Undermanager
Veteran Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Madrid (x2)
VDLP
Salvador
Primitivo
Finisterra / Muxia
Lana
For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
May they find their way back to you!My glasses as I said are about 7.5kms from Orito by the way, under a nice tree for stopping, by the side of the Camino path! Can't miss them.
I have a habit of walking too far and getting lost whilst suffering from jet lag on my Caminos so I had planned to NOT head for Novelda when I get to do the Lana.....but I am so easily swayed by posts like this;-)I would say it’s definitely worth the extra 8? km to the lovely albergue at Novelda.
I like you current approach. Enjoy it @Undermanager and You’ll probably end up as fit as a racehorse this time with only ‘pleasant ‘ memories to take with youAfter starting last year's Camino like a racehorse, then retiring after a week like a donkey with a very painful back problem that took months to recover from fully, I'm trying extra hard this year not to overdo it in the early stages; after 24 Kms and 6 hours walking in 28 Deg C, using muscles that aren't often used, it was enough. I was greatful for stopping, the downtime, relaxing, sitting in the bar after a shower and washing clothes, chatting, writing a bit. Very grateful. But I can understand why fitter people than me would press on. It would be a good call.
I guess you won't have any major problems finding the castle and the church. So, if you exit the church turn right and walk straight to Plaza de la Constitucion. Turn right again and at the end of the first side street to your right you'll see Tatoo Studio. Go for it and turn left because it's the only possible directon. The entrance to the Convent will be on your left almost opposite the restaurant.Mmmm. I can't seem to find where the Convent of the Esclaves albergue in Almansa is on either maps.me or Google maps for tomorrow. Any help, please?
The door is marked Number 7.I guess you won't have any major problems finding the castle and the church. So, if you exit the church turn right and walk straight to Plaza de la Constitucion. Turn right again and at the end of the first side street to your right you'll see Tatoo Studio. Go for it and turn left because it's the only possible directon. The entrance to the Convent will be on your left almost opposite the restaurant.
And the google maps link: https://www.google.si/maps/search/C...ria,+almansa/@38.8693757,-1.0961327,19z?hl=sl
The closest to your inquiry would be Ruta del Besaya that goes from Santander to Carrion de los Condes. Check the map: https://www.rayyrosa.com/caminosDoes anyone know of an established walking route between Burgos and Santander, please? I'm pondering options for the end of this Camino. Ta!
Obviously you weren't paying attention to my instructions and you actually made unnecessary loop. To emphasize for future pilgrims: when you approach the old quarter of Almansa (on Camino) the castle and the stairs to it would be on your righthand side (Camino goes straight on here) and to your left there's short pedestrian zone. If you take it first there will be a bar/restaurante on your right, then Ayuntamiento, after it the Palacio and the church. Here I wrote if you exit the church turn right which means that if you don't enter the church then just proceed straight on to Plaza de la Constitucion - and then see my first post for further directions. Easy peasy!...
Finding the albergue could have been a problem but I got rescued by someone as I walked off in the wrong direction! Thanks for the help getting me in the right area though. I'll add it to maps.me later, but if you can't see it, head for the Teatro Principal, which is on the map. You are then 90m away in a straight line. It's around the back of a main road, by a tattoo place.
...
I stayed at Finca El Capricho last year when I walked the Lana. The place was amazingly beautiful & peaceful, and the hospitality provided by Dennis and his wife was beyond wonderful. After a great breakfast I simply walked out of their front door and back to the Camino even though they had offered to drive me. I'd definitely stay there again. It's a hidden gem of the Lana!
Stage 1. Alicante to Orito. 24kms
This year's Camino, de la Lana has started well. So far then, all trains to Birmingham airport were cancelled due to a broken down train on the line so I had to rush to catch my plane in an Uber taxi. Then, due to a family fight between drunks on the plane, we had to wait for 30 minutes in Alicante until the Spanish police came to arrest them. So far, I've realised that I have forgotten a towel, a spoon, hairgel and a spare pair of glasses - my only pair of distance glasses was left under a tree about 7.5 Kms from Orito. Fortunately, my eyesight is pretty good without them! One chap I walked with took my photo, and interestingly, it recorded the exact location! So, I know where they are to the inch! And Wikilocs won't work on my new P20 Pro phone!!
