solo female on the via de la plata in spring

[jjarnold]

Hi fellow pelegrinos. I walked the camino frances, rather slowly at 6 weeks, in 2008 and so enjoyed it that i now am planning another camino. I hear tell of long distances and solitary times on Via de la plata. Is pilgrim accommodation still rather lacking on this route? or can you (generally) do stages of 25 kms per day? Is it recommended for a solo woman (independent minded as i am) Thanks for your advice and experiences. I was thinking to start in late march / early april to avoid the heat. Jennifer

 

[Anniesantiago]

You can read about the specifics of the first 8 days on my blog at
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/

I found the stages longer than 24 k but those who completed that route can answer regarding the rest.

 

[Alan Pearce]

Hi Jennifer

I begin the Via de la Plata fom Seville on March 31st. Hope the weather will be kind.

buen camino

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

 

[Anna-Marie]

Hi Jennifer,

I'm another solo woman who's going to be walking the Via de la Plata this spring--starting, I think, around April 8. Maybe I'll see you there!

Buen Camino,
Anna-Marie

 

[Canuck]

Hi Jeniffer,

I walk the VDLP in 2009, starting end of August in Sevilla, arriving in Santiago early October. The heat was excruxciating!! No less.

Hence, the idea of doing it in the spring cannot but receive my fullest appreciation.

Concerning the stages, barring a couple of long ones that never-the-less remain manageable, the great majority can be broken down into ''normal'' walking days.

Albergues are available in most places and where absent there is always cheap commercial accommodation.

I can't speak on security for a woman but, I do not recall going through shady areas. I don't think you should have any problems and remember, you'll never be alone on the camino, even the VDLP.

Wish I were there,
Jean-Marc

 

[Anniesantiago]

What Jean-Marc says is true. I forgot to mention that.
I never felt the least threatened on the VDLP.
If anything, people were EXTREMELY kind and helpful.

 

[anne136]

I walked the first 500 Kilometers from 24. april - 16. of may, and it wasn´t a problem to walk as a solo-woman.
Í think, spring, is the best time of the year to walk this way.
I will start at the 12. of april in Salamanca and want to arrive Santiago, Finisterra and Muxia.
You ask, if it´s possible to go 25 Kilometers on a day. Sometimes it is possible, but sometime you must walk longer distances. At the third day from Castilblanco to Almadén you must go 31 kilometers, but you can take a taxi belong the road, if you want.
Perhaps you want to have a look in my blog. It´s in my own language, german, but there are many pictures and foto-shows from my way on the via de la plata in spring.

anne-sternenweg.blogspot.com

Greetings from Anne

 

[ria]

Hi Jennifer,
I also walked the first 500 km of the Plata last year alone, and I felt very safe all the time. I did quite some stages with other people, but i also like hiking alone a lot, and that felt good. I don not really know why, because i'm not the bravest type usually, but at the camino's i did (norte, primitivo, portugues and the first half of the plata), i always felt very good, safe and strong, and i didn't have the feeling that anything bad could happen to me. I met so many nice and friendly people everywhere. My biggest fears were always animals (dogs on the norte, horses in the mountains on the primitivo, bulls on the plata ). During 3 months of walking I had 2 little 'incidents' that were not nice, but were also not really threatening.
About the stages: maybe you will have to make a bit a longer day every now and then, especially at the beginning of the plata, because there you do not really have a choice in distances.
I will start with the second half of the plata somewhere in May this year. Can't wait! When are you going? Like Anne I have a blog too, but it's in dutch... http://www.riacamino.blogspot.com
Have fun,
ria

 

[jjarnold]

Thanks to you all for your replies. I too on the Camino Frances enjoyed and chose to walk alone, (like Ria i am not usually a solitary person!) but did enjoy the contact with others that the route offered, and feared i would miss this on the Via de la Plata. I will explore your blogs further -
thanks Jennifer

 

[mmm042]

Hi Jennifer.

I've done the last 109 km of the VDLP alone, and the first 219 km with my husband. Both were in fall. The weather was absolutely wonderful. In two weeks on those sections combined, I/we only ran into 5 other people, but that was fine by me. I enjoyed the solitude and quiet contemplative time, and got my talking in when we passed through the towns and in the lodging at night. I never, ever felt scared or threatened by others.

There were some dogs that unnerved me when I walked alone, and when I went with my husband, there was one dog that really threatened us at night, despite my husband shaking his walking sticks at him. In fact, this dog so persistently kept following us, growling and making little charges at my husband, that when this car suddenly approached (sent by the Camino angels, I'm sure, since we hadn't seen a car all day), I flagged it down and asked the gentleman to please drive us a bit up the road and away from the dog. He ended up taking us all the way to our hotel, refused any kind of payment for his troubles and was just wonderful. So that's a great testament to the VDLP's safety -- feeling comfortable flagging down strangers at night, then hitching rides with them! (I did that twice when I was on my own, too, when I got lost.)

I hope to be doing Merida-Salamanca in March or April, solo!

