Camino de Santiago de Compostela

[peregrina2000]

I don't know if others who are interested in this Camino have seen this posting on a Spanish forum, but here is a link to a suggested itinerary.

http://www.peregrinosasantiago.com/foro ... hp?1,42073

It's in Spanish, but if there is any interest, I will translate it into English and post it. (Hey, Rebekah and Johnnie Walker, maybe this is the start of another CSJ online guide? )

I have also been in contact with the person who posted this information, Luis, who is active in the Cuenca Camino group. He said that he and a friend walked this route last August (maybe they are the ones featured in Ribeirasacra's pictures on another post?). He told me that the route is "de gran belleza" (of great beauty) but the signage is "mejorable" (could be improved). He also said that he thought there was work going on to improve the arrows. I have asked him if he has a list of places where they stayed (no albergues), and I will add that information if he sends it.

It seems that in addition to the website recommended by Peter, Ribeirasacra, etc, (http://www.caminodeinvierno.com/), there is another organization that seems pretty active:
http://caminodeinvierno.es/ This latter group is located in Valdeorras and on their website they say they are currently preparing a club hike on the Camino de Invierno. I will write to them for suggestions on accommodation.

I have also been in contact with the very active AGACS (the Galician Friends of the Camino association). They are the ones who painted the arrows from Lisbon to the Spanish border, which I was very appreciative of last summer. I asked whether they had ever thought about painting arrows on the Invierno. Their response to me was that they do not consider this route to be authentic but rather a political fabrication. So I guess there are lots of political insider angles that I am unaware of. In any event, I remain convinced that a Ponferrada to Santiago diversion from the Frances would be of tremendous interest to many pilgrims.

Laurie

[ivar]

Yes, there is a nice pdf document indication stages here on this page (the pdf link is towards the top):
http://caminodeinvierno.es/informaci%C3 ... er%C3%A9s/

Saludos,
Ivar

[peregrina2000]

Thanks so much, Ivar. That document suggests a pretty do-able 11 day walk, with all days under 30 km except for two. I'm going to work on getting more information on accommodation pulled together, because this document doesn't list names and addresses. But it is a great start. I was also surprised to see that seven towns list albergues, because Luis from Cuenca told me there were none last summer.

I just re-read your earlier post on how the Xacobeo was going to incorporate the Camino de Invierno. Yet Ian (Ribeirasacra) indicates that the Xunta has abandoned it. Are these two organizations different? I was also surprised and disappointed to learn from AGACS that they do not consider the route to be authentic and are not planning to invest any time in working on signage/arrows there. They seem to be the best arrow-painting Camino group anywhere, so that's really too bad. Do you have any insight into the authenticity dispute?

I'm putting this Camino on my 2011 wish list, so I am hopeful that by then the arrows will be plentiful and the political machinations will have stopped. Thanks again, Laurie

[Peter Robins]

I was also surprised to see that seven towns list albergues, because Luis from Cuenca told me there were none last summer.

I posted here camino-de-invierno/topic1601.html?sd=d#p27283 a link to a newspaper report on what was billed as the first albergue on this route. Don't forget these are often local municipal initiatives - that no-one else knows about There are no Xunta-funded albergues on this route as yet, and won't be until they get around to incorporating it into their plans - and even then don't hold your breath.

I just re-read your earlier post on how the Xacobeo was going to incorporate the Camino de Invierno. Yet Ian (Ribeirasacra) indicates that the Xunta has abandoned it. Are these two organizations different?

no, just the usual conflicting info from different sources. The Lugo diputacion have long been keen on this route. Part of the Xunta has been promoting part of this route for some time now for package holidays.

[Peter Robins]

PS the photo on that Voz report is the albergue listed on the caminodeinvierno.es site (quite a good site I've not come across before). I don't know what the Albergue Municipal de Turismo consists of. The other 11 places listed are sports halls that pilgrims can use. Don't expect luxury, but there should at least be toilets, showers etc.

[peregrina2000]

Thank you Peter. I went back to your original thread from 2006 and saw that you had already posted information about some of the Spanish sites. And on that same thread, in a post from 2008, Rebekah has some links with pretty pictures and some more written information.

I am going to work on pulling together an English document based on what I find on the web, especially the "etapas" document by Aida Menendez Lorenzo (I have written her and asked for permission to translate). I will try to add information on accommodation that I can hunt down on the internet, and maybe it can serve as a basis from which we can get a more detailed guide for English speakers.

So if anyone has additional information on any part of this Camino, I'm happy to collect it and try to put it into one document. Laurie

[peregrina2000]

I have been in contact with Luis from the Cuenca Amigos group -- it turns out he was one of the pilgrims photographed by Ribeirasacra last summer. Small world. He has sent me a document with 32 topographical maps that cover the Camino de Invierno. I am, shall we say, cartographically challenged, so I can't imagine I will ever make use of those maps. But I would be happy to send them to anyone who would have use for them.

And I am beginning to hunt around for accommodation in the towns on the Invierno and am finding that there are really a lot of places. They range from stunning "casas rurales" to cheap modern functional but charm-less pensiones to paradores. And a number of municipal facilities, which appear to be used mostly by youth groups but seem like they would be open to peregrinos as well.

I have been in several of the places along this route as a tourist, and the Sil River gorge is absolutely beautiful. Lots of romanesque churches, too. So, if anyone is game, I hope to have my English translation done with accommodation added soon. My selfish interest here is that someone will walk it this summer and add a lot of detail to my descriptions, so then I will be able to walk it in 2011 without getting lost a million times. This would be one sure way to avoid the Holy Year crowds. Laurie

Laurie

[Rebekah Scott]

You tempt me most sorely, Laurie!
My camino plans for March-April are still not set in stone, so if you can get some kind of info together, I can maybe do the "on-the-ground" part. At least from Chantada or Monforte onward.

Rebekah

[peregrina2000]

No, no, you can't walk it this year, because I want to walk it with YOU!! Laurie