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Camino Routes
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🇪🇸 Camino VIEJO (Pamplona - Aguilar del Campo)
Sheffield James on the Camino Viejo -- LOTS of good info!
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[QUOTE="Sheffield James, post: 622763, member: 23079"] Day 13 (Sat): Cervera de Pisuerga- Guardo (~37kms) Xavier and I breakfasted at 8am before setting out on the carretera - past the Valdo junction - for the day’s walk. After a km or two the yellow arrows signalled an exit to the right, and shortly after we had to decide whether to take the steep track on the left or the easier one to the right. We should have chosen the steep one! With a bit of head-scratching and scrambling up a shale bank, we returned to the marked route that took us through an old mining site, with a few ruins still there to be seen. The track took us through some woodland and a bit more guesswork was required as the yellow arrows were not always as visible or obvious as they’d been the previous day. We climbed for a while before emerging into open, flat farmland, and thankful that we weren’t expected to negotiate the sombre-grey, largely tree-bereft mountains immediately to our right. It was close to mid-day when we started to pass through a series of villages that might provide an opportunity for a coffee-break. Unfortunately, either they had no bar or they weren’t yet open. The sections of track and carretera were becoming increasingly long and straight, which, in the hot sun, served to exacerbate the feelings of caffeine deprivation. The only saving grace was that the mid-afternoon slog would have felt even more tiring and tedious but for the dramatic sight of the mountain range dominating the horizon ahead. We had our first proper break when we’d almost given up all hope. The small village of Tarilonte had a bar serving coffee and warm nibbles. The ‘pork scratchings’ were to die for, which is probably what would have happened had I taken more than the two I did. When leaving the bar, Xavier reported painful knees and he decided to find somewhere to stay before we’d reach our planned end-of-day destination. If anyone else thinks this 37kms stage too excessive, then there are rooms to be had in Santibañez de la Peña (@€25.50). After sitting-out a heavy, unexpected cloudburst in the town, I completed the final 10kms to Guardo along country tracks under a clear blue sky. As others have reported, Guardo has a very long main thoroughfare. There were no arrows or markers I could see in the town, but there were street signs indicating how to get to its albergue. One sign directs you to the right and leads to a road bridge over the river. There’s a bar and a supermarket - and a church with a Saturday evening vigil Mass - before you cross the bridge and you then follow the road as it bends to the left, go under a little bridge, and then up a hill to a rail bridge and the final albergue sign directing you to the left (with the tourist office on the right). Keep following the road round to the left and the albergue is at the end of the street. I was the only person staying at the albergue that night. There was a manager on site, but had he not been there when I arrived I don’t know if calling the telephone numbers on the front door (664495334/693448184) would be enough for him to come and let me in. The private albergue is in a residential area 15 minutes from the centre, so as a convenience I paid €5 for breakfast on top of the €12 bed rate. I was relieved to see the town’s first camino marker (for me) directly outside the albergue, which saved me the headache of trying to figure out how to leave Guardo the following morning. I slept well. Day 14 (Sun): Guardo - Puente Almuhey (11.9kms or 30.9kms) Ordinarily, I’d have walked past this town as part of a ~32kms stage from Guardo to Cistierna. The fact I didn’t was for two good reasons: first, I half-agreed to stay here to enable Xavier to catch-up with me; and secondly, I might still get to see “camino busybody” Rebekah and husband Paddy, who live an hour away in Peaceable Kingdom, Moratinos. I completed the 11.9kms route option by noon. To have chosen the longer route may have been more interesting, but would take up so much of the day that rendezvousing with R&P would have been impractical. That said, when I followed the first arrows of the day I had no idea on which of the two alternatives they would take me. In terms of my walk, after a brief climb through some woodland I ended up on the carretera. I think this was the official route as there were yellow arrows on the crash barriers. The road rose gradually, affording a pleasant view of the forested hillsides around me. At La Espina, the route took me through the village but then back to the carretera. Some time later, there were multiple arrows directing me to a woodland track. The track was blocked by barbed wire, so I decided to keep to the road. Shortly after, more arrows directed me to cross a cattle grid and follow the road on a slightly elevated position. I thought this must be a sanctioned path and within minutes I’d reached Cegoñal, the second of just two villages on the route. However, in order to enter the village I needed to scramble under an electrified fence that blocked the track exit. The last few kms involved an woodland path and an ever so slightly awkward drop-down into the town. Rebekah and Paddy met me in Puente Almuhey and took me in the car back to Guardo where they knew of a good Pizzeria, at which we could have lunch. A walk that had taken me 3hours to complete on foot took a mere 20 minutes in reverse! It was great to see them to catch up on their news, and both appeared very well. They brought me back to Puente Almuhey and helped me to identify the bar holding the key for the albergue, which is at the near end of the town, next to the Ayuntamiento. They made a quick inspection of the facility and seemed to approve of what they saw. I was particularly impressed with the zero charge for the night’s accommodation. I met Xavier in the early evening. He’d decided to stay at the Hotel Rio Cea for €30, including breakfast. He said he was happy with the place. Over drinks, he told me he had taken the blocked route after La Espina, but regretted it due to the fact it was very muddy in parts and the initial arrow sent him on a circuitous trek that eventually returned him close to his original starting point at the barbed wire fence. All in all, a very relaxing and social day, with a bit of morning exercise thrown in for good measure! [/QUOTE]
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