Camino the Madrid memories

[Thomas1962]

My next camino is getting closer, the 6th of september I fly to Madrid from Amsterdam and I planned to walk to Tres Cantos the first day. I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm not someone who really prepares, I just take the guide of the confraternity with me and experience what's on my way day by day. I love it that way, it's heaven for me. (except for the last km's of each day ;-) )

So, in that sense I'm not looking for advices (although I read this forum a lot). But I'm just curious what is the strongest experience you memorize of this camino (good or bad) of each of you who walked this camino. I love to read stories....

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Thomas, I walked the Camino de Madrid in 2011 and can vividly remember the early morning start from Cercedilla up to the Fuenfria pass in the Guadarrama mountains. Roman road (though some dispute that it is that old), cool pine forests, quiet beauty, emerging out onto the ridge with the snow-covered mountains all around you. Awesome!

The less place-specific memory is of the many wonderful people I met in small towns. This is not a busy camino. I was alone for a big chunk of this walk and spent many hours talking with villagers who were eager to talk and happy to have company. I learned that it is possible to have a very full and satisfying life without ever traveling more than 100 kms from where you were born.

I did keep a blog with some of those stories http://peregrina2000.blogspot.com/

Buen camino to you, Laurie

 

[Canuck]

Puerto de Fuenfria ranks first in what is a lovely camino.

I enjoyed every single day of that outing completed last May.

Have a good one,
Jean-Marc

 

[peregrina2000]

I'm still learning how to insert pictures in the new forum, so this thread seemed like a good opportunity -- a picture from the pass at Fuenfria! I may try to do some more just for practice. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

The beautiful castle at Coca, open for wandering around. Great albergue in town, too!

 

[peregrina2000]

The bar in the little town of Castromonte (also home of a five star albergue, just incredible). This bar owner was 96 years old in 2011. He showed me a picture of him behind the bar at age 14. He and his 94 year old wife were still running this bar.

When I walked into the bar, it was lunchtime. There were lots of workers eating lunch and drinking wine. I went up to the bar and asked if I could eat here. His response -- Did you bring the food? Turns out all these workers brought their own food and just got drinks in the bar. When I told him I had no food, he sent his wife over to their house, and she brought back several freshly laid eggs, some home made chorizo and a salad from their garden. I felt more than a little bit embarrassed at putting these people to work, but they were happy to do it and the food was delicious.

And this is the albergue (where I was all alone!):



Ok, I have to do this picture-upload undertaking enough times to burn it into my brain, I think this should do it! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Susannafromsweden]

It's funny Laurie is posting the pics from Castromonte, as I was just sitting here thinking about it.
I arrived a bit late there and I was very tired and hungry. Then I saw the albergue, and recognised it, while thinking how am I going to get into it? As the town seemed to be all empty, I wondered if I better continue to the next one.
Then a tractor came driving and a man jumped out, asking me if I wanted to stay there. I said yes of course.
Ok inside there was already a Spanish pilgrim, sleeping. He spoke no English and I could only understand very little of what he was saying. After a while we went out to see if we could find somewhere to go shopping. It was raining.
There was just one shop and it was closed. But we managed to get the owner to open for us, and I bought some candy for the next day.
And then we went to this bar, and realised they didn't make any food, they just served drinks! So we went back to the albergue and I thought okay big deal I can eat tomorrow. I tried to sleep, but my stomach started to rumble and it was embarrassing as it could be heard all over the empty albergue. Then the spaniard made a phone call, and went out in the rain again. After a while he came back with something wrapped in a paper napkin. "This is for you, from Valladolid", he said. I opened it, and it was a piece of bread, beautiful with a nice pattern on it. I was very touched. And I ate that in the kitchen, and thought it was the best bread I have ever eaten.
Hope it doesn't sound silly, but that's one if my happiest memories from camino de Madrid. I think it's wonderful that someone you don't know can go out in the rain just to try to find a piece of bread for you.
Buen camino.

 

[Canuck]

It's not true that you cannot eat in Castromonte.
I had an excellent boccadillo with a cold beer and a delicous dessert with coffee and aguardiente in the middle of the village right on the camino, just before the plaza mayor.
You have to ask and you will be directed to the panaderia. The only sign on the front is for the National Lottery and Nestle Helados. The locals know it very well.
The lady running the place is very nice and pilgrim friendly.

 

[Susannafromsweden]

...and here's a pic of one of the not so nice memories. Snow on the way down from the Fuenfria pass. In May!
But I met a guy from Madrid who had walked there just a week earlier. He took a photo of almost the same place and it looked like full snowstorm.
Buen camino

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Canuck, That's great information to have. Though if Susanna and I had had it before we walked, we would have missed our remarkable experiences in Castromonte! But I hope to walk again, so I will add that note to my notes. I'm one of those who loves serendipity but loves to have some fallback plans. thanks, Laurie

 

[Susannafromsweden]

Hi, Canuck, That's great information to have. Though if Susanna and I had had it before we walked, we would have missed our remarkable experiences in Castromonte! But I hope to walk again, so I will add that note to my notes. I'm one of those who loves serendipity but loves to have some fallback plans. thanks, Laurie

+1 to that.
There are more bocadillos in this world, than acts of kindness. So I think we drew the longest straw.