I stayed in the pension Milan in Alicante, a perfectly good private room with shower for €20, and 100m from the C6 bus stop in Alicante, behind an Irish Pub. I left here about 8.30am, walked to the Basicila dear Santa Maria, took a few photos then spent the next few hours walking out of Alicante. Then there are two hours of quarries, cement works and rubbish dumps. It smells bad at times. It seems a mostly gentle uphill trek and mostly road, until the last three hours before Orito, when it is uphill a lot but mostly through a kind of moon landscape. Fortunately, it was bone dry but I can't imagine it would be much fun if were raining - a lot of mud would cling to your shoes! My glasses as I said are about 7.5kms from Orito by the way, under a nice tree for stopping, by the side of the Camino path! Can't miss them.
The albergue in Orito is okay. It's €15, there's no WiFi either in the albergue or in Bar Nuevo, which is right next door. It took an hour to get let in, as the bar phoned someone, who took a while to arrive. The albergue doesn't have a kitchen, and the one working shower is unisex, but doesn't have a door!! There were only a few of us here so no problem, but you might want to think about going a bit further along the trail. I was tired so stopped and to be honest, it is fine for a night. The bar is nice with a good range of food.
On day one, there are no injuries to report in today's 24km hike. The body is a little tired but all okay. Who knows what day two will bring - perhaps my glasses will find there way back to me eventually!
Stage 2. Orito to Sax. 33.5km.
After a great night's sleep, myself and Klaus the Danish chap left around 7.00am. Today was much cooler than yesterday all day and perfect hiking weather. The nice walk to Montforte del Cid then Novelda took a couple of hours that passed quickly, through lots of vineyards. The local red wine by the way is excellent! We had breakfast in a cafe in Novelda, took a few snaps then moved on.
The next couple of hours followed a trail along a wide river bed with a small river in it, all the way to Elda. There's a lot of flowers at the moment and a load of birdsong. Elda is a sprawling town that took well over an hour to pass right through, and we also had a lunch break using a big supermarket we found on the outskirts of the town. At the far end of Elda, there is a steep climb out of the town on a road. I don't think this was the official route but we took the road between Elda and Sax anyway, mainly because we weren't sure if we would have a further three hours walking from Sax and wanted to save a bit of time - there are surprising very few options in this town and the hotel in the guide we already knew was was full from another person who tried to book a room.
As it happened, we fell on our feet. We met an Irish expat, who phoned his Irish expat mate, Dennis and his wife, who rent out luxury houses in the mountains. So for €50 between us, we were collected from outside the supermarket where stocked up on dinner and breakfast, driven to a great place 2kms in the hills, very quiet and pretty, have a wonderful bungalow with all mod cons, and a swimming pool, WiFi, bedding, towels, kitchen, welcome beer in the fridge and a basket of cakes on the table! And we'll be driven back in the morning to the castle in Sax. Result.
The whole day lasted about 9 hours and I'm knackered. However we have a big tele and Arsenal are playing a Spanish team, so no problems. At the moment, we are outside by the pool, looking down on the castle, red wine in hand. All jobs are done and now it's chill time. Happy days.
Stage 6. Alpera to Alatoz. 26 Kms
I can confirm the tapas bar opposite the town hall in Alpera was exceptional. I had some kind of prawn and mushroom dish in a buttery garlic dish washed down with a 2012 Rioja red. It was wonderful in the warm evening sun.
Today was another fabulous day. It was forecast to be hot later so I made the effort to be gone by 6.45am, after a breakfast of back stretches and yogurt. The back is increasingly starting to be a concern now. I'm adding back stretches to the daily routine as well as trying hard to change my walking posture but there's no instant solution to this age old problem. My rucksack is only 8kg without water and I'm using walking poles which do help. I guess it's just one day at a time now and then see how it goes.
Today's walk is through very pretty countryside with no facilities anywhere again, and very quiet. It's not too taxing although there's a long stretch of gentle uphill for a few hours, and a downhill stretch of 5kms into Alatoz. Some of the walk is along tracks lined with trees so some shade was around, but by 11.00am, it was getting really hot and there was hardly any cooling wind either. I'm glad I had a 1.5 litre bottle of water because I needed most of it.
