3 caminos in 1?

[alansykes]

Day dreaming about my next camino, pencilled in for autumn/winter 2014, and I wondered about doing Madrid to Sahagún, following the Camino Francés as far as Astorga, then turning left and going down to Granja de Moreruela to pick up the Sanabrés. It would be around 880km, possibly slightly more as I expect I'd want to detour to see Valladolid. Slightly over 100km would be on the Francés - I'm not sure I can cope with the crowds for much longer than that.

I suppose it would technically be four routes - Madrid, Francés, Via de la Plata (Astorga-Granja) and Sanabrés.

Any thoughts gratefully received. A bit bemused by caminodemadrid.com where it says

You will also need to be a very fluent Spanish speaker as the regional accents used north of Madrid can be difficult to understand

- are the accents there really any more difficult than, say, Galician?

 

[Roger Hogstrom]

Me and a friend will walk this year Camino de Madrid from Madrid to Sahagun. From Sahagun to Leon on Camino frances. From Leon to Oviedo on Camino del Salvador. 3 caminos 500 k. If you would make the rest to Santiago you can do that on Camino primitivo for another ca 9 days. Voila 4 caminos .
To your question about accents. I speak BAD spanish. Had no problems on Camino de Madrid.

All the best Roger from Sweden

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Alan,
When I walked from Madrid, I went to Sahagun (with a quick detour to Rebekah's place in Moratinos), then the Frances to Ponferrada, and then the Invierno to Santiago (hooking up with the Vdlp in Laxe). It was wonderful. I know what you mean about the crowds on the Frances. In my first day from Moratinos I saw more people in my first minute on the camino than I had seen in the entire Madrid-Sahagun camino.

Castilla y Leon are certainly not known for having strong regional accents, probably because they're the guys who were in charge when Spain was established and set the linguistic standards.

I have blogs, pictures and posts -- can give you links if interested. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[tyrrek]

I was always told that the Spanish spoken in Castile north of Madrid (esp. around Valladolid) was the purest. I don't agree from experience, but it's not difficult to understand or be understood (assuming you speak some Spanish in the first place, of course!). Buen Camino!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Roger, I don't speak very good Spanish either, in my own mind.
But the Spanish people are so gracious - they appreciate any attempt at all to speak their language, and the majority of them are always very kind and tell me my Spanish is good.

 

[Susannafromsweden]

I'm also doing three in one, probably the same route as Roger, but starting in May.
But 'maybe' I'm taking a bus or something (if there is) between Sahagun and Leon.
If there's to much people on the frances. I can't stand the crowds and bed race.

About the languages difficulties, that's something I know nothing about.
But I remember seeing an older version of a camino the Madrid guide online,
which said you got to be a very experienced hiker and speak fluent Spanish (almost) to be able to do this walk. I think it is revised now, I can't find it anyway.

 

[peregrina2000]

Though I don't think the accent makes the Spanish spoken in this region hard to understand, I would agree with those who say that you will not find a lot of English speakers in many of these small towns. You can get by with gestures and the basics like -- albergue, agua, buenos dias -- and people always do. But you will not find a lot of people to converse with if you don't speak any Spanish.

I met a German guy on the Vdlp several years ago and he had a credit card sized translator that would take a word from German into a variety of languages. We used it as much to communicate English-German as he did German-Spanish. It was very helpful, very lightweight. I don't know how expensive something like that is, but it would be a nice back-up for people who don't speak any Spanish at all on these more un-travelled caminos.

 

[Roger Hogstrom]

The best spanish words that I use everyday is "despacio por favor", slowly please.The biggest problem for me is always how fast spanish people speak not the simple spanish I know. I agree with you Anniesantiago that spanish people are so KIND when you try to speek their language.

Roger

 

[KinkyOne]

Great that I found this topic. Maybe it also deserve its own thread. I mean this Camino Combos could really be top of the top. I was thinking of 2 combinations with multiple Caminos (walked in whole) connected to Camino Frances (walked in parts):

1.) northern (5 in 1 - app.950km)
- Camino Vasco del Interior (Irun - Sto.Domingo de la Calzada, 195km),
- Camino Frances (Sto.Domingo de la Calzada - Leon, 255km),
- Camino del Salvador (Leon - Oviedo, 126km),
- Camino Primitivo (Oviedo - Melide, 235km)
- Camino Frances and Finisterre/Muxia (Melide - Fisterra, 141km).

2.) southern (4 in 1 - app.835km)
- Camino de Madrid (Madrid - Sahagun, 315km),
- Camino Frances (Sahagun - Ponferrada, 162km),
- Camino Invierno (Ponferrada - SdC, 268km),
- Camino Finisterre/Muxia (Sdc - Finiserre, 88km).

