A wintery meseta

[brawblether]

I am not the blog writing type but I will drop by here from time to time over the next few weeks with brief updates of my walk from Logrono to Leon. The winter walkers who have posted practical information on this forum have been invaluable to my own walk preparations and so I wanted to be able to offer the same to those also about to embark or who are considering walking at this time of year in the future.

Love to hear any questions you have about that particular stretch or just walking in February in general. I leave home today and will start walking in a week's time.

Vaya con Dios!

 

[wayfarer]

Enjoy. Buen Camino.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

be sure to stop in at The Peaceable when you pass through Moratinos. We may be the only place that´s open!

 

[brawblether]

Thanks, Rebekah! Duly noted in my guide book (at least, the pages that I've ripped out and pinned together to take!)

 

[AnnieH61]

Buen Camino. Hope the weather is kind.
Annie

 

[ivar]

Buen camino!

 

[lettinggo]

Have a great time and keep dry.

Buen Camino

 

[Rebekah Scott]

A note to pilgrims now on the the Palentino meseta: As of Thursday 30 Jan., far as I can determine, no albergues are open between Calzadilla de la Cueza and Sahagun right through February. Hostal Moratinos may open if you phone in advance, but I can´t guarantee that.
The Peaceable in Moratinos is the only other option. We have keys to Albergue San Bruno if more than 5 pilgrims arrive at once, but the heat will be switched off over there.
If you want to stay with us, please send an email or call a bit in advance to 979 061 016 -- especially if you have special dietary needs. We are a skeleton crew, do not bring too many expectations.
Be sure to carry plenty of water with you!

Please let everyone here know if you see Ledigos or either place in Terradillos is open -- we don´t always get the word.

 

[Olivares]

The bar Laganares at San Nicolas del Real Camino is very welcoming, they have free wi-fi and may be an option. I have read posts about skipping the Meseta and I think that is insane; wonderful region and very welcoming. The beef stew at Calzadilla de la Cueza's only restaurant will lift your spirit for sure.

 

[mspath]

Another stop for a drink or a meal is the Casa Barrunta in San Nicolas del Real Camino. They are VERY pilgrim friendly ; I've happily eaten their on all my caminos. MM

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Casa Barrunta is open in winter, but Albergue Laganares is not.

 

[AshaDasi]

I am not the blog writing type but I will drop by here from time to time over the next few weeks with brief updates of my walk from Logrono to Leon. The winter walkers who have posted practical information on this forum have been invaluable to my own walk preparations and so I wanted to be able to offer the same to those also about to embark or who are considering walking at this time of year in the future.

Love to hear any questions you have about that particular stretch or just walking in February in general. I leave home today and will start walking in a week's time.

Vaya con Dios!

Buen camino! I'd love to hear your experience. I walked when it was relatively warm (but some dreadful windy days), so a winter experience would be interesting to hear.

 

[brawblether]

Firstly let me apologise for not having fulfilled my promise to update you all whilst I was walking the Camino in February. Although I had an excellent supply of free wi-fi I found I was too tired or too caught up in writing my own journal and responding to messages from friends.


So I thought I would just offer a few experiences and observations from my time walking in winter as compared to my first Camino which was in summer. Please remember that I only walked a section, starting in Logroñoand finishing in Calzadilla de la Cueza so all of my comments only apply to this stretch.


In winter…

- there is always an albergue within walking distance. I never came across a place with more than one albergue open though so you never had a choice of where to go, but the absence of a need to choose means a greater freedom and a greater ability to let go and take the Camino and all that it has to off you as it comes.

- there was heating in all the albergues I stayed in, however in a few it hardly made a difference, they were still cold. I carried a 0deg sleeping bag and although I was very warm on a few nights and had to sleep in a singlet and knickers only, I was glad of the warmth it provided in those colder places.

- I was the only female pilgrim walking on her own (I only met two other female pilgrims, one Italian cyclist and one Portuguese walking with her boyfriend.)

- although there are less people I felt less alone. Because there were so few pilgrims those who come across each other stick together in conversation more. So in an albergue there were not cliques or separate groups, we were all in it together.

- the most common number of fellow pilgrims in an albergue at night were three others, I spent two nights on my own (and another in a hotel).

- there isn’t really a need to carry food. I did after reading people’s advice here and got freaked out so I carried some cheese and sausage and fruit. I dumped it after the first night, just carrying some chocolate and 1-2 pieces of fruit. There was always somewhere to get food.

