A few updates for CDM walkers

[giorgio]

We're just back from CDM, so better send you some notes while i still have all the details ...
-to Fuencarral the metro line is number 10
-in Tres Cantos the Camino passes basically 2,5 km out of the town which is absolutely cold and unappealing as it is a new town 20 years old..
-in Colmenar only place hotel Chiscon 44 single 60 double
-Manzanares only accomodation is Hotel Parque Real 42 single 57 double with breakfast (nothing to be remembered !). possible bus to mataelpino
-Navacerrada vacation place somehow expensive. If you don't need to get something,bypass it and stay on carretera,you'll avoid a real steep climb to get out of town and back on the carretera
-had no means to check it ,but had a feeling that carretera to Cercedilla is a much shorter way than the path marked by Yellow arrows after navacerrada .
-Cercedilla Yout hostel 20 euros per person, hostal Aribel Longinos 40 euros double, good value for money ,close to town and train station
-didn't test it but have heard that Valsain has albergue Officina turismo tel 921470018
-Segovia hostal Juan Bravo good value for money 40 double
-Valseca, didn't test it but inhabitant told me that new beds have been put in the albergue
-Nava accomodation in brand new Centro Social ,excellent
-Villeguillo albergue 10 beds pretty good,no covers ,no kitchen gear,only microwave, no provision, can get meal in cafe' but cafe' closed on tuesday possible taxi service Rafael 633780378
-Alcazaren new albergue very good get keys at Information Office
-Ponte Duero fantastic albergue with hospitaleiro , not to be missed. bus every hour to Valladolid
-Cigunuela ,very good new albergue, good place to eat in front of church
-Penaflor, the two steep ups and downs are quite hard with wet weather, if wet simply take carretera ,two km shorter and flat and,most important , not muddy.
-Medina Very beautiful, stay with the nuns very nice accomodation.Church of Santa Cruz now a Museum of Semana santa,worth visiting. recommend restaurant el Sequillo
-alternative route . 8 km along canal, then 3 km to Tamariz, no provisions. 10 km to Cuenca
from canal to cuenca all tarmac
-Villalon, very nice albergue with hospitaleiro
-to santervas 15km(8 to Fontihouelo,7 to Santervas) nice albergue, meal arranged by Centro Social
CDM is a great pick for a short walk as matrid to Sahagun it's about 300 km. Will certainly do it again. Only downside is the bit to Madrid-Segovia where you have no pilgrim accomodation.
Buen Camino to all !!!
Giorgio and Elisa

 

[crackmrmac]

-Ponte Duero fantastic albergue with hospitaleiro

Hóla, Can you recall name of hospitalero you met? I know local Arturo is the main man but Pasqual from Barcelona was due to relieve him for month of May.
Buen Camino, Brian.

 

[giorgio]

In fact both Arturo and Pascual were there when we arrived . Had a long chat with both and a fantastic dinner with Pascual. Then in the morning Pascual walked with us up to Simancas.
A great experience and great people. Hope to be able to be back there soon.
Giorgio

 

[crackmrmac]

Muy buen. I recall Pasqual going on morning jogs.
Thanks for your updates above.
Buen Camino

 

[jerbear]

Many thanks for the updates. Will look at for this years camino! May 22 2013 Buen camino!

 

[Susannafromsweden]

Hi,
I'm going to Madrid on Saturday.
Can you tell me if its still cold indoors at the albergues?
I remember there used to be very chilly in April-March.
The nights are so cold right now I'm considering packing more warm clothes.

/Susanna

 

[giorgio]

Hallo Susanna,
weather wasn't too good in Spain when we were there, especially on CF and VDLP . Camino de madrid was ok,just a few drops of rain one day and some windy days. Albergues were not really cold, all of them had blankets, with the xception of Villeguillo where we left the fan heater on during the night. But that was three weeks ago so in my opinion you should not worry about cold.
Giorgio and Elisa

 

[Susannafromsweden]

Thank you very much for the quick reply.
That sounds good!
/Susanna

 

[Colm_og]

Hi I did the Camino Frances in 2011 and Albergues were around 10 euro-15 euro pretty much the entire trip. Im just wondering are the prices your describing (40-60 euros etc) typical of prices for albergues on Camino de Madrid or just a particular kind of hostel?

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Colm_og,
I walked the Camino de Madrid in 2011 and found that after Segovia, there were pilgrim albergues in all the towns where I stayed, and prices were either donativo or very low. Before Segovia, there are some unavoidable nights in hostales or pensiones. Between Tres Cantos (albergue) and Cercedilla (youth hostal, open to pilgrims with credential, about 10 euros) there are no albergues. Depending on your distances, that may mean a hostal/hotel in Colmenar el Viejo and Manzanares el Real. Both of those are in the 40-60 range. Segovia has many cheap options and is worth a nice visit.

The thing I found most astonishing about the Camino de Madrid was the high quality of the albergues, their large capacity, and the total lack of pilgrims. I slept alone in many places. The CSJ online guide is great, if you don't already have it. It's a great walk. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Colm_og]

Thanks a million! That helps a lot!

 

[Thomas1962]

Agree on what Laurie said. Walked CdM in september with my wife. Till Segovia (except Tres Cantos) more expensive private places, after that mostly albergues which often felt like private rooms and kitchen (with 10 to 25 other empty beds ). As far as I remember, always under €10 a night.
Walking CdM was great & CSJ guide is great indeed, only missed a good map. The map provided by the camino group in Madrid worked well.

As said in the CSJ guide, arriving in Sahagun was a shock, so many other pilgrims. I couldn´t cope with it. Went by train to Leon to continue the Salvador.

