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I agree. We spent some time in Seville a few years ago and didn't enjoy the coffee as much there. They might use more of the terrefacto coffee down there?
Regarding returning empty cup and saucer to the counter. I'm always torn about this. Don't want to cause more work, etc. But this morning (on the Camino del Norte), we were leaving a busy bar and I left the cups on the table. My husband went outside while I went to the bar to pay. While I was...
If the coffee is particularly good, when leaving, I like to tell the barista how good I thought it was. Almost without fail this brings a happy smile. One time, on the Camino Finisterre, when we did that (raving about how great the coffee was), the bar-owner asked us to wait and went to the...
Sometimes, if star count is low I'll skip over a place without further research. This is a good reminder to actually look at the reviews and not just look at the number of stars (or in Gronze's case, how green the bar is).
When in Italy on the Via Francigena, we found good computers in libraries. Don't know if they have the same in Spain, but I wouldn't be surprised. We were the only ones in the room using them but, of course, privacy wouldn't be guaranteed.
Yes, go for it! But, do know that, while there is walking through forests and mountains and hills and you'll be outdoors a lot, there is also a lot of walking in cities, city outskirts, and villages (my favorite part). Not just a nature experience.
There is plenty of accommodation, especially plentiful in April/early May when we did it -- we were often the only people in a hotel or whatever. Accommodations are tighter and more expensive in summer (and Semana Santa, all week) when lots of Spanish like to travel to the area.
We loved the Ruta del Cantabrico: https://www.mapa.gob.es/es/desarrollo-rural/temas/caminos-naturales/caminos-naturales/sector-noroeste/cantabrico/default.aspx
It's not a camino as such but very well marked, spectacular ocean scenery. But, no albergues. It kind of parallels (and sometimes...
Our first camino (Frances) was spring of 2013 and we found the locals to be kind and welcoming. Our next camino (also Frances) was in the fall of 2014. Before we went on the second camino, I wondered if the locals would be as welcoming in the fall (toward the END of the pilgrimage season) as...
True. According to Wikipedia, the song was originally written in German and, I think translated into English by a Dutch woman. So, they might not use the word "hiking" as we do in the US. But the song perfectly describes hiking for us US-English speakers...
Twice a week, my husband and I drive 12 minutes to the foothills of the mountains near our city (Albuquerque, NM, USA). We hike for a couple of hours (and call it "hiking"). Other days we just walk around our neighborhood to get some exercise (and call it "walking"). But whether walking or...
We walked most of our first camino before we discovered that:
1) You can ask to replace french fries in a menu with a small salad. No one seems to mind doing that.
2) Just because something isn't on the menu doesn't mean you can't ask. We often order fried eggs with toast for breakfast and...
Yes. we've used Correos to send a suitcase to Santiago and were very happy with their service and cost. And you can send it from any post office in Spain, I think. Here is the link: https://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/transfer-luggage
This is what we have on our airbnb profile: "We like to travel, especially in Spain. We have walked several routes of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain (about 2100 miles over eight trips)."
Ha ha, yes I'm terrible at thinking in kilometers. I do a lot of math in my head. 10 KM sounds longer but each of those kilometers goes by a lot faster. :)
I have not seen Elyn Aviva on the forum, but she walked the camino in 1982 and wrote a book about it: Following the Milky Way. When my husband and I started planning our first camino (which was in 2013) we were looking for books to read. There were not as many back then! One we found was...
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