- I got to know the locals better because I would go into bars out of necessity. When I walked in summer I’d stop for a cold drink, sit outside, and keep moving. This time I would order a cup of tea and a small cake and take my time.

- I ate a lot more menu del dia usually one every second day, the alternate day I ate lightly (this suited me, I’m not necessarily recommending it, just commenting on my pattern)

- there’s no need to rush! I left when it started to get light, around 8.15am, and I walked an average of 25kms/day delighting in being able to stop and enjoy my breaks without feeling that I had to press on to beat the heat (or the, in my experience, fictitious need to rush to get a bed). The latest I ever arrived was 6pm.

- the extended walking days meant that the afternoons and evenings were more enjoyable because they were shorter. In the summer I found them too long and would get bored. I can’t stand “hanging out.” I like to be reading, or writing, or doing something productive.

- clothes don’t have to be washed every day – YEEHAAARR!


I loved it. I’d definitely walk in winter again. I’m hoping to change things up next time I walk though just for a difference experience. Ideally I’d love to start from Calzadilla de la Cueza in mid March of a year.


They are the main things that come to mind, I’m happy to answer questions though if they come to mind.

 

[Thornley]

Commercial Road on friday Brawblether with Friends Of Camino ??

 

[Anniesantiago]

Could you post your packing list for your winter Camino and dates you are walking?
Thanks!

 

[brawblether]

I walked for ten days from 2 February. Here's my packing list and a few comments:

Clothes:

walking shoes

casual shoes

2 x bras (1 sports, 1 normal)

3 x socks

casual socks

3 x knickers

camisole (to sleep in)

2 x hiking trousers (zip off)

rain trousers

thermal bottoms

SS merino top

LS base layer merino top

Merino jumper

rain coat

fleece (bulky to walk in, let wind through too easily, next time I'd look for a thin jacket that didn't let air through, was never cold enough to have to wear four layers so I potentially could have left it behind but was still glad for it.)

beanie (never wore it)

chute (best thing ever)

gloves (waterproof would have been better)


Toiletries:

shampoo

toothbrush

toothpaste

medication

bandaids (never needed them)

lip balm

tissues

deodorant

face cream (sample size)

comb

micro fibre towel (small)

2 x soap cakes (didn’t need them, there was always soap for clothes in the albergues and I used the shampoo for my body)

strapping tape

white under tape

eye drops

betadine

needle

disinfectant wipes



Equipment:

45L backpack

0 deg sleeping bag

silk liner (lighter than a pillow case with the option of being able to put it under me in case I needed to open up the sleeping bag if the albergue was too hot)

Swatch watch

sun glasses

headlamp (only used once when I left before dark – wasn’t needed)

2 x flashing lights (didn’t really need but glad I had)


Other:

padlock

ziplock bags

camera

Brierly book - relevant pages only

eye mask (never needed)

2 x ear plugs

day bag

gold cross & chain

St James medal

Pilgrim pin

whistle

2 x pen

2 x passports

credit/debit cards x 3

note book

iPad mini

earphones

charger

camera-iPad lead

adaptor

3 x St Mary Mackillop medals (to give away)

black bin bag liners

safety pins


Bought there there:

walking stick

nail file

women’s items

scissors

 

[Kanga]

Good list. Looks almost identical to my early spring/late autumn pack. I agree about the fleece - I don't take one but I do take a thin merino cardigan and I used to take a wind-proof jacket. Now think a Packa will cover for both wind and rain. I also take ski gloves - my husband laughs but boy do I love them.

 

[brawblether]

Commercial Road on friday Brawblether with Friends Of Camino ??

Thanks for the heads up, already have plans though

 

[ranthr]

Made me think of a winter camino!
Chute (best thing ever)? Need some language help!
Randi

 

[wes]

I am not the blog writing type but I will drop by here from time to time over the next few weeks with brief updates of my walk from Logrono to Leon. The winter walkers who have posted practical information on this forum have been invaluable to my own walk preparations and so I wanted to be able to offer the same to those also about to embark or who are considering walking at this time of year in the future.

Love to hear any questions you have about that particular stretch or just walking in February in general. I leave home today and will start walking in a week's time.

Vaya con Dios!

