Camino Ingles in Oct 2012

[Balaysa17th]

We are a group of 4 girl friends travelling from the Philippines, all first time peregrinos. Inspired by Johnnie Walker's new and highly informative guide, we have decided to do the Camino Ingles in mid-October, most likely leaving the Philippines Oct 13, arriving in Barcelona Oct 14, Santiago on Oct 15 and proceeding onto Ferrol to Naron or Neda. In the course of our preparations and research in this forum and elsewhere, some questions remain.

* weather and clothing. I read somewhere it averages 15 degrees. is it usually windy by the coast? Sunny? will a fleece jacket suffice? Will thermals be needed at nights?

* place to stay in Bruma. Aside from the albergue, are there any other pensions/hotels in Bruma?

* backpack. Just wondering: Can your 5-6kg fit into a 25L backpack? Or is that normally too big? We are petite women and not too sure about backpack sizes but would probably order this online.

* any apartment recommendations in Barcelona? We will spend a night there before flying to Santiago, but after the camino, we also plan to spend a few days there before flying back home.

Thanks in advance for all the info you have all been sharing!
Bebol

 

[miguel_gp]

Hi Bebol,

Welcome to the Forum. In answer to one of your questions, unfortunately, there is no other accommodation in Bruma itself and no real facilities in terms of bar, food, shop etc. However, in Meson Do Vento which is approximately a 1-2 km walk from Bruma there are all facilities and at least a couple of places to stay, Pension Meson Novo and Hotel Canaima. I have stayed in both and would recommend Meson Novo, although Canaima is perfectly ok. Depending on your schedule, the Meson Novo also offer to pick you up and drop you off from Bar Julia (prior to the ascent of the hill up to Bruma) so this could be an option. There is more on this (I think?) in Johnnie's Guide.

With the four of you, you can make your own entertainment in Bruma anyway, but you could always walk to Meson Do Vento in order to re-stock with supplies if you want to stay in the Albergue or maybe just carry your supplies with you that day. I guess it depends on what size rucksack you select

There have been a number of forum threads on the accommodation near Bruma, this one being one of them.

This is the location of the two pensions in Meson and if you zoom out into the map you can see where they are in realtion to Bruma (it is the village directly eaast from the pensions).

Please don't hesitate to ask if you need further info.

Saludos y Buen Camino
Mig

 

[Tia Valeria]

Welcome to the forum and the Camino Inglés. It is a lovely route.
As you have Johnnie's guide you will see that there is accomodation in Meson do Vento, about 2kms from Bruma. There are also cafes/restaurants and shops there. In Bruma itself there is only the albergue, as Miguel says. We stayed at the Meson Novo where they are very friendly and speak English. If you find that the long day passing Casa Julia is too much they will collect you, take you to Meson Novo and return you next morning. They obviously charge for the car service but it does mean that if Casa Julia is closed you can break the long section and also still genuinely walk the full Camino.

My pack is 30lts and takes 6-7kg. My old 20kg daypack only holds about 5kg. I find the slightly larger pack more comfortable and I don't have to fill it. My pack is a Berghaus 25+5 Freeflow, which allows air to circulate across my back, and I am 5'4" tall.

We dress in layers but have no experience of weather in October as we walked in May.

Buen Camino to you all

 

[miguel_gp]

....and the Camino Inglés. It is a lovely route.

Oops forgot to mention that. As Valeria says, the Ingles is a lovely route but a lot quieter than say the Frances or the Portugues. With four of you this may not be a problem, but especially in October, don't expect to meet many, if any, other Pilgrims. I walked the Ingles from Coruna in Oct 2011 and didn't see another Pilgrim until Santiago (but they may have been avoiding me ).

Weather in Oct 2011 was great, 30 degrees and sunny but this is Galicia so no guarantees!

Buen Camino
Mig

 

[Balaysa17th]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Mig and Tia. From Johnnie's guide, the Betanzos to Bruma route seemed too daunting for us and so we are breaking it into 2 days, opting to do the stop at Bar Julia, where we will arrange to use Antonio's service and stay at the highly recommended Pension O Meson Novo. Now that you say there is Hardly anything else in Bruma, we might as well consider reserving for 2 nights then, where at least we can have a nice meal and feel warm. :wink: . We worry that the albergue just might be a cold place to stay for the night especially since we do not intend to bring sleeping bags that add more weight to our packs.

But if weather is say, 20-30 degrees, wouldn't that just be wonderful!

What about those walking sticks? Are they available at Santiago?

buen camino!
Bebol

 

[miguel_gp]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Mig and Tia. From Johnnie's guide, the Betanzos to Bruma route seemed too daunting for us and so we are breaking it into 2 days, opting to do the stop at Bar Julia, where we will arrange to use Antonio's service and stay at the highly recommended Pension O Meson Novo. Now that you say there is Hardly anything else in Bruma, we might as well consider reserving for 2 nights then, where at least we can have a nice meal and feel warm. :wink: . We worry that the albergue just might be a cold place to stay for the night especially since we do not intend to bring sleeping bags that add more weight to our packs.

Although the Betanzos - Bruma stage is walkable in one day the 2nd part does contain a rather daunting 3km hill at the 18km point so maybe a wise choice to break for the day and tackle it the following day

I haven't stayed at the Albergue in Bruma so can't comment on the warmth factor. I do know that the welcome at Meson Novo is very warm and the family that run it are really lovely so you should enjoy your time there.

