Worthy side trips on the Camino Frances.

[Olivares]

It has been posted frequently as a worthy endeavour while on the Camino to take side trips; i.e. to the Church in Eunate, or to the Monasteries Santo Domingo de Silos, or San Millan de Cogolla. These sights are not far from the Camino, but do require some awareness and planning ahead. I just found one such sight: the Roman Villa La Olmeda, not far from Terradillos de los Templarios and an outstanding place for those who love history, specially Roman sites. http://www.villaromanalaolmeda.com/portada?idSeccion=mi_0&lang=en

I was impressed by la Calzada Romana after Calzadilla de los Hermanillos (a bit evidence before as well) and rejoiced at the remains of the Roman villa in Astorga. This site in Pedrosa de la Vega is just AMAZING.

So, what side trip would you recommend?

 

[mspath]

Sobrado dos Monxes monastery is splendid!. In March 2007 I detoured to Sobrado from the Camino Frances at Arzua; the round trip walk was roughly 50 k. Stayed at the pilgrim albergue within the Cistercian/Trappist complex; there also is a separate hospederia for visitors. When the porter saw my American passport he delightedly (and silently) pointed to several library shelves filled with the works of Thomas Merton, the renown American Trappist.

This monastery complex is a Baroque masterpiece; alone in the afternoon I wandered through the many structures in awe. No other pilgrims were about; only one other 'outsider' and I attended Vespers. The evening service was held in a splendid circular contemporary space. Walls were either painted white or natural wood. All was lit by thick, sputtering candles. The monks wearing their white robes responded in unison. It was a true privilege to share such a timeless ambiance.

Margaret Meredith

 

[Tincatinker]

Vilar de Donas - Igrexia San Salvador. The frescoes in this C10-C14 church are well worth the 4-5k diversion. Check opening times locally but generally the caretaker appears at 11am every day bar Monday.

 

[Olivares]

Vilar de Donas - Igrexia San Salvador.

Sobrado dos Monxes monastery is splendid!.

My head hurts to think that I was so close to both sites which appeared just glorious! mspath-- you are describing open heavens to me! Tincatinker-- I am reading a lot about Romanesque Architecture lately and that is one amazing suggestion . Thank you both!

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Leaving Castromaior (after Portomarin) a short detour will take you to the Celtic Castro (remains of a 2000 year old settlement) on the hill. Follow the signs and fear not, you won't get lost. You can rejoin the Camino on the other side of the Castro.

 

[Helen1]

Oviedo Cathedral and then Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo. The train journey through the mountains is beautiful and the two small churches moved my spirit in a way few other places did [along the Camino Frances].

 

[robertt]

I have a soft spot for El Bierzo and the people there - a bit Spanish and also a bit French or Frankish - so I'd be happy to go back just as a tourist and check out more of the region. Most keen to see Las Medulas, the old Roman gold mining area which was left in peculiar shape by very ambitious and intensive hydraulic processing, and which has now become a World Heritage site. There are even remains of the seven aqueducts used for flushing and undermining. (I think aqueducts, eg Segovia, are tops.)

I don't know how easy it is to fork out from Cacabelos or any of the towns to see Las Medulas, and I've only seen it in photos, but I'd put it high on a list of detours.

 

[scruffy1]

A side trip for the body and the soul -Haro - a mere 20k north of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Haro is a wonderfully situated town, Santo Tomás Church is Baroque not my favoriote Romanesque but was classified Bien de Interés Cultural back in the '30s. Logroño pretends to be the center of Rioja wine production, not exactly truthful since this crown belongs to Haro. Wine and churches? Well worth a visit.

 

[Pelegrin]

I have a soft spot for El Bierzo and the people there - a bit Spanish and also a bit French or Frankish - so I'd be happy to go back just as a tourist and check out more of the region. Most keen to see Las Medulas, the old Roman gold mining area which was left in peculiar shape by very ambitious and intensive hydraulic processing, and which has now become a World Heritage site. There are even remains of the seven aqueducts used for flushing and undermining. (I think aqueducts, eg Segovia, are tops.)

