as I wanted. Call Araceli at 616 561 783. It did take me 20 minutes and review of a you-tube video to figure out how to use the coffee machine. There is a good menu del dia at the Meson across the street for a late lunch.
Day 6. Santelices to Arija. 20 km. to Camping El Playa de Arija. 30 E. 942 773 300, for a bunk in a small cabin which was pretty basic: 2 bunk beds, one electric outlet, one light, one window, one door, a porch, and a picnic table out front. The shower/bathrooms were a minutes walk away. My understanding is that the price for 2 pilgrims was the same as 1. This was obviously a simple place to stay, but very quiet as there were very few people around in the October cold, and the elderly man was perfectly pleasant, once he understood that I didn’t object to the price or the distance to the bathhouse. The accommodation is a good km beyond the town proper out a spit on the shores of the reservoir.
Day 7. Arija to Olea. 25 km. This day had some walking challenges. The bridge is out between lower Arija and upper Arija, so the morning began in the dark, navigating the beach between the two and finding the stepping stones over the stream. Luckily the owner of Camping El Playa had drawn me a good map and carefully explained how to navigate this route. Chuchi had given me Ender’s Wikiloc route for the day, which he said was created when Enders walked the Olvidado in July 2022. The new route decreases the amount of pavement walking considerably. The Camino no longer goes through Villafria, Juliobriga, or Retortillo. It involved turning left off the road just before the last house in Arroyo and climbing to the top of a ridge, following a fence through the Pena Cutral summer pastures for some distance along the ridge, and then angling left and finding a twisty road/path down the other side. Well and good, but here was where I found out what the severe wind warnings were all about. I actually considered crawling, as walking was incredibly challenging along the ridge. Without two walking sticks, I am sure I would have been blown over repeatedly. I was relieved that I could text back and forth with Chuchi, so felt less alone. Then down the other side to the village of Cervatos, where I visited the 12th century church, San Pedro de Cervatos, and then up another lesser mountain, on hard-to-follow Roman stones to Olea where I stayed in Casa Miguel. 30 E. 659 930 804. Miguel actually met me on the road, probably worried as the weather was not just incredibly windy but also rainy and cold. We both agreed that this was not a day for walking, especially in the mountains. He was so kind and his hospitality was generous. I had carried food with me, knowing that there would be no food in Olea, but Miguel provided more food (olive oil, 4 eggs, sausage, cheese) so I could make an omelet and a huge breakfast. His casa rural is lovely, and he is a gem.
Day 8. Olea to Aguilar de Campoo. 25 km. This was another difficult day with strong winds, but luckily not on mountain tops. I stayed in Hotel Cortes, 40 E. 979 125 505. on the street just behind the tourist office. It was fine, nothing special.
Just a comment - many others have commented on how they enjoyed the route after Aguilar de Campoo so much more than the first week out of Bilbao. While I understand that the first week has more pavement, and less spectacular scenery, it does have a number of wonderful hospitaleros: Adolfo, Isabel, Rafi, Chuchi, Miguel - these folks were important to me as a solo walker, and I was very appreciative. I am so glad I started in Bilbao.
Day 9. Aguilar de Campoo to Cervera de Pisuerga. 28 km. Hotel Pineda. 40 E. which included breakfast. 979 870 390.
Day 10. Cervera de Pisuerga to Santibanez de la Pena. 28 km. in one of the four rooms above Bar Mylo. 30 E. which included a self-service breakfast (single serving coffees - the kind you can buy in grocery stores, fruit and packaged pastries).
979 860 294. It is probably not a good idea to accept the proprietor’s offer to cook you dinner, unless you are very hungry and there are no other options. This stage was a good option for me as I did not want a longer stage.
Day 11. Santibanez de la Pena to Guardo. 15 km. Hotel Don Edmundo. 30 E.
979 861 010. This residential hotel is conveniently near the entrance into town. There is a nice bar roughly opposite with good meats and tortilla con patatas open in the afternoon and not open early the next morning. There is a bar that opens early in the plaza opposite the ayuntamiento, which is close to the camino route through town, for the following morning.
