Accomodation near Cades / taxi

[Anamya]

Hi there!
Has anyone been recently to the Albergue in Cades?
I'm planning to walk the Lebaniego this Easter and would like to know accomodation options near Cades - the Casona near the bridge seems to be booked out exactly on the days I'm most probable to be around. Is the albergue good? This trail is not THAT busy, but at Easter, is there any chance of it being full?

If the worst happens and no hotel/albergue is available, how easy is it to get a taxi along that route to reach accomodation somewhere else and then come back?

Thanks in advance and happy new year everyone!

 

[lovingkindness]

Happy New Year, @Anamya ! I walked el camino Lebaniego in July/August 2011. That may seem like a very long time ago to some but to me it still feels recent . The accommodation situation along el Camino Lebaniego has probably improved since I was there, but then again, perhaps not. I didn't plan ahead. I walked then asked then walked some more and made enquiries. Night came and morning followed...

Here's where I slept in 2011:

San Vincente de la Barquera : church porch
Serdio : albergue
La Fuente : church porch
Lebeña : church porch
Potes : albergue municipal

Here's how the accommodation was in July/Aug 2011. Scroll down to #33 :
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/bears-oh-my.13101/

Happy planning!
Lovingkindness

ps...I don't know anything about Cades and Taxis, sorry. I've roamed down 'memory lane' a little in this conversation. Thanks for the opportunity!

 

[Anamya]

I've roamed down 'memory lane' a little in this conversation. Thanks for the opportunity!

Hey, regarding to Caminos I LIVE in Memory Lane, you should stop by for a coffee! Thank you so much!

From what I have been reading, the accomodation situation is much better between San Vicente and Munorrodero due to the growth of the Camino del Norte. The main stops are still the ones you listed though (plus Cicera), an they all have an albergue or small B&B.
The thing is that this route got a little bump in popularity on the last two years due to a Cantabrian touristic campaign and the Ano Jubilar, and may be travelling during Easter holidays, so i got a bit concerned if the 20-odd beds in the albergues would be enough, and if they would be open.

I'm not a fan of sleeping outside as I get colds really easily (and bears can lick your feet ), so I'm on the team that would probably keep walking until the next accomodation or would call a cab to go back to another city. But it will be what it will be. I don´t like to plan much in advance, I just want to get an idea of possibilities.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Hi Anamya
I see from Gronze https://www.gronze.com/cantabria/cades/albergue-peregrinos-cades that the Cades Municipal has 24 beds and is open all year. TBH I wonder if they've ever filled all 24 beds, if my experience of the Lebaniego was anything to go by! I'd be more concerned as to whether such a quiet place will actually be open - definitely worth trying that phone number listed on Gronze.
When I was in Cades a few years back the Municipal wasn't open but the restaurant on the square had a few beds dormitory-style for pilgrims (I didn't stay there but walked on to La Fuente) There may have been some posts with an update about this but I can't find them! I searched online and I think the place is the Restaurante Casa Mateo. And online has this phone number 942727542. If you are not planning to carry all your food with you, this is the only place to eat (if I have found the right place!), so it'd be worth ringing them anyway to check opening times etc.
Cheers, tom
PS I'd be interested in seeing the stages you are planning to make

 

[Anamya]

Hi Tom!

PS I'd be interested in seeing the stages you are planning to make

As I have limited time, at this stage I'm aiming for 4 days:
- San Vicente to Cades (via Nansa River)
- Cades to Cicera
- Cicera to Tama
- Tama to Santo Toríbio and back to Potes

Ideally I would break the first day in 2 (San Vicente to Munorrodero / Munorrodero to Cades), but I don´t have enough leave days from work. So I decided to push a bit more on the first day, which is the least 'uphill' of the lot. May I have your thoughts on it?

I will surely be calling the places, to make a better decision about these stages when I get there

 

[peregrino_tom]

Hi Anamya
that looks like it will work to me.
One other way of slicing it might be to stay at Cabanes instead of Tama, if the privado albergue there is open and you can book a place in advance. This is because the climb up out of Cicera (on the Canal de Franco route starting at the bottom of the village) is long and steep and slow but beautiful, and then after going all the way down to Lebena there is a fair climb up to Cabanes too. Whereas from Cabanes it's nearly all downhill or flat to Potes. And if you book into the albergue when you arrive in Potes you don't have to carry your pack up to Santo Toribio..
I liked the feel of Cabanes, it is a real mountain village.