Dreaming of walking those two in solitude and again with the crowd in zig-zags :lol:

 

[Phillypilgrim]

KinkyOne, did you walk either of these? #1 or #2? Alone? How was it? A very interested Pilgrim.
Thanks, Pam.

 

[MarianneGardner]

I walked the Camino Madrid alone in late September/early October this year. It was great. No problems. All in all I met 7 other pilgrims in the 11 days I walked, until Sahugun where suddenly they are everywhere. Having an improved Spanish vocabluary helped a lot, but the local people are very helpful and the signage is good.
I mapped my walk here:
http://runkeeper.com/user/MarianneGardner/route/2696354
If you zoom in on the maps there are photos embedded.

 

[gsilver]

Did the Camino de Levante this fall starting in Toledo, then from Zamora, instead of going via the Sanabrés, took the Portuguese route via Braganza, emerging back in Spain in Verín, and from there in a day's walk onto Laza in the Sanabrés and on to Santiago. Way marking in Toledo was deficient, as was the stretch between Zamora and the Portuguese border. Otherwise was great.

 

[jirit]

We met an Aussie couple that walked from Madrid to Sahagún, then followed the Camino Frances route to Ponferrada.

There they went south west to Ourense along the Camino de Invierno, to connect with the Via de la Plata.

From there they simply followed it into Santiago.

Other than the slightly busy section from Sahagún to Ponferrada, the other sections are less travelled and pass through some great sections

Probably a route I would consider if I was planning on another camino in Spain

 

[peregrina2000]

We met an Aussie couple that walked from Madrid to Sahagún, then followed the Camino Frances route to Ponferrada.

There they went south west to Ourense along the Camino de Invierno, to connect with the Via de la Plata.

From there they simply followed it into Santiago.

Other than the slightly busy section from Sahagún to Ponferrada, the other sections are less travelled and pass through some great sections

Probably a route I would consider if I was planning on another camino in Spain

That´s exactly what I did when I walked the Camino de Madrid. The brief time on the Francés from Sahagún to Ponferrada was just a few days and has the advantage of a nice stop in León. Then in Ponferrada, you leave the crowds and are in rural Galicia in a day or two, after passing through the UNESCO site, well worth a visit, As Médulas.

BTW, jirit, unless there´s another route I don´t know about, the Invierno doesn´t go into the city of Ourense. It connects with the Sanabrés at the albergue in A Laxe, a few days beyond Ourense on the Sanabrés. So does your last sentence mean you are not planning another camino in Spain?

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[jirit]

Hi Laurie

I meant to go back and correct that post. You are correct the route does connect further past Ourense at A Laxe.

Overall I think it would be a great route to attempt!

As for another camino in Spain - "never say never" I guess.

I would like to do the route in Turkey and the one in Germany before I return to Spain but you never know - might change my mind

Also I am trying to finish an interactive guidebook, and a couple more in the wings, so I will have see how many cycles I have left over

 

[alansykes]

I walked the Camino Madrid alone in late September/early October this year. It was great. No problems. All in all I met 7 other pilgrims in the 11 days I walked, until Sahugun where suddenly they are everywhere. Having an improved Spanish vocabluary helped a lot, but the local people are very helpful and the signage is good.
I mapped my walk here:
http://runkeeper.com/user/MarianneGardner/route/2696354
If you zoom in on the maps there are photos embedded.

Dear Melanie,

I am probably being dense, but the only stage I could find on that link was from Manzanares el Real to Cercedilla, and I didn't seem to be able to find the pics either. As I say, it's probably my machine (and me) not being very advanced.

Thanks

Alan
PS. Love that Goya you use for your profile pic - soooo looking forward to seeing the real thing in the Prado next weekend.

 

[MarianneGardner]

Dear Melanie,

I am probably being dense, but the only stage I could find on that link was from Manzanares el Real to Cercedilla, and I didn't seem to be able to find the pics either. As I say, it's probably my machine (and me) not being very advanced.

Thanks

Alan
PS. Love that Goya you use for your profile pic - soooo looking forward to seeing the real thing in the Prado next weekend.

Hi Alan,
Here is a link to my blog which might be helpful:
http://mariannecamino.blogspot.com.au/

I hope you enjoyed seeing the real thing in the Prado, I always go and visit him when I am in Madrid.

Marianne

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Alan,
Here is a link to my blog which might be helpful:
http://mariannecamino.blogspot.com.au/

I hope you enjoyed seeing the real thing in the Prado, I always go and visit him when I am in Madrid.