Day 12. Guardo to Puente Almuhey. 16 km. Albergue Municipal. 10E. 606 240 480 (Sonia). This was another day of walking in clouds or just below clouds. I think there might have been fine mountain views if it weren’t cloudy, rainy and windy. Finally an albergue! With 10 beds in 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and dining area, and heat. This is just a lovely albergue, and Sonia is a great hospitalero who is happy to show off her town, and visit. And this is finally where I met another pilgrim for the evening, a Spanish cyclist, quite disgruntled about the lack of albergues on this camino. Sonia recommended Bar Restaurante La Mezquita for a late lunch, which was delicious. The tienda was closed for a week, but the tobacco store had some staples so I could stock up on food for the next few days.
Day 13. Puente Almuhey to Cistierna. 22 km Finally the clouds lifted a bit and I loved this day. I visited the church with the 2 carved mermaids, and had a picnic at the sanctuary before climbing up to the pass with a shepherd, his 5 dogs, and sheep. I could actually see the dramatic cliff faces, rather than imagine mountains in the mist. I loved the old oak forest followed by paths in the pine forest on the far side of the path, and enjoyed the descent into Cistierna where I stayed at Hostal Restaurante Moderno, 25 E. 987 700 170. The second floor restaurant was superb.
Day 14. Cistierna to Bonar. 28 km. There was a bar open in La Ercina for a morning coffee, just at the entrance of town on the right, and a second in the village of La Losilla, I think, where I met up with an elderly Belgian woman who married a Spaniard and settled in Spain 50 years ago. She was eager to speak English, and had interesting things to say about how Spanish village life had been transformed in her lifetime. In Bonar I stayed at Hostal Nisi. 20 E. 987 735 210 run by two elderly ladies who I suspect provide social services to the town. At any rate, I was an unregistered guest.
Day 15. Bonar to La Robla. 33 km. I stayed at Pension Mundo 20 E as the albergue is still closed. 987 570 733. The Pension serves breakfast early. In the morning I don’t remember how many people tried to tell me I was not taking the right path out of town, thinking that I was walking the Camino Salvador.
Continued below (I hope)
In preparing for this walk, I felt overwhelmed by the multiple sources of information and found sorting through it challenging. Much of it was from the pre-pandemic era. The multiple variants add to the complexity. Also, much of the information was oriented more towards private accommodations, rather than albergues, and was written by pilgrims who walk longer distances than I do.
So in the hopes of making it easier for others, here are my stages, and a few comments. I walked October 12 - November 3; 2022; 23 days. I used the orange Camino app for basic information. I used the Buen Camino Wise Pilgrim app for my map with GPS to prevent straying from the trail, and enderjace Wikilocs on occasion. I used the 2014 Susanne Scherman/Laurie Reynolds guide for some basics, as well as the 2019 Confraternity of Saint James guide by Roger Brankin. And I used Jose Antonia Cunarro’s (Ender’) guide. I don’t use Facebook very well and perhaps for that reason, did not find the Olvidado facebook sites useful. The most useful and recent guide to accommodations was notes by Omicko and the 3 page handwritten notes by AshireGal referenced on this Ivar site.
Unfortunately I had stormy, rainy, and extremely windy weather for parts of the walk, which meant I did not take mountain variants as I had planned: stages 10B, 12B, 13B and 14B. This was disappointing, but having almost gotten blown off the mountain between Arroyo and Olea, I was not taking more chances. It was sobering to learn what severe wind warning means.
Day 1. Bilbao to Guenes. 25 km. I don’t mind pavement in moderation, and find leaving cities and walking through old industrial areas interesting, perhaps because in Alaska we don’t have much of that. So it was fine. It is easy to miss the turnoff to the Olvidado, so I walked a bit more of the Camino Norte than I had intended and had to backtrack. I just didn’t initially see the Puente del Diablo bridge which was the landmark after which the Olvidado splits from the Norte. I met a Spanish pilgrim couple in the Alonsotegui Centro Social , just out of Bilbao, where I stopped for coffee, and we all had high hopes we would see much of one another. That did not happen; they were walking several days of a variant, and then I think when the weather turned nasty, they headed home to await better weather.