I don't know how easy it is to fork out from Cacabelos or any of the towns to see Las Medulas, and I've only seen it in photos, but I'd put it high on a list of detours.

I have visited Las Médulas and I agree it's worth it. The Camino de Invierno passes very near.

In that context I think it is interesting to remark the relation Caminos/Roman gold mines (just coincidence):

Camino de Invierno : Las Médulas
Camino Primitivo : A Fana la Freita (Hospitales variant)
Camino del Norte : Salave (Tapia de Casariego). I read yesterday about the controversy in the town to allow a Canadian miner company to reexploit the existing Roman gold mine. Many neighbours are worried about the environment impact.

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

I don't know how easy it is to fork out from Cacabelos or any of the towns to see Las Medulas, and I've only seen it in photos, but I'd put it high on a list of detours.[/QUOTE]


Médulas - hard to get to without your own car; there may be an agency in Ponferrada organising day trips...

 

[mspath]

I don't know how easy it is to fork out from Cacabelos or any of the towns to see Las Medulas, and I've only seen it in photos, but I'd put it high on a list of detours.

Médulas - hard to get to without your own car; there may be an agency in Ponferrada organising day trips...[/QUOTE]

You can walk to Las Medulas from Ponferrada on the Camino de Invierno. See what Laurie aka Peregrina2000 posted recently regarding this route/stage. It sounds fabulous!!

 

[robertt]

Ah, I see it now, Margaret. Maybe the Invierno should be on my list. Never miss an aqueduct, not even a wrecked one...that's what I always say.

 

[Kanga]

This is a worthy thread. Any chance of getting it posted where I won't lose it?

 

[Tincatinker]

A side trip for the body and the soul -Haro .

I loved Haro on a visit a few years ago. There is a bar near the church, Los Canos (?) that displays photographs of the bar and it's patrons taken at regular intervals and dating back to the beginning of the C20. The fiestas of S's Juan, Felice and Pedro in the last week of June is full on party time and the "batalla del vino" on 29 June is a hoot but take spare clothes - you will end up soaked to the skin in Rioja's finest. Asado Terete is the place for lamb roasted in a wood-fired oven. The sensitive should avoid the window display of sheeps heads prepped for roasting.

 

[scruffy1]

Roasted heads of sheep? Such a dish is considered a delicacy in many countries, Norway comes to mind where it called smalhove if I remember correctly and eaten at Christmas. The Vikings were in Galacia and Santiago, even killing the Bishop Sisnando Menéndez of Compostela, but they never made it to Navara/Rioja-not their fault. The Muslims ruled the area of Haro which was also a border between Christian and Moslem Spain after they were expelled. The Muslims consider the head as the best part of the sheep fit for honoring important guests, I too will go easy on sensitive readers and not name that part considered as tastiest. I have heard a folk expression for people so thrifty that they ate all the hog except for the oink; perhaps here we have all the sheep except for the baa? Thrift or Morisco/ Mozárabe custom it is an interesting sidelight. Sephardic Jews from Arab lands customarily ate the same dish for our New Year celebration, to be like the head and not the tail! So this custom is really not that strange.

 

[Tincatinker]

The end of a trek in Morocco is often celebrated with a Mechoui, a whole sheep, spit roasted with constant bastings of cumin flavoured butter. And yes it is a whole sheep and every part is considered delicious. But we digress - another interesting diversion on the Way.

 

[Diefenbaker]

A side trip for the body and the soul -Haro - a mere 20k north of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Haro is a wonderfully situated town, Santo Tomás Church is Baroque not my favoriote Romanesque but was classified Bien de Interés Cultural back in the '30s. Logroño pretends to be the center of Rioja wine production, not exactly truthful since this crown belongs to Haro. Wine and churches? Well worth a visit.

