peregrina2000 said:
Hi, Isabelle, I was hoping you'd respond to this.
Can you tell me where you started out on the day you walked to Oliva de Plasencia, and where you stopped on the day you left? And if you have any idea about how many kms each day was, that'd be very helpful as well.
Thanks for the info, Laurie
Hi Laurie
I tried to recreate below a hand-drawn map which I saw pinned on noticeboards of the albergues in Grimaldo and Carcaboso (excuse my lack of drawing skills!). It shows how easy it is to detour via Oliva de Plasencia to make the Carcaboso-Aldeanueva section more manageable.
Basically, when you get to VQ, you turn right onto the main road to Oliva. Next day, you take a different, very quiet path direct to Caparra from Oliva. The house at Venta Quemada (which is at the crossroad of the camino and the road to Oliva) is the only one you will come across after leaving Carcaboso so it's impossible to miss it.
The whole Carcaboso to Aldeanueva section can be effected thus:
1. Carcaboso to Oliva de Plasencia: 13km + 6km detour = 19km total
2. Oliva de Plasencia to Aldeanueva del Camino: 5km detour + 18.5km = 23.5km total
Doing it this way means you don't get to walk on the actual camino between Venta Quemada and Caparra. This bothered me a little as I was eager not to miss any chunk of the camino and also I hate walking along the road so what I did is, instead of turning right to go to Oliva when I got to Vente Quemada, I actually carried on the 6.5km to Caparra and took the quiet path to Oliva. This path is well indicated - about 5mins from Caparra, just as you start to see the arc in the distance, there is a wooden sign indicating way to Oliva (you can just about make out the sign in the photo below) via the quiet path. This path goes along secure bull enclosures and is totally car-free apart from the occasional farm truck.
So in fact my days went like this:
1. Carcaboso to Oliva de Plasencia: 19.5km + 5km detour: 24.5km total
2. Oliva de Plasencia to Aldeanueva del Camino: 5km detour + 18.5km = 23.5km total
I was very pleased by my choice as it mean that not only did I not miss any of the camino, I did not have to walk the 6km along the road, and my two consecutive days were more equal in distance.
This is probably more information than you required but I got carried away! Hope it helps.
Isabelle
ps. In the bar in Grimaldo I saw a phone number for a taxi driver who can pick up people at Venta Quemada and take them to Oliva.