 

[Canuck]

I prefer bocadillos to self-pity.
I you leave your guidebooks at home you maximize your chance of ''remarkable experiences''.
To each his own.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Canuck, I carried the CSJ guide, and would never walk a route like this without one. I certainly wasn't suggesting that you can't have remarkable experiences if you walk with a guidebook. So I don't think we disagree about anything here. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Roger Hogstrom]

In 2012 I had a 3 course dinner with wine together with 3 other pilgrims(the only pilgrims I met that year) in the same place Lotteria nacional-helado - panplace

Roger

 

[Canuck]

Good on you Roger!
That panplace certainly doesn't advertize itself in any way.
You have to be a go-getter to find it and then what it has to offer.
It beats waiting for an act of kindness, rolled in a ball in the albergue.

 

[peregrina2000]

Ok, let's all agree that Castromonte has a good place to eat masquerading as a panaderia. This is good information for pilgrims who might not otherwise see it.

What I really want to know is whether the 95 (now 97??) year old wonderfully kind man is still runing the Bar Filipinas in the plaza mayor of Castromonte with his wife who must now be in her mid 90s as well.

If you pass through Castromonte, please let me know! Thanks, Laurie

 

[Susannafromsweden]

Ok, let's all agree that Castromonte has a good place to eat masquerading as a panaderia. This is good information for pilgrims who might not otherwise see it.

What I really want to know is whether the 95 (now 97??) year old wonderfully kind man is still runing the Bar Filipinas in the plaza mayor of Castromonte with his wife who must now be in her mid 90s as well.

If you pass through Castromonte, please let me know! Thanks, Laurie

They were there at least in may 2013 when I was there with the nice Spanish pilgrim.
We went in there and talked to the old man. I half remember seeing his wife too, but I may be wrong.
And there were very few guests.

 

[giorgio]

They must be slowing down their committment on the bar..when we passed in Castromonte they were away ' on a stroll ' and nobody ,not even their daughter,knew when they were going to be back.....hope next time will have a chance to meet them...
But going back to the first post, we really enjoyed the genuine curiosity and kindness of all the people living along the CDM and their efforts to help pikgrims in any way they could. Would say they time spent on the albergue of Puente Duero with Arturo and the hospitalero Pascual was really special....

 

[Thomas1962]

Thanks all for your memories. It's lovely to read. For me a small thing happening can give the strongest experience, and I never experience things that strong as on the camino. People I meet, water I find, a view, a simple bed in s sports dressing room where I can sleep which feels 10 times more value then any hotelroom. I experience so many gifts on the camino.
So your stories don't sound Silly at all Susanna and all of you, angels are not everywhere. Also discover a hidden place for a boccadillo.
The gods are fooling around on the camino!

 

[Roger Hogstrom]

In Alcazarén 2012 my gudiebook said that the albergue was small and not very nice and what Imet was a new , clean and very nice one. At night Bar Real made me a 3 course dinner like the one in Castromonte. That´s a good memory that made stop there this year when I walked. Nice people and good surprises makes your day on the camino.

Roger

 

[peregrina2000]

I remember someone saying the same thing about this albergue -- I remember because it surprised me. When I was there, it was new and very dirty, totally unmaintained. There weren't even any mops or brooms or some way to try to clean up. I assume this is the same place, attached to the fire station on the edge of town? I did think the design was not the best for hot weather, because it was very hard to get any fresh air in there with the little concrete patio with 14' walls. I am not complaining, mind you, I was very grateful to have a place to sleep! But I am very glad to hear that they have done something to improve the daily cleaning. Agree completely about Bar Real! And that apse -- wow.

 

[unadara]

http://unascamino2011.wordpress.com...and-computer-are-also-in-the-bedroom-reallly/
If you can check out this link!
Our stay in Penaflors-you have to have a drink with the Mayor in the Bar (where you also eat) and he brings you to the alberque-it is his office, the beds are in the bathroom/or the library..as there were 2 of us we decided to sleep in the library-in case one of us needed to use the bathroom, there was a public access computer in the hallway..all in all a great place to stay after a lovely walk. The previous nights alberque was brilliant too? I walked with a Spaniard (we met on the Camino Frances previously) and we did not meet any English speakers along the way. Some alberques are not open despite the CSJ guide, carry rations, be prepared to stop in small bars along the way and ask where is the next place, they may advise you take a bocadillo with you if the distance is long. The solitary nature of the walk was a highlight for me despite the fact I had company, we both liked to be silent.
Buen Camino

 

[Anniesantiago]

...and here's a pic of one of the not so nice memories. Snow on the way down from the Fuenfria pass. In May!
But I met a guy from Madrid who had walked there just a week earlier. He took a photo of almost the same place and it looked like full snowstorm.
Buen camino

Ok. Now I'm skeered!