Who's walking La Lana in April

[marilyn van graan]

I walked the LaLana September 2019 from Alicante and had to stop for a few days in Alpera because of a painful foot. Then the rains came and was advised not to walk for a couple more days so decided to train to Cuenca where it was drier. Walked from there and just before Siguenza the foot problem raised its nasty head again - after much deliberation and soul searching I decided I had to abandon my camino -it was a very hard decision but I think at the end of the day the wise thing to do. It is now a couple of months later - foot is healing well after surgery and I am itching to get myself back on the road again. Without a doubt I have to go back and finish what I was not able to do so would like to know if there is anyone out there who will be walking the Lana in April. Still need to make the decision as to where I will start again - perhaps Alpera or Siguenza. It is a very solitary walk so that is why I am wondering who else will be out there. Buen camino XX

 

[peregrina2000]

I walked the LaLana September 2019 from Alicante and had to stop for a few days in Alpera because of a painful foot. Then the rains came and was advised not to walk for a couple more days so decided to train to Cuenca where it was drier. Walked from there and just before Siguenza the foot problem raised its nasty head again - after much deliberation and soul searching I decided I had to abandon my camino -it was a very hard decision but I think at the end of the day the wise thing to do. It is now a couple of months later - foot is healing well after surgery and I am itching to get myself back on the road again. Without a doubt I have to go back and finish what I was not able to do so would like to know if there is anyone out there who will be walking the Lana in April. Still need to make the decision as to where I will start again - perhaps Alpera or Siguenza. It is a very solitary walk so that is why I am wondering who else will be out there. Buen camino XX

Hi, Marilyn,
Sounds like you made the right decision to stop. I know how hard it was, having done it once myself. I remember a real "pity party" as I moaned and groaned, but in the end it was the right decision. So glad the surgery went well.

I am hoping to start from Alicante in mid May, so I will be way behind you. May it all go well for you, buen camino, Laurie

 

[marilyn van graan]

Hi Laurie,

Thank you for your good wishes and must say I like your term "pity party" because that is exactly what I had - I remember arriving in Siguenza found the first bar ordered a much needed cafe con leche and literally cried into it for an hour - crazy camino woman -hahaha - hope all is well with you - will never forget your kindness when we were about to start off from Almeria. Buen camino to you and who knows we may just meet up somewhere in Spain - it certainly would be my joy XXX

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

I walked the LaLana September 2019 from Alicante and had to stop for a few days in Alpera because of a painful foot. Then the rains came and was advised not to walk for a couple more days so decided to train to Cuenca where it was drier. Walked from there and just before Siguenza the foot problem raised its nasty head again - after much deliberation and soul searching I decided I had to abandon my camino -it was a very hard decision but I think at the end of the day the wise thing to do. It is now a couple of months later - foot is healing well after surgery and I am itching to get myself back on the road again. Without a doubt I have to go back and finish what I was not able to do so would like to know if there is anyone out there who will be walking the Lana in April. Still need to make the decision as to where I will start again - perhaps Alpera or Siguenza. It is a very solitary walk so that is why I am wondering who else will be out there. Buen camino XX

Hi Marilyn,

I am so glad to hear you are walking the Lana again. April must be perfect! May I suggest that you start from Alpera, so you don't miss out on Alcalá del Júcar (super-pretty town). Other places like Alatoz and Monteagudo de las Salinas are really tiny, but the standard of the albergues/casas rurales alone make them worth a visit, ha ha!

Will you keep us informed here, or can we follow you on a blog??

/BP

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Hello Marilyn,
I am wondering if you are the Marilyn that walked a year ago (or more) with @Magwood in southern Spain. I followed her blog and really enjoyed seeing the photos of the ladies she was with.

 

[marilyn van graan]

Hello Marilyn,
I am wondering if you are the Marilyn that walked a year ago (or more) with @Magwood in southern Spain. I followed her blog and really enjoyed seeing the photos of the ladies she was with.