Melanie

 

[lovingkindness]

Hi there, Jjarnold.
From October to December 2009 I walked from Cadiz to Seville then along the Via de la Plata to Santiago DC. It took me 59 days. For 45 days I was entirely alone on the trail and in the albergues. I met only 5 peregrinos, most of them at the Salamanca Albergue where we coincided for a fantastic, exciting moment. If you scroll down a little further on this thread you will find my journey under two threads: 'Cadiz to Seville: Day one' , and 'Walking in Winter' . On a couple of occassions strange things did occur but in retrospect I could have avoided them. (I haven't written about them. I don't want to put anyone off). Be Bold, Be Courageous! Never flinch!! The world is a fantastic place. Buen Camino.
-Lovingkindness

ps the Via de la Plata is glorious in Spring. The wild flowers are phenominal.
pps in Salamanca Albergue the came an Austrian peregrina. She had been walking alone in Spain for a year, having begun in Barcelona, travelled the coast, down and up to Portugal then on to Santiago DC. When I met her she was heading in the opposite direction to Seville.....

 

[Anniesantiago]

Jean Marc, I wonder if it was you who passed us by.
Did you stop in Almaden to get cold water from the fridge, then keep walking?

 

[Canuck]

Annie,

I don't think I passed you on the road. If I had, with my big mouth, I would certainly have talked to you. I never forego the chance of talking to others on the camino.

As for the albergue in Almacen, I did go in and out, but not for cold water. I was looking for the ''sello' and a lady pilgrim (you?) happened to walk by and told me that it was only available from the hospitalero,who was absent at the time.

Cheers,
Jean-Marc

 

[Anniesantiago]

Haha! Maybe it was me... the fellow did ask for a sello, but he also got some ice water from the fridge. They stock it in there for pilgrims passing through during the hot months, which is nice.

It's still a mystery... lol

 

[hel&scott]

Is pilgrim accommodation still rather lacking on this route? or can you (generally) do stages of 25 kms per day? Is it recommended for a solo woman?

The answers to these questions are yes, no, and yes.

Yes accommodation can be patchy, but its not bad and while there are fewer places to stay unlike the French route there in't the mad rush for a bed as there are fewer people.

No you can't rely on 25 kms stretches, more like 30km+ Mainly due to spread out nature of villages and accommodation, several stretches are very long but you can sleep out or divert to a village off the route (if there is one nearby).

Yes I'd happily recommend it to a woman to walk alone, or do it on my own again (though Scott may kill me if I leave him behind again). If you are comfortable with your own company and use common sense its fine.

 

[jjarnold]

I was amazed at a few comments of people who only ran into 5 pilgrims on the route. is this the experience of most people? whilst preferring to walk alone, i do also enjoy falling in with people for a conversation, or meeting others at lodgings /pit stops etc. still all your comments are inspiring and i am already scheming this my next camino

 

[Anniesantiago]

All I know is my own experience.
In the first 8 days of walking the VDLP, I met 5 other pilgrims.
In the first 8 days of walking the Frances, it was more like 85..

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi jj,

I'm another solo female walker who walked from Sevilla to Muxia last spring, starting on May 1 or 2. I did some very short stages (a few days just 11 km) and took some detours (walked to churches not right on the Camino from Alcuescar, Zamora and Granja de Moreruela, which meant I kept my day's camino total down lower than I otherwise would have). I did a lot of longer days towards the end, but the one unavoidable long day is Castilblanco to Almaden, which is about 29. Maybe my stages will give you some ideas, camino-mozarabe-and-via-de-la-plata/topic8961.html I'm pretty sure the longer ones at the end could all have been broken up differently to do shorter days, but the terrain isn't too strenuous, and these days didn't seem long by then.

As far as numbers, I frequently came to an albergue only to find there were just a few of us, but the hospitalero/a told us that the night or days before there had been huge groups. So it seemed there were bubbles. I was actually pretty shocked to find that in some algerbues, there were two or three of us, and this was in May of a holy year. My posts "live from the camino" are here: live-from-the-camino/topic8543.html and I think there are several specific comments about places where the numbers were very low.

I don't know if this low numbers had to do with the "holy year avoidance" phenomenon that others have mentioned, but it was surprising. But in any event, the spring is a GLORIOUS time to walk the VDLP. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[hel&scott]

As i did it in September which seams to be a more popular time due to the weather starting to cool, the numbers were up slightly, 12 on our first night out of Seville, but most days you are on your own till people start to drift in at the end of the day. As the albergues and stops are more limited you also end with the same group of people for most of the way.

On the first night 4 solo travelers formed a loose alliance, while one dropped out early that mad group of a Brit, German and Dutch girl walked the route together and had a great time and we joined them for a number of memory meals / bottles of wine. So you may not end up walking on your own after all.

 

[MarianneGardner]

I started from Seville on May 20. There was a group of about 5 - 10 people, including several other solo females who I ended up sharing walking, talking, eating and sleeping. We all had different daily rhythms and walking paces but usually met up and had time alone at different stages of the day(s). I am continuing again this year, starting from Merida on April 20 with a companion. I am looking forward to the mixture of people you meet, and everything else about this camino. It is part of the journey - you pick a day to start and so do some other people who you have never met, but inevitably you end up sharing a great experience.