I got to Alatoz around 1.00pm. The key to the albergue is available from Bar Ovi, but isn't available usually until 3.00pm, as the Albergue guy who has it works - perhaps phoning a day ahead might mean the key can be left at the bar, if your Spanish is up to it. As it happened, someone did turn up after half an hour, just as we were finishing our drinks, so all good.
The albergue was welcome and is okay for a night. There are only four beds, no cooking facilities and freezing cold showers. The shower was hell to start with, but really invigorating once you took the plunge and stood under it, but oh boy was it ice cold. Food at the Bar Ovi was excellent, but there are a couple of other places close by you could try for variety.
Apart from the back issues, it was a great day again and should be the same tomorrow. I'll be heading for Hotel Aro's rather than the albergue like many before so a bit of extra comfort will be the reward for getting to Casas Ibanez in one piece.
Aiming for Casas Ibanez tomorrow, back willing. Was looking at staying in the albergue but I think a quiet night in a hotel would just be simpler to organise. There's a lot of 'phone ahead' advice but not such a good idea unless you speak Spanish. I haven't seen any other obvious accommodation here in Alatoz, but that doesn't mean there isn't any. There's five staying here tonight so it's full, with one couple are sharing a big bed. Some good news - there is a hot shower after all. I just double checked! It was in the Ladies. The blokes have a cold shower! I suffered needlessly!
I stayed in the bullring albergue at Casas Ibañez and it was fine if you're alone, but might not be if you have to share. And it did smell rather of cigarettes from the neighbouring transeúntes albergue. So next time I would probably stay in the Hotel Aros a few 100m up the main road. Hope you enjoy the amazing view of Alcalá del Júcar tomorrow.Aiming for Casas Ibanez tomorrow, back willing. Was looking at staying in the albergue but I think a quiet night in a hotel would just be simpler to organise. There's a lot of 'phone ahead' advice but not such a good idea unless you speak Spanish. I haven't seen any other obvious accommodation here in Alatoz, but that doesn't mean there isn't any. There's five staying here tonight so it's full, with one couple are sharing a big bed. Some good news - there is a hot shower after all. I just double checked! It was in the Ladies. The blokes have a cold shower! I suffered needlessly!
make love in the Spanish wheat fields etc.
Stage 8. Casas Ibanez to Villarta. 28kms
I had a great sleep in yesterday's hotel, although for some reason I felt tired most of the day and had a few aches. I could have had breakfast there in the bar but stuck to my usual banana and yogurt on the balcony of my room instead. I was on my way by 6.45am and it seemed the coldest morning since starting. I was really in the mood for a long distance!
Today mirrored yesterday. I had a few kms on dirt track, then decided to road hike it to Villamalea, have an early lunch and coffee there, then take the track to Villarta through the village of El Herrumblar. One advantage of taking the road rather than dirt track, as I found out half a dozen times today, is that when a dirt track is bone dry and a vehicle goes past you, you don't get covered in a cloud of dirt! And a couple of ***** sped up rather than slowed down, producing a bigger cloud of dirt. How they must have laughed.
Today is an easy walk, pretty much flat or gently rolling all the way with no cover at all, but there are a few places after Villamalea where I didn't see any yellow arrows. Indeed, I just managed to call the Spanish guy back as he disappeared over a hump in the road, going in completely the wrong direction. As always, my GPS track on maps.me kept me going in the right direction. Every kilometer brought either another field of almonds or another field of vineyards. Also more noticeable than any other Camino I've done is the number of rabbits! There are millions everywhere! They must like the weather. Today felt very hot at times, but when the cooling wind blew, it was nice.
I had half planned to walk on to Graja de Iniesta and stay in Hostel Pepe but was strangely knackered by the time I got to the Los Tubos hostel so didn't carry on. This could prove an option for someone in a future walk. Getting in proved difficult though, as all the doors were locked! After a phonecall, where I had practised 'I'm a pilgrim and I'm outside', and eventually passing my phone to someone in the garage next door, they came and let me in! €25 gets you an excellent room with all mod cons. The supermarket is 100m away, but closed between 2.00pm and 5.00pm. The French couple turned up 30 minutes later, saying the albergue was no good as there were no beds. I bumped into the Spanish chap, who also said they are sleeping on the floor.