Hi Chrissy - yes it is me - I was not able to walk with my dear friends last year as my husband was very ill and had to spend 9 weeks in hospital then rehab etc etc so that is why I went on my own in September - also dearest Maggie had her hip problem - we now call ourselves the wonky donkeys - her hip and my foot!!. This year we are both - or certainly I am - going to finish the Lana and then I plan to meet up with them to do the Olvidado - we have had some wonderful caminos together. She is the best camino buddy. Buen camino to you if you are walking this year XX

 

[marilyn van graan]

Hi Marilyn,

I am so glad to hear you are walking the Lana again. April must be perfect! May I suggest that you start from Alpera, so you don't miss out on Alcalá del Júcar (super-pretty town). Other places like Alatoz and Monteagudo de las Salinas are really tiny, but the standard of the albergues/casas rurales alone make them worth a visit, ha ha!

Will you keep us informed here, or can we follow you on a blog??

/BP

Thank you BP - yes I just feel in my heart I have to finish what I started and get rid of all those horrible things in my head about this camino - you know what I mean. I will certainly keep you posted about my journey and hope the rains stay away this year - they were certainly hectic in September and was horrified to see the lovely little towns that I has passed through become raging torrents. Thank you for your interest - buen caminoXX

 

[Donovan]

Hi Marilyn, two leaving from Alicante on 31 March, hope we catch up somewhere on the Lana. The giveaway will be one Australian accent and one South African accent (me)
Donovan

 

[marilyn van graan]

HI Donovan - pleased to meet you!! - and where you do hail from - I am from Cape Town. Sorry that you will be leaving a week+ before me but I only plan to start walking from Alpera as that is where I had my first first-aid stop! Very nice albergue there I must say. My plan is to walk to Cuenca - also a beautiful place - I did not stay in the albergue there as I was going to be there for two nights but I believe it is first class as well. I need to be in Bilboa to meet up with my other camino buddies to walk the Olvidado with them around the 27th April so need to work out my route. From Cuenca i walked to Siguenza where I decided or should say my foot decided not one more step. I know it is a bit of a problem in the smaller towns with transport from one place to another but I will maybe ask my Spanish friend if he can find out for me. I could even walk from Mandayona to Atienza on a different route - some serious planning needed but I like to flexible and change if necessary. Keep in touch and who knows we may just meet up - that would be great. Buen camino and happy planningXX

 

[BruceNZ]

Hola Marilyn,
We are three Kiwis starting from Alicante on 22 April (actually Elda as we will train out to there first day) heading to Burgos. We have pre-booked most of our accommodation - AirBnb, Casa Rurals etc as well as using Albergues. Plus we tend to walk 3-5 days then take a day off to have a good look round some of the bigger towns. So we are due at Alpera on 26 April if you happen to be around at that time?
Feel free to touch base... fone 6421730705 and on Whats App
Adios
Bruce

 

[marilyn van graan]

Hola Marilyn,
We are three Kiwis starting from Alicante on 22 April (actually Elda as we will train out to there first day) heading to Burgos. We have pre-booked most of our accommodation - AirBnb, Casa Rurals etc as well as using Albergues. Plus we tend to walk 3-5 days then take a day off to have a good look round some of the bigger towns. So we are due at Alpera on 26 April if you happen to be around at that time?
Feel free to touch base... fone 6421730705 and on Whats App
Adios
Bruce

Hi Bruce,
So nice of you to contact me with regard to the Lana - unfortunately our dates do not coincide as I hope to meet my friends on the 28th April and need to be finished with the Lana on the 26th. That will give me an overnight in Burgos and then next day bus back to Bilboa where we will start. All plans I know are never cast in stone but this is what I am hoping for. I did not book any accommodation except my first two nights in Alicante and a couple of places along the way I phoned the hospitalera to advise them of my arrival. There are a couple of really nice albergues along the way which I highly recommend. Cuenca is a place that I can also recommend spending a day meandering around the beautiful town. I don't really like taking a day off but I do not mind having a short day to arrive early to be able to sightsee. I wish you a really great camino - you are so lucky to be three - I went solo in September and was so fortunate to meet up with the most delightful frenchman on the first day. Then that was that not another peregrino until Cuenca where we met up with a Spanish guy who stayed with us until Cifuentes where he had to leave due to poor health. I had to bail in Siguenza and that town is really nice to explore - a beautiful large cathedral and many more places that I enjoyed. Take care and happy planning and of course safe travels. Alicante by the way is also a beautiful city and I decided on the spur of the moment to spend an extra day there so glad to have done that. Buen camino XX

