While walking the Frances two years ago I was given a true gift, lodging in two very special monasteries. One was the Royal Suite in San Millan de la Cogolla. The second was the monastery in Leyre. My walking partner and I will be walking this fall including to Finisterre/Muxia and are...
Regarding unknown cats..A few months ago I was visiting my sister and was attacked by a stray supposedly friendly cat that she had allowed into her house. I went to an emergency clicic to get antibiotics. Within two days I was in the hospital with a severe infection in my leg, awaiting surgery...
Two years ago I "invited", ugh, a neighbor, a cocky retired Air Force General fighter pilot to walk the Aragones with me. In spite of my efforts to caution him "to let the camino happen" he tried to "run the show". Finally one day out of frustration I pushed him down, climbed on his chest...
Abuelita, The Lone Peaks are a completely different shoe than the Timps. Go to a store and try out both styles multiple times! Lone Peaks do not work for me at all, I have worn the Timps 5 different times with no blisters at all.
I have been on the route in and out of Leon twice, the first time by bus going both in and out and the second time I walked it all. The working class neighborhoods were not particularly pretty but I had to make a stop in a bar and upon leaving had a cup of the best coffee that I had had on...
Another thought... I always fly out of DFW, flight leaves late afternoon (use that afternoon to fly direct from San Fran to DFW ..Overnight on plane landing in Madrid around 9 am. Train from Atocha, 11ish to Pamplona then taxi to SJPdP on night 1 to sleep well.. This is definitely not the...
I have stayed in both, my favorite was Fresneda. I had a small very comfortable room which was just enough, not too much. The church was in process of being restored, quite beautiful. I felt more atmosphere there than in the “chicken church“ parador.
For a special experience go to San Millan...
I was one of the unsung hero students who made the upper half of the class possible. I do distinctly remember that in 1974 one of my professors did talk about the Camino, but the whole thing went right over my head. Oh to have been a student then and walked the Camino with Gitlitz!
I test everything before I leave home, thus I know that a small tube of toothpaste will last me 10 days. For a 6 week Camino I will use 4 small tubes of toothpaste, and can dispose of the empty tubes as I go along. The one time I bought toothpaste in Spain, the only thing available was a large...
Jill, I have walked this route in 2018 with another woman who used Correos for her pack transport. I walked it again just last year, and love the route. This appears to me that you will have to specially request pack transport for this route. Please let me know how things work out! Buen Camino!
Pacmochila on the Frances and Aragones is available until November 1. After that date it will be from only Sarria to Santiago.
If you read the correos website carefully you will see that Somport is listed as a starting point with the Frances. There is also a map with the Aragones included.
Also check El Camino de Santiago Con Correos. Correos is the Spanish postal system. They also operate a well regarded pack transport service which included the Aragones. The website has an english translation. The Aragones is included as part of the Frances.
You can "do" the Camino in 28 days, you can embrace it in 42 days. The more time you spend......
Likewise the Aragones, it is plotted out as 6 days. I walked it in 13 days and still had to go back to find the dolmen!
Last fall while returning to Madrid my walking partner and I stopped for a night in Segovia to see the Alcazar and the Roman aqueduct and then a night in El Escorial. In Madrid we had lunch at Botin, regarded as one of the oldest, if not the oldest restaurant in the world. I had visited...
I believe that it was my pair of Altra Superior shoes that came with a removable rockplate that could be inserted under the insole. A number of us use aftermarket insoles which are useful to stableize the foot and also protect against sharply angled rocks. I use Powerstep insles, others use...
The first time that I got a SIM card I was told that after the initial 28 days I should go to a Vodafone store to renew the plan . The next year I specifically asked what I should do if I was no where near a Vodafone store on day 28. The very nice and helpful lady at the store gave me a...
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