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For me, it was the San Salvador recently walked from Leon to Oviedo...120 km with some beautiful mountain sceneryJust wondering (I have not anywhere near decided my where and my when): if you could go back to the most beautiful 200km (plusmin) you ever walked, where would they start and where would they end? Any part of any Camino, in any country, and Compostela aside, which section of the Way took your breath away even more so than others did?
I was discussing my hopes, plans, and dreams with a friend recently, and she mentioned an ex-colleague who had walked just part of the Camino Francès, a part he particularly wanted to experience, and I realised that perhaps ending in Santiago could wait for a following trip...
Please share! Thank you!
It's all beautiful! Even when walking through urban sprawl, any lack of aesthetics is offset by the pleasure and privilege of having the freedom to walk across Spain (or France, or Portugal) and meeting strangers who become friends. Just to be able to walk day after day and let the unexpected and serendipitous into our lives is one of the most wonderful experiences we can have. even walking into Burgos having missed the river route.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder
From Lourdes.
This feels a bit like asking me which of my kids is the most attractive. I can’t answer the question. The thing is, walking a Camino is much more about connecting with humanity than it is about taking in beautiful landscapes. If you plan to walk the Camino Frances in 200k stages, I’d start in St. Jean Pied de Port. When it came time to walk the Meseta, walk it, don’t skip it. The Meseta has a beauty all its own, and it certainly gets your mind ready for the lushness of Galicia.
There is no definitive answer to your question; just personal preferences. I have very pleasant memories of walking the meseta (yes the meseta and twice!!!) and feeling completely free. To be able to see from horizon to horizon, to see the cereal crops swaying in the breeze like a wave on the ocean and not see another person gave me feelings of beauty and freedom. To be alone but not to be lonely. And who can explain the absurdity of being totally alone in the world and 2 minutes later in the company of many other peringrinos. Having said all of that, I must also say that I enjoyed every single step of the Way and 99.9 % easily came under the heading of beautiful.
I have two winners in your contest:
1) France, the Le Puy route from Le Puy to Conques
2) Switzerland, the Via Jacobi from Konstanz to Brienz
For me, it was the San Salvador recently walked from Leon to Oviedo...120 km with some beautiful mountain scenery
Next week....when I can get thoughts and notes together I'll post the stages that we did and with some general info
Also loved the Meseta
The via de la plata
The Norte...
Now it's hard to make up my mind!!!!
Each one is beautiful in its own way though
Was not however too keen on the Portuguese from Porto as there's so much road walking
Best wishes
Annette
The most beautiful 200 km I’ve walked? Probably the Camino Aragones from Oloron-Sainte-Marie to where it joins the main route at Puente la Reina. The long approach into the French Pyrenees is gorgeous, and then there’s something stunning about the rugged open spaces in that part of northern Spain. I like Anniesantiago’s idea of starting from Lourdes.
The last 200 km of the Frances from Ponferrada to Santiago are also full of beauty. If you only have a couple of weeks, why not just start in Ponferrada so you can have the whole experience of arriving in Santiago as part of a community of pilgrims?
I must agree with blueblazing and my old friend Anniesantiago. The walk from Lourdes to Oloron to Jaca offered scenery that took my breath away -- every darn day!
(But the Meseta remains my zen zone....)
Thank you! Lourdes to a specific place?
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