Thanks, brawblether, an extremely interesting and helpful post.
I've walked the meseta twice, once in early autumn and once in late autumn. I don't like to choose favourites on the Camino, it's all wonderful, but if I had to, it would be the meseta. I've started thinking vaguely about walking from Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Leon in February next year, and would love to hear some detail of the weather conditions you experienced. I've looked at a few long-term weather sites and was surprised to learn, for example, that February averages only half the rainfall of January. I appreciate that no two years are the same; still, a bit of real-world information never goes astray.
Buen camino,
Wes

 

[donalomahony]

This may be of interest. I walked from Burgos to Leon February '14 http://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...ds/My-Camino-Pics-Feb-2014.24558/#post-190944

 

[brawblether]

Made me think of a winter camino!
Chute (best thing ever)? Need some language help!
Randi

Hee! This: http://nz.icebreaker.com/en/womens-...F48OS.html?start=16&cgid=womens-hats-neckwear
I used it as a headband mostly (admittedly when I read someone taking a headband I thought how ridiculous, just wear a beanie, nooooo, these cover your ears and forehead much better and thus are more effective as a wind breaker and also you don't get too hot) but also as a neck warmer, I really appreciated the flexibility of being able to shift it up or down or looping it into my back belt when I didn't want to wear it but had it to hand.

 

[brawblether]

Thanks, brawblether, an extremely interesting and helpful post.
I've walked the meseta twice, once in early autumn and once in late autumn. I don't like to choose favourites on the Camino, it's all wonderful, but if I had to, it would be the meseta. I've started thinking vaguely about walking from Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Leon in February next year, and would love to hear some detail of the weather conditions you experienced. I've looked at a few long-term weather sites and was surprised to learn, for example, that February averages only half the rainfall of January. I appreciate that no two years are the same; still, a bit of real-world information never goes astray.
Buen camino,
Wes

Warmer than I had expected, which wasn't necessarily a good thing, just meant I carried more than I anticipated because I thought I'd be wearing it. From memory 0-5C on average with some days up to 10/12 and others down to -3... Certainly dryer and sunnier than I expected, which was wonderful. My first 5 days or so were completely dry, then there was rain overnight every night, then it started raining and sleeting through the day, and ended up with a fierce snow storm cutting my walk short by three days (I had planned to walk to Leon but stopped a little early - I'd rather pick it up from there next time than risk breaking something on the ice or walk in soaking shoes/pants...yes, clothes wise I was dry all over expect my underpants which copped the run off from my jacket, pretty funny in retrospect). The news was filled with reports of it having been the worst weather on record etc, I think I saw Ivar post photos of the crazy waves along the coast. About 3 days in it got windy, and stayed windy. Gale force winds on many days.

 

[wes]

Thank you, that's very helpful. On an open, seemingly endless meseta, clear and cold is perfect for the body, mind, imagination, and spirit. And a bit of rain and not too much wind can be strangely enjoyable. But while an hour or so's worth of sleet, ice, snow storms, and gales can be exciting, being outside in those kinds of conditions quickly loses its appeal, at least for me. A February walk remains appealing, but perhaps with the capacity to shift to a plan 'B' at short notice.
Regards, Wes

 

[wes]

This may be of interest. I walked from Burgos to Leon February '14 http://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...ds/My-Camino-Pics-Feb-2014.24558/#post-190944

Thanks, donalomahony. If a picture's worth a thousand words, yours are worth several thousand.
Wes

 

[brawblether]

Here are some photos from my walk. Definitely, definitely consider a February Camino, it was good beyond all expectations.

 

[donalomahony]

Great photos! The variation in weather in February seems to be a common thread!

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Here are some photos from my walk. Definitely, definitely consider a February Camino, it was good beyond all expectations.

Beautiful photos. You can tell it's pretty cold since you have that hat close to your head pretty often! But the Meseta looks so stunning with that light green growth- and that snow at the end was just magic!
Margaret

 

[wes]

Here are some photos from my walk. Definitely, definitely consider a February Camino, it was good beyond all expectations.

Beautifully atmospheric pictures. Paths that stretch to the horizon provide one of the defining emotions of the Camino.
Regards, Wes

 

[Betty Bauer]

fleece (bulky to walk in, let wind through too easily, next time I'd look for a thin jacket that didn't let air through

I have to admit I didn't know what a fleece was before I started reading this forum ... but now I own one, a vest, that I am visualizing being probably the most useful to wear at night. I am hoping in buying the vest to still have the advantages of a fleece, while having some less weight/more space, and less of the awkwardness of perhaps not really finding it useful to walk in.

 

[grayland]

I have found that faux down jacket is far superior to fleece. Very light and stuffs into its own pocket.
1. Lighter. 2. More wind resistant. 3. Not bulky. 4. Comfortable to sleep in if needed
5. Dries quickly (as opposed to down). 6. Keeps you warm but not hot

Google Patagonia Nano Puff as an example. Other brands available also.