 

[Donovan]

Hi Marilyn, I’m also from Cape Town – such a beautiful city, it bowls me over every time I go back there. If you are planning to reach Burgos by 26 April we won’t catch up with you – probably be a week so behind. Happy travels. When will you leave Alpera? I have good memories of that town from a stopover on the Levante a few years ago. Many people were very helpful and friendly – I’m looking forward to a return.

Were you part of Magwood’s group on the Camino Torres recently? I read her blog with interest as I had walked that route just a couple of months prior. It’s a pity so few pilgrims walk that way, I loved it.

 

[marilyn van graan]

Hi Donovan,
Yes I too have to agree that CT is indeed a beautiful city and my favourite is my first glimpse of Table Mountain when we come down to land - especially when I have been away for a couple of weeks. I have somewhat decided to change my dates a little - even though I am hoping to still meet up with Maggie around the 28th April - I need to be back in CT on the 23 May for a special birthday party. This all means that I will leave CT early and try and work back my dates. It will more than likely be around the first week in April. Who knows our dates may still co-incide even if for part of the way. Lovely to hear from you - do you attend Andree's Monday evening get-togethers. I will certainly be there for the first one in Feb. Take care and lets keep in contact - buen camino XX PS yes I have been part of Maggie's group for the past couple of years except last year - sad to say I had to cancel my walk with her. The Torres is a wonderful route and I too have to go back and finish that because I ran out of days!!!

 

[Mareng]

Hi, glad to hear so many are starting before and after me on La Lana. Maybe I will meet someone starting the same time as I, Wednesday April 29 from Alicante. Hope to make it to Bugos April 26 or 27. Starting to get excited to get going on my 9th camino. Marianne

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Hi, glad to hear so many are starting before and after me on La Lana. Maybe I will meet someone starting the same time as I, Wednesday April 29 from Alicante. Hope to make it to Bugos April 26 or 27. Starting to get excited to get going on my 9th camino. Marianne

Will you be traveling backwards in a "time machine"?

 

[Mareng]

My head is on slow mode, May 26 or 27 is my plan for Burgos.....

 

[Camino Chrissy]

My head is on slow mode, May 26 or 27 is my plan for Burgos.....

I figured.

 

[marilyn van graan]

Oh dear - another one not walking my dates - will be really interesting to see if I do get to meet someone on route - enjoy Mareng and hope you have a wonderful camino - was also a tad confused when I read your dates/haha - buen caminoXX

 

[Ella L.]

I walked the LaLana September 2019 from Alicante and had to stop for a few days in Alpera because of a painful foot. Then the rains came and was advised not to walk for a couple more days so decided to train to Cuenca where it was drier. Walked from there and just before Siguenza the foot problem raised its nasty head again - after much deliberation and soul searching I decided I had to abandon my camino -it was a very hard decision but I think at the end of the day the wise thing to do. It is now a couple of months later - foot is healing well after surgery and I am itching to get myself back on the road again. Without a doubt I have to go back and finish what I was not able to do so would like to know if there is anyone out there who will be walking the Lana in April. Still need to make the decision as to where I will start again - perhaps Alpera or Siguenza. It is a very solitary walk so that is why I am wondering who else will be out there. Buen camino XX

I would love to walk with you, but I do want to start in Alicante. Presently I am looking at a departure date of mid-April so I would be behind your schedule. I can understand the need to finish what you have started...'been there, done that' as 'they' say.

 

[marilyn van graan]

I would love to walk with you, but I do want to start in Alicante. Presently I am looking at a departure date of mid-April so I would be behind your schedule. I can understand the need to finish what you have started...'been there, done that' as 'they' say.