In Guenes, I stayed in Hotel Guenes 45 E. 946 690 964. There are several ways to avoid this expense. One, suggested by hospitalero Adolfo, is to walk to Guenes, take the train back to Bilbao, and the next morning, return by train to Guenes and continue. The other, which the Spanish couple were doing, was to walk to Guenes, take the train on to Balmaseda where the Albergue Juvenile is an inexpensive option, and return the next morning to Guenes by train and continue.
Day 2. Guenes to Nava de Ordunte. 23 km. I stayed in the wonderful Albergue de las Estrellas, of Adolfo and his wife Rosa. 662 773 055. Both were kind and helpful. Adolfo is, to the early portions of the Olvidado, as Cunarro (Enders) is to the later sections: a tireless promoter and supporter of pilgrims. They ask for a minimum of 8 E. Adolfo explained the route and lodging for the subsequent 3 days,
Day 3. Nava de Ordunte to Villasante 26 km. I stayed in Albergue Villasante, donativo. 626 825 930. Hospitalera Isabel is another example of the warmth and care provided by hospitaleros on this route. She fixed me a simple delicious dinner, provided a wonderful room, had coffee with me in the morning and joined me for several km as I continued in the morning. I was lucky. She was about to leave for a week or two, so I would have missed her if I had been later.
Day 4. Villasante to Quintanilla del Rebollar. 17 km. to the donativo Albergue Casa de Rafi. 628 703 672. Rafi is wonderful and warm. His house/albergue is old and musty but perfectly adequate for a good night’s sleep. There is a full kitchen, which is helpful if you are carrying food, as there is no food in the town. There is a Centro Social bar with limited hours for coffee. It was here that I met Chuchi, another of the amigos of the Camino Olvidado and someone who was helpful to me by text in the days that followed. Chuchi and Rafi recommended the accommodation for the next night.
Day 5. Quintanilla de Rebollar to Santelices. 18 km. Though this is Chuchi’s home town, he has not been successful in reopening an albergue here. So I stayed in Hotel Rural El Rincon de Las Merindades. 40 E included a large self-service breakfast as early as I wanted. Call Araceli at 616 561 783. It did take me 20 minutes and review of a you-tube video to figure out how to use the coffee machine. There is a good menu del dia at the Meson across the street for a late lunch.
Day 6. Santelices to Arija. 20 km. to Camping El Playa de Arija. 30 E. 942 773 300, for a bunk in a small cabin which was pretty basic: 2 bunk beds, one electric outlet, one light, one window, one door, a porch, and a picnic table out front. The shower/bathrooms were a minutes walk away. My understanding is that the price for 2 pilgrims was the same as 1. This was obviously a simple place to stay, but very quiet as there were very few people around in the October cold, and the elderly man was perfectly pleasant, once he understood that I didn’t object to the price or the distance to the bathhouse. The accommodation is a good km beyond the town proper out a spit on the shores of the reservoir.
Day 7. Arija to Olea. 25 km. This day had some walking challenges. The bridge is out between lower Arija and upper Arija, so the morning began in the dark, navigating the beach between the two and finding the stepping stones over the stream. Luckily the owner of Camping El Playa had drawn me a good map and carefully explained how to navigate this route. Chuchi had given me Ender’s Wikiloc route for the day, which he said was created when Enders walked the Olvidado in July 2022. The new route decreases the amount of pavement walking considerably. The Camino no longer goes through Villafria, Juliobriga, or Retortillo. It involved turning left off the road just before the last house in Arroyo and climbing to the top of a ridge, following a fence through the Pena Cutral summer pastures for some distance along the ridge, and then angling left and finding a twisty road/path down the other side. Well and good, but here was where I found out what the severe wind warnings were all about. I actually considered crawling, as walking was incredibly challenging along the ridge. Without two walking sticks, I am sure I would have been blown over repeatedly. I was relieved that I could text back and forth with Chuchi, so felt less alone. Then down the other side to the village of Cervatos, where I visited the 12th century church, San Pedro de Cervatos, and then up another lesser mountain, on hard-to-follow Roman stones to Olea where I stayed in Casa Miguel. 30 E. 659 930 804. Miguel actually met me on the road, probably worried as the weather was not just incredibly windy but also rainy and cold. We both agreed that this was not a day for walking, especially in the mountains. He was so kind and his hospitality was generous. I had carried food with me, knowing that there would be no food in Olea, but Miguel provided more food (olive oil, 4 eggs, sausage, cheese) so I could make an omelet and a huge breakfast. His casa rural is lovely, and he is a gem.