 

[Harriet Von Alkier]

Hello,I too like to start around April 15th but my biggest problem is I do not speak much spanish.I did walk the Camino Frances twize in May 03 and Sep.06.It was no problem there with so many english speaking Pilgrims. Will I have a hard time on the via de la plata? thanks for your help.Harriet

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Harriet, I think Spaniards are in general much less likely to speak English outside the big cities than lots of other places. And I think you will find fewer English speakers on the Vdlp than on the Camino -- and I'm referring to both walkers and people in shops, restaurants, etc.

I speak Spanish, so I really can't give you a good feel for how hard it will be to walk with no Spanish, but I did meet people on the Vdlp who spoke little or no Spanish and they were doing fine. I think you will find that many people are eager to help you when you're in a pinch, and hand gestures with an occasional word can be very communicative! That said, I think some sort of dictionary or electronic translator would help a lot. A German man I met on the Vdlp who spoke little English and no Spanish found it very helpful for talking with me and talking with the Spaniards.

I found, when I walked last May, the overwhelmingly predominant language on the Vdlp was German (or something close to German, like Dutch, Swiss German, Flemish, etc). I remember eating a communal dinner at an albergue when a Spanish couple walked in -- they came and joined us and I remember one of them telling me he felt like a foreigner in Spain because he had a hard time finding other peregrinos who spoke Spanish.

I am pretty confident that the language issue will not be a big impediment on your walk, and the Vdlp is just amazing, well worth a little linguistic struggle.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[ranthr]

Hello!
Another solo female starting from Sevilla 30.04. Anybody else starting that day?
What concerns me most are the arroyos before and after Guillena.
Laurie, did you have problems crossing the arroyos last May?
Randi

 

[Caminando]

pps in Salamanca Albergue the came an Austrian peregrina. She had been walking alone in Spain for a year, having begun in Barcelona, travelled the coast, down and up to Portugal then on to Santiago DC. When I met her she was heading in the opposite direction to Seville.....

The more I read about or talk to pilgrims, I am constantly astonished and in admiration of the people who are quietly walking enormous distances around Europe, especially those involving the Caminos. This includes LKs journeys, and those of the Austrian peregrina above.

:arrow: Yes.

 

[Harriet Von Alkier]

Hi, Harriet, I think Spaniards are in general much less likely to speak English outside the big cities than lots of other places. And I think you will find fewer English speakers on the Vdlp than on the Camino -- and I'm referring to both walkers and people in shops, restaurants, etc.

I speak Spanish, so I really can't give you a good feel for how hard it will be to walk with no Spanish, but I did meet people on the Vdlp who spoke little or no Spanish and they were doing fine. I think you will find that many people are eager to help you when you're in a pinch, and hand gestures with an occasional word can be very communicative! That said, I think some sort of dictionary or electronic translator would help a lot. A German man I met on the Vdlp who spoke little English and no Spanish found it very helpful for talking with me and talking with the Spaniards.

I found, when I walked last May, the overwhelmingly predominant language on the Vdlp was German (or something close to German, like Dutch, Swiss German, Flemish, etc). I remember eating a communal dinner at an albergue when a Spanish couple walked in -- they came and joined us and I remember one of them telling me he felt like a foreigner in Spain because he had a hard time finding other peregrinos who spoke Spanish.

I am pretty confident that the language issue will not be a big impediment on your walk, and the Vdlp is just amazing, well worth a little linguistic struggle.

Buen camino, Laurie

Thanks Laurie,I do speek German so maybe that will help a bid.Harriet

 

[LTfit]

Dear ladies,

Can't wait to hear about all your experiences as a solo female on the VdlP. It appears that there are quite a few of you from the Forum starting out this spring.

As I won't be leaving Sevilla until July 8 I won't run into any of you but please post lots of information/updates for those of us following in your steps later on in the year.

Cheers,
LT

 

[marjude]

Hi Jennifer,

I am walking the VdlP from Seville, leaving March 27.This is my first Camino, it's getting closer.
Might see you there.

Buen Camino, Judy.

 

[freenat]

just adding to the mix, I'm yet another one of these solo females starting out in spring..
plan is to leave seville april 1st
*excitement*

 

[mswest]

And one more solo female to add to the list: I'm leaving Seville on May 8. Can't wait!!!!

 

[Andrewere]

Hi Jennifer,

I walked from Sevilla to Canaveral last October and for a while the majority of my companions were women walking alone. No one had any problems apart from getting lost in the dark when leaving the alburgues early. Some of the distances were longer than some may have wished for (35-45km) but shorter days could be factored in too. There were always other pilgrims to talk to and we formed a small 'pilgrim family' just a couple of days out of Sevilla. Quite a few people were only going from Sevilla to Merida or Salamanca so there might be fewer pilgrims further on.

I hope you have a wonderful time.

Andrew.

 

[mmm042]

Just got back from doing Merida-Salamanca -- you'll LOVE it. But be prepared for all of the Spanish people you meet (especially the men) to keep asking you incredulously, "Sola? Sola?!" No one can believe women aren't afraid to walk the Camino alone.

Melanie