Marianne

Great pictures, Mariannne. Brought back a lot of good memories. It looked like the door to the church in Wamba may have been open when you passed by? I had so wanted to see those horseshoe arches inside but it was locked up tight.

I was also surprised to see in your earlier post that you met 7 other pilgrims. When I walked about three years agoin the beginning of May, I met two, so it looks like numbers are increasing on this camino as well. Not surprising, given the excellent infrastructure. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[amancio]

Great that I found this topic. Maybe it also deserve its own thread. I mean this Camino Combos could really be top of the top. I was thinking of 2 combinations with multiple Caminos (walked in whole) connected to Camino Frances (walked in parts):

1.) northern (5 in 1 - app.950km)
- Camino Vasco del Interior (Irun - Sto.Domingo de la Calzada, 195km),
- Camino Frances (Sto.Domingo de la Calzada - Leon, 255km),
- Camino del Salvador (Leon - Oviedo, 126km),
- Camino Primitivo (Oviedo - Melide, 235km)
- Camino Frances and Finisterre/Muxia (Melide - Fisterra, 141km).

2.) southern (4 in 1 - app.835km)
- Camino de Madrid (Madrid - Sahagun, 315km),
- Camino Frances (Sahagun - Ponferrada, 162km),
- Camino Invierno (Ponferrada - SdC, 268km),
- Camino Finisterre/Muxia (Sdc - Finiserre, 88km).

Dreaming of walking those two in solitude and again with the crowd in zig-zags :lol:

you can even hit Camino del Norte for option 1 if you go Lugo-Friol-Sobrado dos Monxes instead of Lugo-Melide. Any choice that includes El Salvador is definitely something else...

 

[KinkyOne]

you can even hit Camino del Norte for option 1 if you go Lugo-Friol-Sobrado dos Monxes instead of Lugo-Melide. Any choice that includes El Salvador is definitely something else...

Thanks for the hint. But somehow I'm not really interested in del Norte. For now. I guess that's because I've heard much of it is on asphalt. I hope to walk it someday, but have a lot of other caminos in my plans prior to that

 

[peregrina2000]

Great that I found this topic. Maybe it also deserve its own thread. I mean this Camino Combos could really be top of the top. I was thinking of 2 combinations with multiple Caminos (walked in whole) connected to Camino Frances (walked in parts):

1.) northern (5 in 1 - app.950km)
- Camino Vasco del Interior (Irun - Sto.Domingo de la Calzada, 195km),
- Camino Frances (Sto.Domingo de la Calzada - Leon, 255km),
- Camino del Salvador (Leon - Oviedo, 126km),
- Camino Primitivo (Oviedo - Melide, 235km)
- Camino Frances and Finisterre/Muxia (Melide - Fisterra, 141km).

2.) southern (4 in 1 - app.835km)
- Camino de Madrid (Madrid - Sahagun, 315km),
- Camino Frances (Sahagun - Ponferrada, 162km),
- Camino Invierno (Ponferrada - SdC, 268km),
- Camino Finisterre/Muxia (Sdc - Finiserre, 88km).

Dreaming of walking those two in solitude and again with the crowd in zig-zags :lol:

Hi, KinkyOne, I love zigging and zagging. I've done your second suggestion and it was great. When I walked the Madrid, I met only two others, but people say the traffic is increasing (given the terrific albergue/infrastructure, its not surprising), but the Invierno seems to remain totally deserted.

My other zig zag was
--Norte to San Vicente de la Barquera
--Lebaniego to Potes
--Vadiniense to Leon
-- Salvador to Oviedo
--Primitivo to Melide
--Frances to Santiago

That last one is a good choice for people who like mountains, but the Vadiniense does have a lot of asphalt! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi, KinkyOne, I love zigging and zagging. I've done your second suggestion and it was great. When I walked the Madrid, I met only two others, but people say the traffic is increasing (given the terrific albergue/infrastructure, its not surprising), but the Invierno seems to remain totally deserted.

My other zig zag was
--Norte to San Vicente de la Barquera
--Lebaniego to Potes
--Vadiniense to Leon
-- Salvador to Oviedo
--Primitivo to Melide
--Frances to Santiago

That last one is a good choice for people who like mountains, but the Vadiniense does have a lot of asphalt! Buen camino, Laurie

Thanks, Laurie!
I wasn't really searching information on Vadiniense so far, but what I've reasd it didn't looked like there's much asphalt. So that's another one for the bottom of my camino bucket list
If, and that's a capital IF, I'll have enough money next summer I think I'll go for either Via Augusta + VDLP (via Sanabres) or my "southern" suggestion. Heat isn't really a problem for me, so I think I'll make decision in the last moment. So much easier when you live in EU...

Regards!