I appreciate you are going to use the "taxi" service from Bar Julia but below is a map just to show the vicinty of the Camino Route (green) to O Meson Novo and Bruma. The centre of Meson Do Vento is slightly off the map to the left.

 

[SabsP]

Highly recommended hostal in Barcelona
http://www.hostalorleans.com/index.php? ... apartments

Hostal Orleans...Quadruple room for 100 €.

 

[andy.d]

I stayed at Bruma Albergue in October and recommend it. The heating was on and you can order a meal which is delivered by a local restaurant. Definitely one of the best albergues I have stayed in,

Andy

 

[Balaysa17th]

wow, that map sure helps give us a clearer view. The pension is a bit of a detour to make twice, isn't it? But we got no cause for worry now, because of Andy's wonderful news! The albergue could just be the place for us on the 2nd leg of the Betanzos-Bruma route.

Unless: Mig, am I right in my understanding that it will only be a short distance from the Bar Julia drop-off point to Bruma, approx. 12km only? Will Ordes be the next realistic stop after Bruma?

Thanks for the hostal recommendation too, Sabine. Will look into it after this.

Now all we need are our Spanish Schengen visas (which we can apply for only at least 90days before departure), our equipment, some more physical conditioning, and just a little more faith!

Buen Camino!
Bebol

 

[JohnnieWalker]

wow, that map sure helps give us a clearer view. The pension is a bit of a detour to make twice, isn't it? Bebol

Hola - just to be clear. Understandably Antonio from the O Meson Novo will only pick up at the Bar Julia if people are staying in the hostel O Meson Novo. However there are taxis which also operate in the area.

If staying at the O Meson Novo there is no need to make the detour twice - rather coming out of the hostal turn Left and Keep Straight On until you meet yellow arrows turning Right to head to As Buscas.

Buen Camino

John

 

[Tia Valeria]

Yes, we had our room booked for 2 nights at O Meson Novo before we set off from Betanzos. We only phoned for Antonio once we reached Casa Julia, which was closed - so no coffee or rest stop.

As Johnnie says this is to collect their paying guests, not a open taxi service. Also Antonio does have other work to do and will arrange an estimated time for you to phone if you need collecting, where taxis are always on call. We always carried a taxi phone number, collected as we went along, in case of emergency.

 

[Tia Valeria]

.........We worry that the albergue just might be a cold place to stay for the night especially since we do not intend to bring sleeping bags that add more weight to our packs.

But if weather is say, 20-30 degrees, wouldn't that just be wonderful!

What about those walking sticks? Are they available at Santiago?

buen camino!
Bebol

I am not sure what the weather will be like when you walk, but I do not think any of the albergues on this route have blankets. They do issue disposable sheets and pillow cases, included in the charge. Were you planning on just using hostals? If not you will probably need some sort of covering.

 

[miguel_gp]

Sorry, by "taxi" I didn't mean to imply that Antonio would pick up anyone and take them anywhere, I just didn't want to have to write out "Antonio's Pick Up Service for Meson Novo" (oh damn I've done it now )

Yes Bruma is about 11km further on from Casa Julia. Ordes is not really on the camino route either so at its closest point I think it would be a round trip of about 4-5km to stay the night there. There is a Casa Rural near Ordes right on the Camno path. Their website quotes about 55 - 65 EUR per night for double room without food, possible you may find this cheaper through agencies? Casa Rural is located a further 9km on from Bruma and brings the next day into Sigueiro down to 15km.

Saludos
Mig

 

[Balaysa17th]

Tia, we are open to using a combination of hostels and albergues, wherever the road and the day leads us. Like many first-timers, this is mostly just a leap of faith... We have no real clear view of our own physical capacities yet, but we are training up for it. One of us is a diabetic, another has leg pain issues, so we'll see. In truth, we have not even considered bringing a blanket or some sort of covering... I suppose it will depend when we practice walking with our gear on, as we just want to bring 5-6kg max.

Thanks for the link on Casa Rural, Mig... I'll keep it on my list in case we decide to go beyond Bruma then. But i think that stretch on the route is better.

Lots of thanks!

 

[tyrrek]

Hi Bebol!

I'm joining this thread late so you already have lots of great advice.

I'd just add that I don't think the O Novo hostal itself does full meals, but there are other places in Meson do Vento to eat.

I walked in September last year and daytime temperatures were great for walking. By October the temperature at night will almost certainly be cool.

Walking sticks of various types are available in Santiago, so no worries there.

Buen Camino!

 

[miguel_gp]

I'd just add that I don't think the O Novo hostal itself does full meals, but there are other places in Meson do Vento to eat.

Yep, that is correct. It only really does breakfast and a variety of tapas during the day. Delicious mind you

 

[Balaysa17th]

Hello Tyrrek,

There's always more room for more advice, especially from the "veterans"!
And every little bit of information here has been very helpful.

Buen Camino!

 

[lovingkindness]

[reposted]

Hi there. In mid-October, 2011 I stayed at the albergue in Bruma and had a happy experience. The hospitalera provided me with a hygienic mattress cover, a pillow slip plus blankets as I didn’t carry a sleeping bag. There is a fireplace and wall heating in the communal area, heating in the bunk rooms, kitchen facilities and loads of hot water in the showers. All for just €5, Muchas Gracias. A Grocery van appears beside the childrens play area between 5.30 pm and 6 pm (I’m not sure if this is daily). If you wish to dial a meal there are telephone numbers on the kitchen wall.

Buen Camino,
-Lovingkindness