Aragones trials and tribulations

[naplesdon]

I loved walking the Camino Aragones between Oloron and Artieda. I was the only pilgrim on the route for several days and the weather in early June was lovely. The signage is lacking in many areas and road walking is required. I was using an outdated guide for walking the GR 653 and found the lodging was non-existent in some towns, requiring 20+ km days of climbing some sketchy trails. I finally found myself without enough cash to continue after Artieda due to a lack of ATM's after having made a mistake of not making a withdrawal in Jaca and discovering the next machine was in Sanguesa two days away with only 20 euros on my pocket. I decide to take a bus to Pamplona to restart my camino from there with a jingle in my pocket.

 

[mikevasey]

I quite liked it but my foot condition (plantar fasitis) really started playing up on the flat surfaces, same as you I missed the end sections and jumped on a bus to Pamplona to give my foot a few days off, would like to go back and walk it again.

 

[mspath]

Hope you are now "in the money"! Have a good phase 2 and do remember to always carry a hidden emergency fund.

MM

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Don,

That was NOT what I was hoping to read! LTfit and I hope to walk the Aragones when we get there on the Catalan, and I was hoping you'd say how gorgeous and well-marked it is!

Glad you are a happy pilgrim again. Buen camino.

 

[naplesdon]

The markings are "okay" after Jaca, it's the GR 653 before Canfranc Estacion which is the problem. I met someone in Somport who walked on the road until the tunnel because he had lost the trail and had to wait for a bus to make the final 10km.

 

[camino07]

We had no problems with marking from Somport in 2013. Some others walked the road but we stayed with the Camino.

 

[Maz]

I loved walking the Camino Aragones between Oloron and Artieda. I was the only pilgrim on the route for several days and the weather in early June was lovely. The signage is lacking in many areas and road walking is required. I was using an outdated guide for walking the GR 653 and found the lodging was non-existent in some towns, requiring 20+ km days of climbing some sketchy trails. I finally found myself without enough cash to continue after Artieda due to a lack of ATM's after having made a mistake of not making a withdrawal in Jaca and discovering the next machine was in Sanguesa two days away with only 20 euros on my pocket. I decide to take a bus to Pamplona to restart my camino from there with a jingle in my pocket.

Hi Biarritzdon,

I'm hoping to start the Camino Aragones around the 20th July, coming off the Piemont route. I have a 2013 Rother guide for the Aragones and some info I pulled off the Spanish website. I was hoping to do the route through Yesa on the opposite side of the lake. Do you think there will be more people on both routes at this time? This is my first long walk and I'll be solo. There is 2015 Topo guide available now for the Piemont Camino, I'll pick that up in the next few days. Would you walk the route again?

 

[naplesdon]

Hi Biarritzdon,

I'm hoping to start the Camino Aragones around the 20th July, coming off the Piemont route. I have a 2013 Rother guide for the Aragones and some info I pulled off the Spanish website. I was hoping to do the route through Yesa on the opposite side of the lake. Do you think there will be more people on both routes at this time? This is my first long walk and I'll be solo. There is 2015 Topo guide available now for the Piemont Camino, I'll pick that up in the next few days. Would you walk the route again?

There were no more than 10 people each night at the albergues after I left Canfranc Estacion and I suspect if you walk the Yesa side of the lake there will be even fewer. I have no idea if the traffic picks up during the summer months. I loved the solitude, it was "culture shock" when I arrived in Pamplona seeing pilgrims queued up to get beds. The lack of services between Jaca and Puenta la Reina means carrying extra water and snacks.

 

[Maz]

There were no more than 10 people each night at the albergues after I left Canfranc Estacion and I suspect if you walk the Yesa side of the lake there will be even fewer. I have no idea if the traffic picks up during the summer months. I loved the solitude, it was "culture shock" when I arrived in Pamplona seeing pilgrims queued up to get beds. The lack of services between Jaca and Puenta la Reina means carrying extra water and snacks.

Thanks for the info. I shall keep the water snacks in mind. Looking forward to the walk.

 

[naplesdon]

We had no problems with marking from Somport in 2013. Some others walked the road but we stayed with the Camino.

I guess I should clarify my comment about the markings and road walking, I was referring to the days between Oloron and Canfranc Estacion.