Day 8. Olea to Aguilar de Campoo. 25 km. This was another difficult day with strong winds, but luckily not on mountain tops. I stayed in Hotel Cortes, 40 E. 979 125 505. on the street just behind the tourist office. It was fine, nothing special.
Just a comment - many others have commented on how they enjoyed the route after Aguilar de Campoo so much more than the first week out of Bilbao. While I understand that the first week has more pavement, and less spectacular scenery, it does have a number of wonderful hospitaleros: Adolfo, Isabel, Rafi, Chuchi, Miguel - these folks were important to me as a solo walker, and I was very appreciative. I am so glad I started in Bilbao.
Day 9. Aguilar de Campoo to Cervera de Pisuerga. 28 km. Hotel Pineda. 40 E. which included breakfast. 979 870 390.
Day 10. Cervera de Pisuerga to Santibanez de la Pena. 28 km. in one of the four rooms above Bar Mylo. 30 E. which included a self-service breakfast (single serving coffees - the kind you can buy in grocery stores, fruit and packaged pastries).
979 860 294. It is probably not a good idea to accept the proprietor’s offer to cook you dinner, unless you are very hungry and there are no other options. This stage was a good option for me as I did not want a longer stage.
Day 11. Santibanez de la Pena to Guardo. 15 km. Hotel Don Edmundo. 30 E.
979 861 010. This residential hotel is conveniently near the entrance into town. There is a nice bar roughly opposite with good meats and tortilla con patatas open in the afternoon and not open early the next morning. There is a bar that opens early in the plaza opposite the ayuntamiento, which is close to the camino route through town, for the following morning.
Day 12. Guardo to Puente Almuhey. 16 km. Albergue Municipal. 10E. 606 240 480 (Sonia). This was another day of walking in clouds or just below clouds. I think there might have been fine mountain views if it weren’t cloudy, rainy and windy. Finally an albergue! With 10 beds in 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and dining area, and heat. This is just a lovely albergue, and Sonia is a great hospitalero who is happy to show off her town, and visit. And this is finally where I met another pilgrim for the evening, a Spanish cyclist, quite disgruntled about the lack of albergues on this camino. Sonia recommended Bar Restaurante La Mezquita for a late lunch, which was delicious. The tienda was closed for a week, but the tobacco store had some staples so I could stock up on food for the next few days.
Day 13. Puente Almuhey to Cistierna. 22 km Finally the clouds lifted a bit and I loved this day. I visited the church with the 2 carved mermaids, and had a picnic at the sanctuary before climbing up to the pass with a shepherd, his 5 dogs, and sheep. I could actually see the dramatic cliff faces, rather than imagine mountains in the mist. I loved the old oak forest followed by paths in the pine forest on the far side of the path, and enjoyed the descent into Cistierna where I stayed at Hostal Restaurante Moderno, 25 E. 987 700 170. The second floor restaurant was superb.
Day 14. Cistierna to Bonar. 28 km. There was a bar open in La Ercina for a morning coffee, just at the entrance of town on the right, and a second in the village of La Losilla, I think, where I met up with an elderly Belgian woman who married a Spaniard and settled in Spain 50 years ago. She was eager to speak English, and had interesting things to say about how Spanish village life had been transformed in her lifetime. In Bonar I stayed at Hostal Nisi. 20 E. 987 735 210 run by two elderly ladies who I suspect provide social services to the town. At any rate, I was an unregistered guest.
Day 15. Bonar to La Robla. 33 km. I stayed at Pension Mundo 20 E as the albergue is still closed. 987 570 733. The Pension serves breakfast early. In the morning I don’t remember how many people tried to tell me I was not taking the right path out of town, thinking that I was walking the Camino Salvador.
Continued below (I hope)