 

[alansykes]

Just to add a minor detail, I meant to stay in Tres Cantos on my first night, a Sunday. Not recommended - the ayuntamiento was deserted, so I went to the policia local (at the other end of town), where the cop on duty made a couple of 'phone calls to find out that somebody would "probabilmente" turn up at the ayuntamiento to let me in between 10 and 11pm. As it was a freezing cold night, the thought of hanging around for 4-5 hours didn't appeal, so I checked into a characterless (and quite expensive, but warm) Holiday Inn. Things might be better on a weekday.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Alan,

The same thing happened to me last year on the Levante, when we arrived in La Gineta on a Sunday, having called the ayuntamiento during the week and received assurances, only to find that no one in town knew what we were talking about.

I guess the moral of this story is to have a fallback plan when arriving in small towns on obscure caminos on the weekend!

Another option would be to take the Cercanías back to Madrid from Tres Cantos and return the next morning. Without the albergue in Tres Cantos to rely on, there is quite a stretch at the beginning of the Camino de Madrid with only expensive options. Maybe someday they will re-open that wonderful place in Manzanares. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[alansykes]

Dear Laurie,

Wise words. It won't happen again, but if it did the cercanías back to town is the best idea. Leaving on a Sunday is also not recommended as every bicyclist in Madrid is out and about. I've nothing against bicyclists, but the astonishing number you have to share the road with makes quiet contemplation difficult. And, as Giorgio says, Tres Cantos is a bit charmless - a new town established by Franco.

 

[Phillypilgrim]

Thanks Giorgio for the update. I've added notes to my CJS guide for the CdM for September 2014!! Pam

 

[Colm_og]

Hi, I am still slowly planning my trip in July! I am just curious about a few more things regarding starting off from Madrid. I have narrowed down the starting point from the guide book I downloaded, to Rodilla Sandwhich cafe in Paseo del Castellana. On google street view I can see that on this road the two leaning buildings indicate the correct direction to start walking. Im just wondering are there any yellow arrows/shells/posts to mark the way, and if so does anyone know where specifically do they begin on this exact road? I cant seem to see any markers on street view! haha

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, I am still slowly planning my trip in July! I am just curious about a few more things regarding starting off from Madrid. I have narrowed down the starting point from the guide book I downloaded, to Rodilla Sandwhich cafe in Paseo del Castellana. On google street view I can see that on this road the two leaning buildings indicate the correct direction to start walking. Im just wondering are there any yellow arrows/shells/posts to mark the way, and if so does anyone know where specifically do they begin on this exact road? I cant seem to see any markers on street view! haha

Hi, Colm, the first arrow is right in front of the Rodilla Sandwich shop, which is on the left side (west) of the Castellana. It takes you along the Castellana for a short while, then turns off left around the hospital of Ramon y Cajal. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Colm_og]

Brilliant! Thanks a million

 

[peregrina2000]

Look at the bottom of the pole on the right. You're off!

 

[Colm_og]

Thats great! Really looking forward to it now! Any recommondations for hostels in Madrid in the Charmartin area?..I have searched a few and they all seem to be a bit further away from there, would be nice to get somewhere close to that cafe! haha

 

[Colm_og]

Actually just found a perfect place near the train station thanks to earlier threads!

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi, I am still slowly planning my trip in July! I am just curious about a few more things regarding starting off from Madrid. I have narrowed down the starting point from the guide book I downloaded, to Rodilla Sandwhich cafe in Paseo del Castellana. On google street view I can see that on this road the two leaning buildings indicate the correct direction to start walking. Im just wondering are there any yellow arrows/shells/posts to mark the way, and if so does anyone know where specifically do they begin on this exact road? I cant seem to see any markers on street view! haha

Hi, Colm,

Do you know when you'll start from Madrid already? I guess I'll be well ahead because I start on 20th June. Do you plan to go all the way to SdC or Fisterra?

Ultreia!

 

[Colm_og]

Hi! we are going from July 2nd Planning to go all the way to Santiago de Compestella if we can make it there in three weeks one way or another! haha I havent done this route before so lots of questions to be asked haha this forum has been very helpful so far!

 

[Colm_og]

Hi, Colm_og,
I walked the Camino de Madrid in 2011 and found that after Segovia, there were pilgrim albergues in all the towns where I stayed, and prices were either donativo or very low. Before Segovia, there are some unavoidable nights in hostales or pensiones. Between Tres Cantos (albergue) and Cercedilla (youth hostal, open to pilgrims with credential, about 10 euros) there are no albergues. Depending on your distances, that may mean a hostal/hotel in Colmenar el Viejo and Manzanares el Real. Both of those are in the 40-60 range. Segovia has many cheap options and is worth a nice visit.

The thing I found most astonishing about the Camino de Madrid was the high quality of the albergues, their large capacity, and the total lack of pilgrims. I slept alone in many places. The CSJ online guide is great, if you don't already have it. It's a great walk. Buen camino, Laurie

Hi Laurie, thanks a million for your help so far. I'm also just wondering for those first few places, such as Tres Cantos or Colmenar el Viejo, if it is necessary to book ahead for any of these places, or is it just a case of simple showing up and booking on arrival? I have a small group coming with me now! haha

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi Laurie, thanks a million for your help so far. I'm also just wondering for those first few places, such as Tres Cantos or Colmenar el Viejo, if it is necessary to book ahead for any of these places, or is it just a case of simple showing up and booking on arrival? I have a small group coming with me now! haha

Hi, Colm,

I was right that you'll be well behind me. I'll post my remarks here, so hope they would be of some help as those of Annie were.
I recommend to reserve in bigger towns as Segovia, Leon, Astorga etc. only, especially if in group! Otherwise it can be much more fun to "just go with the flow".

Ultreia!