With all these vineyards, I've been on the lookout for somewhere to visit that processes the grapes and makes the wine, with a little wine tasting of course. Alas, it hadn't happened, and I think my Spanish is a barrier to organising something. I guess I am damned to spending time drinking red wines in different bars in different evenings, after my siesta.
So, after a sleep, I went down to the supermarket to get stuff for breakfast and lunch. It was strangely closed. Then I walked down into the village. Everything was closed and they had just finished off a fiesta! Who has a fiesta on a Wednesday, and they might have mentioned it at my pension when I arrived! Where I'm staying is also closed for food. Bleedin' Nora! The bars in the village are open, but no food except crisps - except one!! I have a sandwich for tomorrow! I also have, luckily, I guess, I have potato salad for breakfast which I bought earlier washed down with lemonade, and a banana for lunch, unless the cafe 10kms away is open! I'm not gonna starve tomorrow but it was close!
I take it all back! I have food. It is an Alladin's Cave once you are in, but you would never know it from the outside. I have wine, eggs, beans, bread, cheese, chocolate and olives. I will eat!!!
View attachment 57478
The shop!!! Great once you are in, and they are really lovely and helpful. There have everything in there.
View attachment 57494
Los Cuatro Hermandos Arbol Singular
I use the monkey and typewriter approach - if you take enough photos, one might be okay.
Stage 12. Cuenca to Villar De Domingo Garcia. 31.5 kms
Well staying a full day in Cuenca was a top move, one of my better decisions. It's definitely got a day in it for sight seeing and relaxing. My hotel is recommended and 2 minutes from a wonderful string in a row of about 10 bars with big outside areas, all serving amazing tapas. It came alive whilst I was there around 8.00pm. When you come out of the hotel, turn right then right again and it's somewhere up there on the left, about 4 or 5 minutes walk maximum from the hotel. You'll find it. All my aches have gone for the moment. I'm ready for anything. Bring it on!
Today was freezing cold when I stepped out at 7.00am but bright and sunny, with blue sky and wispy white cloud in places. It's supposed to be getting warmer later today, and it did but not by much. And in the next few days, the temperature is set to rise into the high twenties so I'd better enjoy these perfect walking temperatures while I can. As you follow the arrows out of Cuenca, the first place you come to is Nohales, after 4kms. There was a Hostel / restaurant but it was closed.
Chillaron was a further 5kms on and is a large village with a main road running through it. There was a friendly bar called Bar Los Angeles on the left as you entered the village. It was a busy bar, great for breakfast and picking up snacks for later. I didn't see any other open facilities in Chillaron although there were signs for another bar, bakery and tobacconist. 3kms on is Arcos, a tiny village. There are no facilities here except a water fountain and 'no chlorine' sign as you exit the village, just past the playground on the left. Next up along a slow uphill road 4 kms away is Tondos. This is another tiny village with no facilities and although there was some concrete containers with grim water in near the park, I didn't see a working water fountain.
From the outskirts of Cuenca all the way to Tondos, is quiet tarmac road. The next hour from Tondos to the road through Noheda is on a dirt track through open forestry scrubland. There is a drinking water fountain and bench in the shade by the church in Noheda but nothing else. From Noheda, you then spend a couple of kms on tarmac before turning off onto a dirt road all the way to Villar De Domingo Garcia. This stretch is really fabulous, with great vistas of glorious countryside but punctuated with little hillocks and gorges, trees and bushes. The countryside rolls in deep browns and vivid greens, with bone dry dirt tracks criss crossing the land. The track must have been pretty muddy once. You can see the deep footprints of past shoes in the track, but now dry. Someone must have struggled through this once when it was soggy!
Part way through this route is a deserted village. It looked largish once, and possibly like it was destroyed to my untrained eye rather than just fell into ruin over time. There is a something about six foot tall made out of wicker and surrounded by freshly planted flowers, maybe like a shrine or memorial. Does this ex-village have a name? Does it have a history?