Hi Ella - thank you for your reply and yet again our dates do not co-incide. I want to leave before Easter to be well on the road before the crowds hit the towns. I was in Portugal on route over the Easter weekend and it was lovely so would be happy to enjoy that again in Spain during the Holy Week-end. I am busy trying to work out my dates and how many days left to walk - at this stage cannot decide if I should repeat my days from Cuenca. I did meet up with the most wonderful 83year old Frenchman on my first day and we walked together all the way till I stopped - I then planned to meet him in Burgos as he walked in and it was a joyous time for us. I was truly blessed to have had such a special companion to walk with - maybe I will get that lucky again. I wish you a really lovely camino and lots of happy planning. Much love and buen caminoXXX

 

[Ella L.]

Hi Ella - thank you for your reply and yet again our dates do not co-incide. I want to leave before Easter to be well on the road before the crowds hit the towns. I was in Portugal on route over the Easter weekend and it was lovely so would be happy to enjoy that again in Spain during the Holy Week-end. I am busy trying to work out my dates and how many days left to walk - at this stage cannot decide if I should repeat my days from Cuenca. I did meet up with the most wonderful 83year old Frenchman on my first day and we walked together all the way till I stopped - I then planned to meet him in Burgos as he walked in and it was a joyous time for us. I was truly blessed to have had such a special companion to walk with - maybe I will get that lucky again. I wish you a really lovely camino and lots of happy planning. Much love and buen caminoXXX

Easter is indeed the watershed. I started walking the Mozárabe on Easter Saturday (2018)...and if it had not been for the efforts of the fantastic Cofradía, I would have been sleeping on the streets! However, I didn't get home from last year's saunter along the Camino Francés until October, so a March start would be unseemly... Please keep posting your progress, though!

 

[tecap]

Hi Marilyn, I wish you good luck for April. I have hopes of starting from Alicante on Friday 13th March, if I get the all clear from my physiotherapist. I plan to arrive in Burgos over the Easter weekend, if all goes to schedule. I have a considerable amount of anxiety over weather and accommodation, starting so early in the year but family commitments mean I need to be back in UK for the third week in April.
I have been a good student and studied all the resources I can find on walking the Ruta de la Lana. I would like to thank the following pilgrims for their generous contributions and suggestions; KOB, Bad Pilgrim, Undermanager and Magwood. I have watched the many Sara Dhooma Youtube videos. I have translated the whole of the guide published by ‘The Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago in Alicante’ and have much improved my ability to understand directions written in Spanish. I would still value any further information and/ or advice. If I do get going and can provide you with any information I would be more than happy to oblige.

 

[peregrina2000]

Three of us plan to start La Lana in May. Arrive Alicante on May 14. On May 15, we will take a train from Alicante to Villajoyosa to walk an alternative route that @alansykes has recommended. It joins back with the "regular" Lana in Villena.

I would like to be starting earlier, because May 15 is kind of late for a southern start, but at least I will be walking!

 

[Undermanager]

Rock on, Marilyn. Hopefully, foot / knee / back / hip willing, see you on 28th April in Bilbao and am setting off on the 29th. Glad to see you are going back to finish off the Lana. You'll have fun - may the weather Gods be with you! The target is to complete the Olvidado by the 21st May and catch the flight I booked today back to the UK on the 22nd from Madrid, so not sure how many mountain passes I can do. Two months to go. Woo hooooo .....

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Rock on, Marilyn. Hopefully, foot / knee / back / hip willing, see you on 28th April in Bilbao and am setting off on the 29th. Glad to see you are going back to finish off the Lana. You'll have fun - may the weather Gods be with you! The target is to complete the Olvidado by the 21st May and catch the flight I booked today back to the UK on the 22nd from Madrid, so not sure how many mountain passes I can do. Two months to go. Woo hooooo .....

Nice! Give me a thorough report about the Olvidado, so my passage in July gets easier !

 

[Undermanager]

LOL. Will do, as always .