 

[koknesis]

Thanks for the tip about ATM availability Don! I will start from Somport on 13.Aug after breaking in the shoes on La Senda de Camille in Pyrenees Expecting to reach Puente de Reina in a week or so. Still undecided where to go next. I would love walk Meseta again, but somehow hesitating that the second look could spoil the first impression. Time wise Camino Sanabres staring in Ourense would perfectly fit, just not clear yet what would be the best way how to get there from Puente de Reina.
btw, a good guide for Aragones one can get from "Camino de Santiago: Way of St. James from the Pyrenees to Santiago By Cordula Rabe" available on books.google

 

[camino07]

Koknesis,after the Aragones I walked to Burgos then caught a bus to Zamora and walked the Sanabres. Great for me

 

[zzotte]

The markings are "okay" after Jaca, it's the GR 653 before Canfranc Estacion which is the problem. I met someone in Somport who walked on the road until the tunnel because he had lost the trail and had to wait for a bus to make the final 10km.

I agree with Bearritz, in 2013 I walked from Lourdes to Santiago via por La Via the Arogones and my biggest issue was on the French side, ( I got lost many times ) and asking the locals did not help unfortunately. After Canfranc was a piece of cake
The walk is beautiful and quite.

Zzotte

 

[oursonpolaire]

Hi Biarritzdon,

I'm hoping to start the Camino Aragones around the 20th July, coming off the Piemont route. I have a 2013 Rother guide for the Aragones and some info I pulled off the Spanish website. I was hoping to do the route through Yesa on the opposite side of the lake. Do you think there will be more people on both routes at this time? This is my first long walk and I'll be solo. There is 2015 Topo guide available now for the Piemont Camino, I'll pick that up in the next few days. Would you walk the route again?

When I did this stretch in 2009 ago along the north side of the Embalse de Yesa, I was the only person I saw walking it that day (21 September) aside from a shepherd who told me about a shortcut which saved me about 3km of roadwalking. Aside from a gasolinera about 12km west of Berdun, there was no water and no food to be had, so you should take extra. I do not know if the hot springs at km336 along the N240 is still operational or if it has been flooded, but it is a great place for a break. Perhaps someone who has done this route recently might give us an update?

It is almost entirely along the margin of the N240 (that'll knock a few days off purgatory for you) and, if it were not for the wonderful view of the lake and the hot springs, the south side would be a more agreeable walk. Yesa itself is very nice (the Benedictine monastery at Leyre to the north of the town will offer accommodation, but for a minimum of three days--- there s now a commercial hospederia there as well-- I stayed at the Hotel Arangoiti in the pueblo-- the albergue Sierra is just down the street, tel 622 669 169) and the left turn from Yesa along the NA-5410 passes by the Castle of Javier, where St Francis Xavier was born and raised. There is a restaurant there and a turismo, whose staff told me of a cross-country route to Sanguesa which saved me some more carretera walking.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I've walked the Aragones several times and never had a problem with waymarks - I wonder if they've been moved or painted over?
I walked Jaca to Sta. Celia to Artieda to Ruesta, etc.
There are albergues in comfortable stages.
I don't recall a lot of road walking, either.
I've never understood why someone would walk the other side???

 

[oursonpolaire]

I've walked the Aragones several times and never had a problem with waymarks - I wonder if they've been moved or painted over?
I walked Jaca to Sta. Celia to Artieda to Ruesta, etc.
There are albergues in comfortable stages.
I don't recall a lot of road walking, either.
I've never understood why someone would walk the other side???

Well. 1) I had walked the southern side and thought I would try the northern side for a change; 2) I wanted to see the monastery at Leyre; 3) I thought I could take in the castle at Javier on my way to Sanguesa. At that time, there were few detailled guides to the Aragonese and it was unclear how much of it was roadwalking-- I think it is useful for people to know this in advance so that they can make their own decisions.

 

[peregrina2000]

When I did this stretch in 2009 ago along the north side of the Embalse de Yesa, I was the only person I saw walking it that day (21 September) aside from a shepherd who told me about a shortcut which saved me about 3km of roadwalking. Aside from a gasolinera about 12km west of Berdun, there was no water and no food to be had, so you should take extra. I do not know if the hot springs at km336 along the N240 is still operational or if it has been flooded, but it is a great place for a break. Perhaps someone who has done this route recently might give us an update?

It is almost entirely along the margin of the N240 (that'll knock a few days off purgatory for you) and, if it were not for the wonderful view of the lake and the hot springs, the south side would be a more agreeable walk. Yesa itself is very nice (the Benedictine monastery at Leyre to the north of the town will offer accommodation, but for a minimum of three days--- there s now a commercial hospederia there as well-- I stayed at the Hotel Arangoiti in the pueblo-- the albergue Sierra is just down the street, tel 622 669 169) and the left turn from Yesa along the NA-5410 passes by the Castle of Javier, where St Francis Xavier was born and raised. There is a restaurant there and a turismo, whose staff told me of a cross-country route to Sanguesa which saved me some more carretera walking.