After 31.5kms from Cuenca and at 3.30pm, I rolled into the final destination, past a petrol station which also serves as a basic shop by the way, looking forward to that albergue key and a shower. Alas, it wasn't to be. Bar Goyo is closed. No phone number to ring. So I walk down to the Ayuntamiento opposite Bar Plaza. Alas, that's shut, too. Bar Plaza is open though. Hurrah. Sadly, it is hosted by a miserably unhelpful woman, who is currently practising for the world championships of said demenour. Booooo. Then a man says that he thinks the Ayuntamiento might open at 5.00pm. Hurrah. But isn't sure. Boooooo.
What to do? I decide to have a few beers with lemon until 4.00pm, and then see if either the town hall or Bar Goyo magically opens. If not, I might have to carry on to somewhere else. Torralba looks promising on Google Maps, showing an Albergue and a couple of casas. As I'm about to leave, miserable woman's husband presumably insists in pretty good English to stay, because the Ayuntamiento is open "soon". What to do? Either a 2 hour hike or sit and hope? I don't mind more walking as it's nice out but don't want to rush stages if I don't have to. Okay. I buy a pre-packed cake with God knows what preservatives in it, try to be patient and relax with a smile in Bar Plaza, while their loud, irritating kids run around the place with their dog.
So, 5 o clock arrives and the helpful man in the bar instructs me to go to the Pharmacy next door, which has just opened. And there, a wonderful couple sign me in, escort me to the perfectly fine small albergue, which has 4 beds, give me the key, some cold drinks and plug in all the things that need plugging in. The world has returned to peace and harmony once more! Did I ever doubt this would happen?
So now, it's time for a shower, then buy a few provisions from the garage for tomorrow and then explore this great village!! And I'm starting to think about dinner. Bar Plaza does seem to have a good menu, but may pop in and check out Bar Goyo later.
It's been a really great first day after Cuenca. Tomorrow is a much shorter 22kms or so, so may drink a bit later have a late start and walk the five hours with a hangover tomorrow, in penance at having no patience today. Story of my life.
oh Dave you are a scream - enjoying reading your daily accounts - glad the aches and pains are staying were the should be!!!!!!I hope so, but I'm not expecting anything. I hate ringing in advance to albergues and hotels and making plans so don't, especially because I can't speak Spanish.
It's quite fun tonight in Bar Plaza. Bar Goyo is closed, the friendly barman who helped me earlier is totally pissed, his miserable wife, probably the reason he's so drunk, is nowhere to be seen (praise the Lord), his other four customers should be wearing industrial earplugs and the only thing that my friendly barman is capable of making for me for dinner is a sandwich; so much for the great menu I was really looking forward to! I'm having a ball. The aim is to be as drunk as my amigo!
I hope so, but I'm not expecting anything. I hate ringing in advance to albergues and hotels and making plans so don't, especially because I can't speak Spanish.
As you know by now, the chances of a quiet evening's rest in Villaconejos de Trabaque are nil, but a convivial evening drinking Pepe's wine in the cellar that 5 or more generations of Pepe's ancestors have made that wine in is an unforgettable experience, even if it means that waking up early tomorrow morning is a problem.an evening's rest in this outstanding albergue should help! The jobs are all done except for a bit of shopping later for breakfast and tomorrow.
As you know by now, the chances of a quiet evening's rest in Villaconejos de Trabaque are nil, but a convivial evening drinking Pepe's wine in the cellar that 5 or more generations of Pepe's ancestors have made that wine in is an unforgettable experience, even if it means that waking up early tomorrow morning is a problem.
Disfruta.
Well Dave you my new hero taken over from K even andMagwood,just a bit .we in villa de Domingo Garcia and so far no-one here in this tiny but welcome space .Love your writing and eagerly await tomorrow walk to villaconejos salude ! Suzette and DougAs you know by now, the chances of a quiet evening's rest in Villaconejos de Trabaque are nil, but a convivial evening drinking Pepe's wine in the cellar that 5 or more generations of Pepe's ancestors have made that wine in is an unforgettable experience, even if it means that waking up early tomorrow morning is a problem.
Disfruta.