 

[marilyn van graan]

I would love to walk with you, but I do want to start in Alicante. Presently I am looking at a departure date of mid-April so I would be behind your schedule. I can understand the need to finish what you have started...'been there, done that' as 'they' say.

Hi Ella - just going over my plans to walk and wondered if you had decided on a date to start yet - I may start around the 16th April now - just waiting to hear from my amigo. Hope you are well and I send warm hugs and happy planning XXXX

 

[Undermanager]

I hope you remember the lovely weather I enjoyed on the Lana last May and the not so lovely weather others endured last April .

 

[peregrina2000]

I hope you remember the lovely weather I enjoyed on the Lana last May ☀ and the not so lovely weather others endured last April ⛈.

Ok, I have ordered a repeat of last year's weather, @Undermanager. Not that I am hoping for rain for Marilyn of course. If all goes well, I will start the Lana on May 14, later than I would have liked, but the best I can do. And I see that you started on May 8, so I won't be that far behind your dates.

 

[Ella L.]

Hi Ella - just going over my plans to walk and wondered if you had decided on a date to start yet - I may start around the 16th April now - just waiting to hear from my amigo. Hope you are well and I send warm hugs and happy planning XXXX

Decisions!! Given all the upheavals re Covid-19, I had kinda sorta deferred the Lana to next Spring and I would walk Caminos Olvidado/Invierno starting in late August and Alicante to Burgos next year. My concerns are not health-related, it is just the uncertainty around travel arrangements etc while the powers that be get to grips with the situation. However......you have sown the seed again that I thought I had killed off! Around April 16 was my start date...ACK! However, sober consideration would be that I stick with my revised schedule...for a start there is still too much snow on the ground to get any serious walking in and I would rather do my 'I should have got myself in shape before I started' crawl in private without the attending audience. I would slow you down...badly.

 

[Mareng]

I walked the LaLana September 2019 from Alicante and had to stop for a few days in Alpera because of a painful foot. Then the rains came and was advised not to walk for a couple more days so decided to train to Cuenca where it was drier. Walked from there and just before Siguenza the foot problem raised its nasty head again - after much deliberation and soul searching I decided I had to abandon my camino -it was a very hard decision but I think at the end of the day the wise thing to do. It is now a couple of months later - foot is healing well after surgery and I am itching to get myself back on the road again. Without a doubt I have to go back and finish what I was not able to do so would like to know if there is anyone out there who will be walking the Lana in April. Still need to make the decision as to where I will start again - perhaps Alpera or Siguenza. It is a very solitary walk so that is why I am wondering who else will be out there. Buen camino XX

 

[Mareng]

Postponing my Camino la Lana walk of April 29. Have been thinking of it for some time - todays advocera from the moderators made the decision easier At the moment very disapppointed and sad - bit it is for the best! I will be back!!!

 

[Ella L.]

Postponing my Camino la Lana walk of April 29. Have been thinking of it for some time - todays advocera from the moderators made the decision easier At the moment very disapppointed and sad - bit it is for the best! I will be back!!!

Disappointing indeed, but the Way will be waiting for us! Another Camino site is indicating increasing closures of albergues etc and recommending that pilgrims hold off for at least two months. I still intend to wander around in the North later this year and Lana next Spring

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Postponing my Camino la Lana walk of April 29. Have been thinking of it for some time - todays advocera from the moderators made the decision easier At the moment very disapppointed and sad - bit it is for the best! I will be back!!!

The reply to the question at the top of the thread should be... almost no one! :O(

If the Lana was solitary before...…. It must be empty by now.

My Camino plans are thwarted as well. :O(

I hope you will be able to walk the Lana as soon as possible….! It is such a wonderful route.

/BP

 

[peregrina2000]

The reply to the question at the top of the thread should be... almost no one! :O(

If the Lana was solitary before...…. It must be empty by now.

My Camino plans are thwarted as well. :O(

I hope you will be able to walk the Lana as soon as possible….! It is such a wonderful route.