Hi, oursonpolaire. We took the path on the south side of the embalse, as did everyone else we talked to. The hospitaleros at Arres said that the marking was virtually non-existent on the north side and that there were no facilities. I had visited Leyre years ago and would have loved to return for a visit, but we opted to stay on the main drag. Highway asphalt walking is a few steps below purgatory for me. Is Berdun that town that looks like its built on the inside of a hollowed out or half eaten tennis ball? (that's not a very good description, I know, but we never got too close and could only see it from afar on the other side of the river).

And a p.s. to Annie, we never got lost on the Aragones this year, never wound up walking on the highway and thought that all in all the route was pretty darn spectacular! It may be that the the problems Don and other describe are mainly in France. We just walked from Somport. Traffic is down by more than 25% and it's not clear to me why that would be.

 

[Marc S.]

I walked the Aragones in April. I found waymarking to be very good, and a lot of it seemed to be rather new. Between Somport and Canfranc I walked on the road, but that was because there was still a lot of snow covering the path. The path, however, is running more or less parallel to the road and I could actually see the wooden waymarks every now and then. I really enjoyed the walk, not that much roadwalking as I remember it, and enough facilities for me (at least being able to have a coffee every 15 km). Used Cordula Rabe 's guide (now also available in English I believe) and found it very usefull. Besides the tourist information office in Jaca has a map available, as well as a list of albergues en route. Please realize there are no ATM's between Jaca and Sanguesea though !

 

[oursonpolaire]

Berdun is a small mediaeval fortress town set on a hill. It's very untouristy and has extraordinary views over the plain of the Rio Aragon, best captured from the terrace of the church-- one of the best dawns I have seen.

I had walked through some very unpopulated parts of Catalonia and Aragon, but this was perhaps the most barren and uninhabited part of Spain I have ever seen. Guidebooks said almost nothing about it, and the two Toronto pilgrims who had done it seemed to think it was a pleasant stroll. Upon a further conversation with them, I saw that they were hard-core 40km a day Pacific Coast Trail types, so there might have been a subjective element in their assessment. Apparently several north-side villages (Tiermas was the largest) were drowned by the flooding of the Embalse and the people moved to Yesa. Still, the hot spring and mud baths were really very agreeable and (if they haven't been flooded since 2009-- Google earth was not very clear) are almost worth the walk. However, I think people need to know that it is almost entirely carretera, and that there are no facilities.

 

[vlebe]

I've walked the Aragones several times and never had a problem with waymarks - I wonder if they've been moved or painted over?
I walked Jaca to Sta. Celia to Artieda to Ruesta, etc.
There are albergues in comfortable stages.
I don't recall a lot of road walking, either.
I've never understood why someone would walk the other side???

Hi There Annie!

Have you walked the aragones during winter at all?
I want to walk the aragones starting around 22nd november and then joining the Frances in Puente la Reina and going up to Finisterra as usual.

Even having thorough experience in montaineering, snow and ice climbing, a lot of stamina and resilience, Im still a bit worried about the possibility of walking this route in winter.

I couldng find many resources or people who have done it during winter.

I Plan to get a train from Barcelona up to Cancfran, sleep there overnight and get a Taxi to Somport the next morning. Depending on the weather (I`ll drop by the tourist office in Canfranc and ask about it) I might even start from Canfranc itself the next morning. Is it still worth it to start from Canfranc?
Will I find places to sleep in the aragones at the end of march?

Could you please give me any inputs about it if you can?

THank you very much indeed!

Buen Camino & Ultreya

Vagner

 

[vlebe]

Hi There Annie!

Have you walked the aragones during winter at all?
I want to walk the aragones starting around 22nd november and then joining the Frances in Puente la Reina and going up to Finisterra as usual.

Even having thorough experience in montaineering, snow and ice climbing, a lot of stamina and resilience, Im still a bit worried about the possibility of walking this route in winter.

I couldng find many resources or people who have done it during winter.

I Plan to get a train from Barcelona up to Cancfran, sleep there overnight and get a Taxi to Somport the next morning. Depending on the weather (I`ll drop by the tourist office in Canfranc and ask about it) I might even start from Canfranc itself the next morning. Is it still worth it to start from Canfranc?
Will I find places to sleep in the aragones at the end of march?

Could you please give me any inputs about it if you can?

THank you very much indeed!

Buen Camino & Ultreya

Vagner

Hi @Anniesantiago Have you had the chance to see this post!? Thank you so much in advance!