Camino de Santiago de Compostela

[tobeapilgrim]

Greetings to all interested in this branch of the Camino.

I have posted all the photos I took in 2008 at http://www.piersnicholson.com/camino_salvador/
I hope you will find them helpful in planning your journey. I am intending to add these to the routes on the Picture Pages of the Camino website at http://www.santiago-compostela.net in due course, but I would like to get some more information about the section of the route over the Cordillera first.
Please get in touch (info at santiago...as above) if you are walking this route and able to help.

There are a number of problems with the route on the ground, and I would welcome any help anyone could give me.

1) Where does the route to Pobladura de la Tercia diverge from the Rodiazmo route? (see fuller note at start of stage 2 on website)

2) Is it waymarked

3) Is there a good route from P de la T to Arbas, and is that waymarked.

4) Where is the start of the Camino diverging from the N 630 to the east in
Arbas. Is this well waymarked. Where does it rejoin the N-630?

5) Where does the next leg of the Camino diverging from the N630 to the west start?
And is this well waymarked. Does it end in the village of Pajares or before it?

Many thanks

Piers Nicholson

[Rebekah Scott]

Dear Piers
We´re walking that next week. We will be in touch, and have already heard from Laurie as well as the Leon confraternity, who want to know as well.

Will be in touch. I really would prefer to walk the valley, instead of the hillside! (it´s been a long and sedentary winter, and me with asthma!)

Isn´t this internet stuff WONDERFUL?

Reb.

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Piers,
We got stuck in Rodiezmo as you did, as you know, and I really hope someone can figure out the route from Rodiezmo to Poladura de la Tercia and then up to Arbas, because that has GOT to be a spectacular walk!

I may be able to help you with questions 4 and 5, but I'm not sure I understand them. So here's a try.

4) I think that the two routes split right at the Puerto de Arbas itself. The one going on the east side stays on the N-630 highway to Pajares, then up to Flor de Acebo, etc. It comes back to the N-630 at Puente de los Fierros, and soon after it splits again. I think that in general the east side route has a lot more highway walking, and I took the west side option both before Puente de los Fierros and after.

5) The route going on the west side of the valley cuts off from the N-630 about a km or two down from the puerto. The cut off is right at the place where all those lights flash and tell you about the upcoming steep descent on the highway. That route continues on down to the valley floor to San Miguel and then up to the west side of the valley (that's the one to go for IMO). But for those who want to both spend the night in the albergue in Pajares and do the west side walk, the camino obliges. You can take the off road route at the flashing light, but you will then come to a fork where your choices are San Miguel (down in the Valley) or Pajares. That gets you to the albergue, but has kept you off the N-630 for 8 or 9 km.

Then the next day, to get back on the route on the west side, you don't have to retrace your steps to get to San Miguel. Leaving the albergue, when you get back on the N-630 and right when you get to the "leaving pajares" sign (the sign with a red diagonal line through Pajares), there's a trail on the left hand side of the road that takes you down to San Miguel where you will then join up with the "west side" route.

I'm sorry if this is not what you were asking, just let me know and I'll try again. Laurie

[sillydoll]

Hello there Piers!! Long time no hear!
Your photos are, as always, stunning. Only two sundials? (Piers is a sundial oficiando!)
Your enthusiam for sundials on el camino made me look out for them and I took photos of a number of them in 2007 including three in the cloister courtyard at Santiago Cathedral.
I also took photos of mason and other signs in the stones and weather vanes.
(http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll24 ... /?start=20)

Santiago2small.jpg (70.69 KB) Viewed 694 times

[tobeapilgrim]

Thanks for this. Yes, there are three well-preserved 1601 dials in the Cloisters, and 5 more elsewhere in Santiago. I am half way through revising the sundials page, but every day seems to bring a new crop of really interesting distractions! Anyway, the new sundials page should be up before long.

[Kevin F. O*brien]

Hello Piers and thanks for all the photographs. To try to answer your questions. Q.5 and Q.6. Yes the diversions off the N-630 after Arbas are waymarked. It is unpleasant on the highway but it does go straight to Pajares.
Q.1 Q.2 Q.3 Q.4. These are the big questions. Peregrina2000 has been kind enough to translate a detailed account by some Spanish people for this part of the route. She would certainly be happy to send you a copy. When you come over the top of the pass out of Buiza you go down quite steeply passing through some forest. The track then makes a sharp turn to the right towards Rodiezmo and if you look closely you can see a track going on straight up onto a ridge. That, we assumed, was the track to Pobladura de Tercia. It did not appear to be waymarked, but we didn't check.
In Pobladura de Tercia the Spanish guys stayed at a Casa Rural and were directed to follow the "gasoducto" posts to Arbas. They followed some arrows instead and had a very tough walk!
So, it would seem that it is waymarked. It bothers us a bit that we didn't walk that way and we will probably do it again. How was the ref. in Buiza? Could you buy food there?
Best,
Kevin and Kari

[Timo]

Hello Tobeapilgrim,
you´ve taken wonderful pictures!
-T-