Camino de Levante in November-December?

[wayfaring stranger]

Folks:

Good day to all....
What do you more experienced people think about the idea of walking the Camino de Levante in November and December?

My impressions are that the C. d. Levante has some special features: it is quite empty, even in 'high' season; the distances between villages is often quite long; albergue's are rather thin on the ground; the terrain can be flat, shadeless and somewhat monotonous in some areas; the local people are very friendly and gracious.....

Any idea if the albergue's such as there are would be open at that time of year?
This would probably be mostly a solo undertaking...? Weather...?

I would be most grateful for any suggestions, insites, advice.

go well

WF

 

[LTfit]

Hi @wayfaring stranger.
Your impressions are quite correct. From my experience it would most likely be a solo undertaking. Although it is already 3 years since I walked it with a Camino buddy, and the numbers have slightly increased, we only saw one other pilgrim when we walked in June/July from Valencia-Toledo. The following year in April I walked the rest alone and met one couple who walked shorter stages so we coincided only one day.

Albergues should not be the problem as in most cases you need to pick up the key at the policía local/ayuntamiento.

The Mancha section reminded me of the Meseta, long large expanses of nothingness which I personally enjoy and further on after Avila, there are two days in the mountains which were beautiful even though I did them in the mist and rain (early April). My thin wool gloves were very necessary on those days!

So all in all I would say that you need to enjoy your own company! I speak Spanish and so would talk to locals whenever I could, in fact they often stopped me on the stretch from Toledo-Zamora asking how I was. They found it quite odd that a middle-aged woman would be walking by herself!

Cheers LT

 

[sulu]

Hi!
The Camino de Levante has been my nemesis. I have walked it in March and have not met a soul. I always walk in March and October and frequently spend weeks on my own but somehow this one has seemed particularly difficult, I think it is probably the endless flat landscape over the meseta. On the other hand it is a very different and interesting walk and I will finish,
Weather in November and December could be difficult, maybe lots of rain, maybe strong winds, probably cold and damp albergues and the risk of snow in the Sierra de Gredos, before Avila, but you could be lucky, snow usually arrives well into December but is impossible to predict.
There is a lot of history and some wonderful cities so -- Good luck and buen camino!
Sue

 

[alansykes]

Folks:

Good day to all....
What do you more experienced people think about the idea of walking the Camino de Levante in November and December?

...

Any idea if the albergue's such as there are would be open at that time of year?
This would probably be mostly a solo undertaking...? Weather...?

I've done sections of the Levante in November and December, and all the albergues were open and I never had any difficulty finding a bed for the night.

It was not as empty of pilgrims as I'd expected - one year, from Almansa to Medina del Campo, in the 16 nights I spent in albergues, there was another pilgrim in nine of them (two others in Medina del Campo). That year I had no rain between leaving Alicante in mid October and reaching the Sanabrés in late November.

Another year I was in permanent thick freezing fog almost all the four days from just north of Arévalo to the outskirts of Zamora, including one day when the maximum day time temperature was -8 and the water in my rucksack froze.

And as Sue says, there are some wonderful landscapes and towns, as well as people, food and wine.

 

[Sitkapilgrim]

I've done sections of the Levante in November and December, and all the albergues were open and I never had any difficulty finding a bed for the night.

It was not as empty of pilgrims as I'd expected - one year, from Almansa to Medina del Campo, in the 16 nights I spent in albergues, there was another pilgrim in nine of them (two others in Medina del Campo). That year I had no rain between leaving Alicante in mid October and reaching the Sanabrés in late November.

Another year I was in permanent thick freezing fog almost all the four days from just north of Arévalo to the outskirts of Zamora, including one day when the maximum day time temperature was -8 and the water in my rucksack froze.

And as Sue says, there are some wonderful landscapes and towns, as well as people, food and wine.

Hello

 

[Sitkapilgrim]

Hello all - I just walked in November from Valencia to Templeque, just short of Toledo, and can echo much of the above. I saw one cycling pilgrim for 10 minutes, and was otherwise on my own. Hospitaleros reported 1-3 pilgrims in the preceding 10 days. Albergues were open, key from municipality or police, but many had no heat, so one needed to plan for cold evenings. I had 4 days of bitterly cold strong wind and of course was walking against it. Otherwise the weather was lovely for walking. It is a very special Camino and I look forward to returning it to finish.

 

[Kanga]

Welcome to the forum @Sitkapilgrim.