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  1. Gillyweb

    A leisurely start from St Jean Pied de Port

    So did I. Wasn't kicked out early and really friendly. That was in July.
  2. Gillyweb

    LIVE from the Camino DANGER... Calzadilla de la Cueza SPLIT

    The thread does provide a balanced view and in many posts a good level of useful inormation, but I stand by my assertion that a number of posts were less than sympathetic to the fact that a pilgrim was made to feel a little afraid. He wasn’t expressing indignation ( a rather negative emotion )...
  3. Gillyweb

    LIVE from the Camino DANGER... Calzadilla de la Cueza SPLIT

    Feel slightly sorry for the OP here who clearly got a fright but has been rather picked on I feel. It’s easy to say ‘you should know better’, or be condescending with comments about being glad it was nothing worse, but not everyone has come across this sort of thing before - I’m not used to...
  4. Gillyweb

    Steep (really steep) descents on unsealed surfaces - how to avoid them?

    Ah - that Albergue had just opened when I walked through in 2014. The pool was heaven sent. Not only that, 7 of us who had met and walked together from Orisson, but eventually lost each other back in Burgos, all met there by chance that night and stayed together from there till the end. It's a...
  5. Gillyweb

    Steep (really steep) descents on unsealed surfaces - how to avoid them?

    I remember taking a photo of that radio mast while sitting by the coffee caravan and wondering how I could possibly be so close to an aerial with absolutely no telephone signal !!
  6. Gillyweb

    Dormitory size & single vs mixed sex

    :):)
  7. Gillyweb

    Did you have the luxury of a steaming hot bath during your Camino?

    Exactly the same hotel when I hit the wall in Burgos. I'd stayed in the Albergue the night before but on waking knew the time had come for a rest day. A fellow pilgrim felt the same and so we approached the hotel around 10am and bless them they let us check in right away. That stopover healed me...
  8. Gillyweb

    The Meseta

    OMGoodness - you have no idea how much longing that photo has just triggered in me. The Meseta was by far my favourite part ....... I need to go back to the Francés (sigh !!)
  9. Gillyweb

    Directions

    This is exactly what I did for my first Camino. Here is the website for bus times. https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Madrid-Airport-MAD/Ponferrada Beware you may have to change bus in the Madrid Estacion Sur. We did and nobody told us that the bus out of the airport didn't say the final destination...
  10. Gillyweb

    Conflicted about going, plane leaves Friday?

    Oh my goodness. No one is going to say that better than David...... I'm 53 and on The Portugues at the moment. Today, blisters , shin splints and tiredness got to me. I cried a little - I walked at a snail's pace and stopped at every cafe. I booked a private room in a pension and am now sitting...
  11. Gillyweb

    Another pilgrim rescue

    I almost got lost between Orisson and Roncevalles. I walked off the road and across the grass to take pictures of the Vierge d'Orisson, blissfully unaware there was a fork in the road. As I turned back I headed for the bit of road I could see and I am ever grateful to the pilgrim that spotted I...
  12. Gillyweb

    Close encounter with the bulls

    My cow/bull encounter happened so fast I didn't have time to think. Approaching Samos I had just reached the stretch where you can look down on the monastery and was ambling along quite happily. I became aware of lots of mooing and the increasingly loud sound of hooves !! Suddenly over the noise...
  13. Gillyweb

    Need Advice - the last 100 miles

    Hi there. For my first Camino I flew into Madrid and took a coach direct from the airport to Ponferrada. The coaches are easy to use and cheap and its a pleasant journey. Here is a link to that particular journey - click on bus in the LH column...
  14. Gillyweb

    Which part should I skip?

    Oh don't skip the Meseta!! It's the place where your soul really gets to sing and instead of watching where your feet are going you can simply 'be' and experience the wonder of the Camino. It's hot, yes, but not a problem if you rise early and hide from the midday sun. There is a moment coming...
  15. Gillyweb

    Can't believe how much I want to go back....

    I can't quite believe how much I think about my one full camino last year and my 200k from the year before. The yearning to go back again is extraordinary and really unexpected. The most amazing thing in my life - I just pray that in the not too distant future I can find another five weeks to...
  16. Gillyweb

    Which cities to "skip"?

    Listen to Rebekkah and start in Pamplona and walk to the end. The joy of having walked without a break through the beautiful bits AND the not so beautiful bits and of having tested yourself will be so much more. Don't skip the meseta - yes it can be hard work, but the start is so beautiful and...
  17. Gillyweb

    How many days did it take you to complete the Camino Frances?

    32 days walking plus one day's rest. At the start that was fairly tiring walking - By the end that was easy and I could have walked further each day. I didn't want to walk faster though as I wanted to savour every moment and take time to look at things around me. Any faster and I would have...
  18. Gillyweb

    Brierly guide alternative??

    I ditched Brierley in Burgos and posted him on to Santiago - not however before I had photographed the map pages onto my smartphone (contentious I know !!) I then downloaded and app called Wise Pilgrim. It gives different longer stages so you find your own way. It gives info on destinations, a...
  19. Gillyweb

    O Cebreiro to Santiago currently in bed chaos ....

    I suspect it may be a blip but even booking.com was struggling. My friend arrived at her hostel, complete with reservation email and booking number to be told they didn't have her reservation, the hostel was full and she didn't have a bed. Interestingly she was later charged anyway as a no show...
  20. Gillyweb

    O Cebreiro to Santiago currently in bed chaos ....

    While that's true and I essentially don't disagree, my warning was to innocent pilgrims who have no idea what's about to hit them. I had to help one older lady plan her last 5 days after she dissolved into tears in a bar because she was taken by surprise by the change in atmosphere and numbers...

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