Yay, another chance for me to plug the Camino de Vasco . This town is on that Camino and is the main stop before joining the Frances at SDdlC so if you started walking from Irun or Hendaye then it would be on your route.
Just trying to encourage others to walk it so that I won't be the only one on it when I go in 2016

 

[janulda]

I definitely recommend Las Medulas we went there from Ponferrada and it is just beautiful surrounding, our best pictures from the whole Camino are from there. But - dont go there with public transportation - its the worst idea ever. In Ponferrada next to the castle, there is a tourist information office - ask there, they will recommend you a company, that will get you there for 30e/person, including tour guide. We believed it was too much and regreting it so badly later

 

[Vivello]

I'll add that as I finish up my first Camino (11K to Finisterre tomorrow) I am so glad I took the side trip to Santo Domingo de Silos. Standing at lauds service with monks singing Gregorian chant is an experience I will never forget. If you bus it, the timetable makes it a two-day trip, but well worth it if you are inclined toward liturgical music or monasteries in general.

 

[Saint Mike II]

This is a worthy thread. Any chance of getting it posted where I won't lose it?

Hi K - I know you can "follow" a poster but maybe a PM to Ivar might be the go in setting up a permanent link. I just email Jenny about including some (or all ) of the ones near the Frances in our bike Camino in Sep 2015. Bikes are often easier for seeing the extras - less expensive than the taxi!!

Cheers.

 

[Kanga]

I've "watched" the thread @Saint Mike II so hopefully that will work. We're walking the Norte next year, not the Frances, so no longer immediately relevant. Now push bikes are OK, but what I'd really like is a motorcycle hire shop every now and then.....That would really keep Ian happy. We could then keep walking but still see all the off-route attractions in the evenings.

 

[peregrina2000]

I have a soft spot for El Bierzo and the people there - a bit Spanish and also a bit French or Frankish - so I'd be happy to go back just as a tourist and check out more of the region. Most keen to see Las Medulas, the old Roman gold mining area which was left in peculiar shape by very ambitious and intensive hydraulic processing, and which has now become a World Heritage site. There are even remains of the seven aqueducts used for flushing and undermining. (I think aqueducts, eg Segovia, are tops.)

I don't know how easy it is to fork out from Cacabelos or any of the towns to see Las Medulas, and I've only seen it in photos, but I'd put it high on a list of detours.

Robert, the way from Ponferrada to As Medulas is on the first stage of the Camino Invierno, so it is very well marked. It is 28 km, with about 850 m elevation gain (there are two significant ascents, one up to the Castle of Cornatel, and the other up to As Medulas. It is a very fascinating place to visit -- good little museum, lots of nice walks. There are two hotels and a woman who rents rooms. Once there, you could just continue on the Invierno all the way to Santiago. There is a pretty good selection of posts and reports on the Invierno section of this forum if you are interested.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[robertt]

Thank you, Laurie. Sounds just great!

 

[Nancy Heinzen]

This is a worthy thread. Any chance of getting it posted where I won't lose it?

exactly what I was thinking, how will I ever find this again. Nancy

 

[peregrina2000]

exactly what I was thinking, how will I ever find this again. Nancy

A while back, Ivar introduced the "bookmark" feature. It's right on the bottom line under your post. Then you will have a list that you can access by clicking on the bookmark tab, which is on the top line of the forum page. Here's a link to the Ivar's post describing bookmarking. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/new-forum-feature-bookmarks.35962/#post-335228

 

[Nancy Heinzen]

A while back, Ivar introduced the "bookmark" feature. It's right on the bottom line under your post. Then you will have a list that you can access by clicking on the bookmark tab, which is on the top line of the forum page. Here's a link to the Ivar's post describing bookmarking. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/new-forum-feature-bookmarks.35962/#post-335228

WOW unexpected solution! Thank you so much I really appreciate such a quick response. Cheers!

 

[ijerry]

There is also a tour available from Burgos museum of human evolution that goes to the archeological site at Atapuerca - where 1.2m year old hominid remains were found, and evidence of continuous occupation through homo antecedent, neanderthal and homo sapiens (modern humans) - it is a tour of a working archeological site. btw the museum itself in Burgos is worthwhile too.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Vilar de Donas - Igrexia San Salvador. The frescoes in this C10-C14 church are well worth the 4-5k diversion. Check opening times locally but generally the caretaker appears at 11am every day bar Monday.

The church is amazing (2016) and they love pilgrims to visit. Situated 6kms from Palas de Rei they are hoping to sign it better, and there is a bus I believe, from Paas de Rei, for those with limited time