hallo all. Thats me back home...8 days alicante to albacete. I`ll try and summarise. Its a great camino...well marked out and interesting. I brought my mobile phone with Osmand mapping preloaded as well as the gpx file of the route overlaid. This was the first time using such as I was a bit concerned about the waymarkings. But, kudos to those who keep them up to date and repainted. I would still take the mapping and gpx file as back up for any trip but its not needed here. If you are unfamiliar with such...start researching now...routemapping isnt difficult..its just another string to your bow.
Its quiet...no other pilgrims. There are no cafes by the roadside as in other caminos...just long stretches of trail. Shopping is a bit hit and miss. the odd store here and there. But you wont go a day without passing somewhere to replenish, albeit basically. In the bigger towns there are the usual Mercadonas etc.
There are no springs or wells on the route. I was carrying up to 6 liters of water which is a fair weight in the pack . There are no rivers to speak of and any streams marked on the map were bone dry. Its not out and out desert..there are sprawling vineyards in many places..but it was a bit ` cactus gulch` here and there. I found the trail got easier as it went on. Incidentally ,you will see on some web pages the first stage is 40km to Novelda. Yes, if you are an elite marine...otherwise its 2 stages. The other stages are between 16 and 24 miles. As I was camping first 5 days , I made up my own stages.
Microclimates : the first 2 days were lovely and warm at night....sleeping in a mesh pop up tent..great. It was hot during the day...I could not possibly do this walk in the summer...I think it would be a nightmare. days 3 to 5 ...markedly cooler as terrain turned less coastal and more desert. Very uncomfortable at night. days 5 to 8, checking the forecast...it was still lovely in alicante but heading more inland it dropped to minus 2 for a few nights. I had to swallow my pride and head for the refugios.
the refugios are fine. small... 4 beds or sometimes no beds, just a mattress. All safe, a heck of a lot warmer than outside, running water , lights etc. very basic...no cooking facilities but usually something going in the village. looking at the guest book, it was a month since the last visitors. You normally have to phone ahead a day in advance to arrange for a key. Nobody speaks English...my Spanish is pretty good but i still had struggled with the accents.
boots : not trainers, or trail shoes or whatever. Proper boots.end of.
I use the digi navega 500 simcard. you can buy this for 13 quid on ebay or ten euros in Alicante. either way, you`ll need to supply passport details to register it. I have used this card. It is reliable. You get 700 mb of usage and 3 euros of calls. To Scotland it was 8 cents a minute. I used the net but didn`t make more than 2 minutes of calls. Its easy to top up and when your 700 mb allowance runs out (mine never has) it simply gets downgraded to a slow connection rather than just cut off. great. i researched all cards, take my word ...this is what you want. If you buy it in Alicante, the shop is called MaxMara. Thats the only shop...its actually a grocer.Again, no English is spoken so if you are unsure...order it on ebay and all the palavar is dealt with , in English, before you arrive.
i used a 30 x 15 cm pack mounted solar panel to keep my phone charged. i also converted my headlamp quite simply to use the same cable to recharge it. no worries about batteries etc.
The camino is marked from the town center very well and it should only take a few hours to clear the outskirts and be in open country.
Overall, its not a very strenuous camino if you keep your goals reasonable. However, the hike up to the church at Orito was tough going. Albeit, it was very hot, no wind and very rough terrain. There is , i recall, another route on the gpx map which avoids this. Otherwise, some really great walking sections. There are a few sections on asphalt but the roads were quiet and pretty safe as far as road walking goes.
So, excuse me if I have rambled on...just putting the info up as it came to me. Don`t hesitate to do this camino, even if its bit by bit . I am raring to go on the next section up to Toledo from Albacete. The bus and train routes are reliable and frequent so I`ll easyjet it to alicante again then bus it up to Albacete to continue. Just as an aside, after Albacete I did bus it back down to Alicante to fly home and spent a night in the San Remo hotel. 25 pounds, clean , comfortable and friendly.
any other questions, just ask. Otherwise, I`ll see you on the road to Toledo.
cheers,
Billy