Heavy edition-"Via de la Plata" Guide/Alison Raju

[John Hussey]

My "new edition" (?)guide for the VdlP came in and I was surprised at the book's weight...it weighs a ton...well, 13 ounces (370 grams) anyway, considerably more than my older guide for the Camino Frances. Perhaps it is because the Camion Mozarabe is 235 km longer than the Camino Frances.

Plus, even though it was advertised as "New Edition" and 2006, the inside cover states 2005. HHHmmmmmm...

It does have a number of beautiful color photos inside it but i believe i would have preferred less color and less weight, too... Oh well!

 

[Steve S]

John,

The guide is a little heavy, but as you note there are a couple of hundred more km to cover. I actually tore out all the pages we didn't need before leaving; the first 52 pages are introductory material, and while valuable I had learned most of what they had to teach me and didn't need the pages on the road. I also tore out everything up to Puebla de Sanabria, where we started. You can discard pages as you go as well. Just a thought.

Best,

Steve

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I did exactly the same as Steve and it does have the Granada to Merida section which I also removed to use another day.

 

[miguel_gp]

...and I scanned the relevant pages, then laminated them double-sided so they were waterproof. I only ever had to have one or two of the laminated sheets to hand for a day's walk which could then be discarded when finished.
To be honest the part that I walked (from Verin) was completely within Galicia and so well way-marked that the book only ever acted as a confidence check.

Regards

 

[Steve S]

The laminating idea sounds intriguing. On wet days I kept the guide in a freezer bag and waterproofed that way.

Steve S