/BP

Hi, BP, so turning our thoughts to better days to come, I am now debating whether to try to walk the Lana this fall or postpone till spring 2021. I have not walked southern caminos in the fall, but I assume they will be kind of bleak and brown. In fact that was definitely my impression of Sara’s videos last fall. I know you have walked it several times, were you ever there in fall?

My alternatives would be to walk one of those shorter Portuguese caminos in fall, where fall scenery would be less parched — Interior, Zamorano-Portugues, or Geira e dos Arrieros. Not sure.

In some ways it feels funny to be back to thinking about planning a camino with all the chaos current standing between us and our next camino. My rationale is that it is one way to try to make a crazy time less crazy, because for me planning a camino is a highly necessary component of my normalcy!

Marilyn, what are you thinking?

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[dick bird]

We plan, no, we hope, to walk the Lana next year (2021) probably starting in May. Perhaps we'll meet one of the other pilgrims posting on this thread. There are some excellent guides, the O'Brien one and the amigos one are both good. I also came across this by Ludoperegrinus. Much more info than the usual Wikiloc posting. He has very usefully included photos of everywhere he stayed (but he didn't go to Siguenza). Buen camino everyone.

Camino de la Lana Alicante - Burgos (Camino de Santiago) 2019

Camino de la Lana Alicante - Burgos (Camino de Santiago) 2019 Hiking trail in Alicante, Valencia (España). Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. El Camino/Ruta de la Lana es un Camino de Santiago "tradicional" y no un camino "histórico". Otros caminos "tradicionales" son El...

www.wikiloc.com

 

[marilyn van graan]

Well this is nice to know that someone out there is thinking of doing the La Lana next year or hoping to do so!!
I cannot get that camino out of my head so have decided to take 2 and do it all over again. I read dream and plan for next year and hopefully all this dreadful Covid will be behind us by then. I still plan to walk from sometime in April - maybe towards the third week - I am sure the weather will be warmer. I had surprisingly good weather until the floods came but after that I have to say it was good. I was so lucky to meet up with the only other pilgrim just outside Alicante and we were able to walk together until my foot decided it was enough in Siguenza. I could not have asked for a better walking companion - Daniel is 83 and from Paris - what a man and what an inspiration. I want to have happy memories of that camino so that is why I want to give it one more attempt. Hopefully "dick bird" we will meet up. Thank you for the link for the guide - buen camino and happy planning

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hi, BP, so turning our thoughts to better days to come, I am now debating whether to try to walk the Lana this fall or postpone till spring 2021. I have not walked southern caminos in the fall, but I assume they will be kind of bleak and brown. In fact that was definitely my impression of Sara’s videos last fall. I know you have walked it several times, were you ever there in fall?

Wow, I totally missed this post. No, I only walked the Lana in Summer. It's basically 50 shades of brown, at least around Alicante. But i like it. Have you decided if you will go this Fall or wait to next year?

 

[peregrina2000]

Wow, I totally missed this post. No, I only walked the Lana in Summer. It's basically 50 shades of brown, at least around Alicante. But i like it. Have you decided if you will go this Fall or wait to next year?

Ha, it’s hard to believe that as recently as three months ago I was naïvely thinking I could walk in the fall. Nothing for me till next year at the earliest, how about you?

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Ha, it’s hard to believe that as recently as three months ago I was naïvely thinking I could walk in the fall. Nothing for me till next year at the earliest, how about you?

I have crazy thoughts about going in July already. My country allows me to leave; Spanish authorities say I can come... So why not. But I don't know. Right now I'm kind of preparing and not preparing at the same time; I'm really torn. I have read others are already up and running, like

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/currently-walking-vdlp-daily-updates.67938/#post-858147

so I'm like "Why wouldn't I try"!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I have crazy thoughts about going in July already. My country allows me to leave; Spanish authorities say I can come... So why not. But I don't know. Right now I'm kind of preparing and not preparing at the same time; I'm really torn. I have read others are already up and running, like

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/currently-walking-vdlp-daily-updates.67938/#post-858147

so I'm like "Why wouldn't I try"!

Just curious what country you are from that allows you to leave?