Stage 14. Villaconejos de Trabaque to Salmeron. 31 kms
This village has quite a lot of facilities. As you come out the albergue, the large, wide road that swings left round into the village, so the pool is on your right, quickly takes you to the centre on a totally flat road. The Ayuntamiento and large plaza will be in front of you in five minutes. Around the plaza, there are two bars (although only one was open when I was there) and a couple of shops. One of them sells fruit, cheese, bread, meaty things, yogurt and so on, for a delicious meal sitting in the plaza as well as for tomorrow's breakfast. Around 7.00pm, lots of people come out to the plaza to socialise. You can see the Rio-like statue on top of the hill to the right of the Ayuntamiento as you look at it as well as another church. Shame they're not down here where I'm sitting. It's a pretty place this and a really nice village to stop off in.
The bar that was open last night was great. There were lots of different tapas dishes to work through, each one, of course, washed down with a beer. A bonus was that although bullfighting was on the telly - booooo, one of the bulls in one fight got the matador, threw him in the air and got his leg. 1 - 0 to the bull although as always, it didn't last very long.
This village is in a valley so it is freezing in the morning, until the sun gets above the hills and starts warming everything up. Although I set off in very cold weather after a good breakfast, within a few hours it was warming up quickly, with not a cloud in the blue sky. This is going to be very hot this afternoon. It's a stunning walk through the Spanish countryside, with hardly a road crossed and little evidence of the modern world, except perhaps the tractors, which are out here and there at the moment. There are some long slow uphills today, which brings both great views when you are at the top and some good downhill sections.
After 11kms, you start walking along the top of a valley with a river in. Absolutely beautiful, full of birdsong and flowers. 2kms further on, you switch back down to the river, where you have to wade across a fast flowing but shallow section. All good fun. 18kms and nearly 5 hours after starting, you arrive at Albendea. Walk up into the village 5 minutes away, añd you'll find a lovely single shop, bakery, eatery, drinking place with a pretty sitting area under the trees outside. I stayed here for half an hour for a long lunch and sampled some of their goodies. Recommended!
Valdeolivas was a further 5kms on and perched on the end of a bit of an uphill slog. I arrive at 1:30pm. This is a large, very pretty medieval village, and another place to seriously considering staying a night in. I saw a hotel, a couple of bars and a shop and I can imagine it being even more beautiful at night. There's a Casa Ru4al here too apparently. It's getting very hot now at 25 Deg C so I stop for a rest and drink in Bar Gonzalez. They gave me a dish of whole peanuts, but their shells had been salted. You then broke them open to get the peanuts. I've never seen that before. They were delicious.
After nearly 31kms, I finally got to Salmeron. It has been really hot today and I was glad to see this pretty village appear down in the valley. I got the key from the dark Bar Cazador, although it was locked when I first arrived and had to wait. The entire village seemed deserted when I arrived, and was deserted as well làter. Very few people seem to live here? The albergue is excellent and surprisingly, there is a German staying here tonight, coming from the north towards Alicante. Apparently, he did the south to north route last year. Stretches, washing, shower and shave all done. I just need to work out tomorrow's destination to Trillo and check the distance, water to carry etc. I gather it's mostly uphill? The German guy reckons there isnt anywhere to get food for tomorrow so I guess that's the next thing to check out in an hour. He was right! There is a small shop but it closes at 2.00pm and doesn't open in the evening. But Bar La Mazmorra around the corner from the albergue with a great outdoor seating area and hosted by the friendly and helpful Phillip is doing some big boccadillos for me, one for now and one for tomorrow, and I'm filling up on olives and crisps as well. It's a crap diet but only for a day. I should have stayed in the last village!! Seriously, I should have. I should have stayed in that beautiful medieval village with its great facilities, bought a few extras for the following day and then planned to stay in the nice albergue in Viana de Mondejar. As it is, I have no choice but to press on to Trillo tomorrow. At least the weather is good.
So, overall, another great day of walking. No major problems although I used my first Compeed plaster today, to cover up a hotspot on my heel. I completely forgot about it after half an hour. Màgic stuff them plasters.
More tomorrow ....
Where is this? So pretty.
Where is this? So pretty.
I believe it is in Trillo. It is a beautiful town with a nice café-restaurant next to the river. It must be lovely, but there was pouring rain and a thunder storm when I was there :O(
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?