Hi all Levante pilgrims past, present and future,
I am now home for 6 weeks and am finally sitting down to write about my experience on the Levante. Please keep in mind that my impressions are based on my journal entries which some days were not very complete. I also will not be giving details about km, etc which you can find in guides.
Guide: at my insistance my walking buddy bought the Amigos de Valencia guide (latest Spanish version). DO NOT BOTHER! The maps are inaccurate as well as many entries. I am sorry that I can't give details in this regard as I gave up jotting down comments but sufice it to say find something else! This is quite unfortunate as it was recently updated.
General comments:
Cheers,
LT
I am now home for 6 weeks and am finally sitting down to write about my experience on the Levante. Please keep in mind that my impressions are based on my journal entries which some days were not very complete. I also will not be giving details about km, etc which you can find in guides.
Guide: at my insistance my walking buddy bought the Amigos de Valencia guide (latest Spanish version). DO NOT BOTHER! The maps are inaccurate as well as many entries. I am sorry that I can't give details in this regard as I gave up jotting down comments but sufice it to say find something else! This is quite unfortunate as it was recently updated.
General comments:
- This was my first Camino in which I organized and walked with someone else.
- I am glad I did not walk this Camino on my own. I started out alone on 5 of my 7 Caminos and love walking alone during the day but this is extreme. In the almost 3 weeks walking we met ONE pilgrim, a French woman of 70 who was doing her 12th Camino. We met her on our 4rd day (her 3rd) and remained with her for 3 days. She decided to walk a longer stage at one point and we never saw her again nor anyone else again.
- Having some Spanish knowledge is really helpful although the one French pilgrim we came across did not and she seemed to do just fine.
- Locals were very helpful and kind and often would come up to us asking if we needed help when consulting our guide. I was surprised how many locals knew the Camino and said Buen Camino to us along the way.
- Take the time to talk to the locals in towns and farmers in the fields, you can learn so much about the local cultural and economic situation. This is what makes this Camino special. There are so few pilgrims and they were interested in knowing where we came from etc.
- This is a more expensive Camino as there are fewer albergues and so we needed to stay from time to time in private albergues or now and again in a Casa Rural. As I shared a room with someone I was able to cut down on costs.
- There was only ONE municipal albergue with kitchen facilities (Algemesí).
- Municipal albergues were almost always free but limited facilities and usually only 3-4 beds.
- Terrain is very easy and flat. Wide open spaces.
- If you are not good in the heat do not do this Camino in the summer although not as warm as the Plata.
- And it goes without saying: in the warm and hot seasons take LOTS of water. We both had a 2L hydration sack and I, in addition had 2 small 500ml bottles.
- The first 3 stages were deadly in the heat with all the asphalt. Result: blisters which I hadn't had in a few years. Finally on day 4 this stopped and dirt paths began.
- This Camino is a mixed bag: some truely spectacular days and others quite uninteresting but I guess that this could describe most Caminos.
- In order to avoid some uninteresting stages we also followed a couple of stages of the Sureste.
Cheers,
LT
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