Architecture student doing El Camino in September starting in Burgos

[camino.tati]

Hey everyone,

This sight is absolutely incredible and reading everyone's experiences has convinced me this is going to be more than just an experience of beautiful sceneries and intensive walking. I think the more I know, the better prepared I will be for the trip! I am really excited, but also scared about all the unexpected things that could happen along the trip- especially because I have not organised much of it apart from the flight there and back..

1) I am arriving in Burgos on the 3rd September and hoping to get to Santiago de Compostela by the 20th September: Does anyone think this is impossible timing?

2) I going with two other friends.. will we be able to cycle a part of the trip? Perhaps rent some bikes from one village and drop it in another?

3) What time should we aim to reach each village to look for accommodation? I have heard that by midday most people are already looking for hostels..

4) And a very vague question: For anyone who has an interest in architecture, public spaces or design, which villages would you recommend staying more time in? Or are there any places that are perhaps not mentioned in the guidebooks that you would recommend going to see? Any responses would be greatly appreciated as I want to get as much out of the trip as possible!!

5) Also, which parts of the camino have the highest amount of abandoned villages which are starting to revive as a result of the popularity of the camino?

I will be so grateful for any responses as I am doing this trip partly because of my interest in travelling and architecture but mostly as a internal, spiritual experience. I am really excited but also a little scared of my lack of preparation..

 

[mspath]

camino. tati

Welcome to the Forum!

For information and tips regarding biking the Camino be sure to check out this Forum topic below.
biking-the-camino/

The Bike-Lne Service for cyclists on the Camino Frances lists those albergues which ARE definitely cyclist friendly. See >> http://bike-line.blogspot.com.es/ As you scan down the right hand column of the home page you will see PASAPORTE BIKELINE mentioned above a photo of a red guide book. Click on the photo and you will open their albergue list.

For anyone who has an interest in architecture, public spaces or design The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago by David M. Gitilitz and Linda Kay Davidson is a most useful guide. It provides a comprehensive explanation of the history, art, architecture, and importance of every village, town, and city crossed along the Camino. You can order it from Amazon.

For the last 50 years architectural history has been my profession and passion. Here are some personal favorite spaces and places on your planned stretch of the CF from Burgos west.

Of course the majestic cathedral of Burgos and its adjacent museum complex but also the new urban re development higher up the hill from the cathedral along the Calle San Esteban near the old castle and the CAB. See >> http://www.cabdeburgos.com/en/contenido/?idsec=3. As you leave the city walking west along the the riverside promenades visit the great mix of Renaissance and contemporary at the University law school and notice the clash of a nineteenth century panopticon-plan prison next to the camino path leading towards Tarjados.

West of Burgos the immense wind-swept Castillian plateau known as the Meseta especially between Hornillos del Camino and Castrojeriz is magical. Frigid in late autumn and winter it must be hot as hell in summer.

Just west of Leon the Brutalist church in Virgen del Camino was designed by Fray Francisco Coello, a Dominican monk, influenced by Le Corbusier. Basically a glass and concrete box this is a haven of peace in the midst of industrial chaos. Be sure to go inside! See > http://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/train-tickets-and-weather.18777/ and >> http://virgendelcamino.dominicos.es/webvirgen/index.php

At the end of your camino in Santiago, of course, the great cathedral and the arcade streets of the historic city center are special. Nevertheless don't miss Peter Eisenman's contemporary and controversial hillside City of Culture . See >> http://www.eisenmanarchitects.com/
Also visit the offices and exhibits of the Consorico de Santiago to learn more of the city's urban planning both ancient and today. See >> http://www.consorciodesantiago.org/concursocentrocsic/index.php?page=consorcio

... What a journey you will have!

Happy biking and looking and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[lettinggo]

Hola tati

The Camino's are pathways through history and once you are on one of them I cannot imagine they wont have an immense impact on you.
To find shelter in an Albergue which is 800 years old, gives new meaning to life, history, future. To one self.
My advice would be to bring a good guide and read it day to day to bring attention to what lies ahead, such as old roman road or the history of cities and churches. Your main resource will still be your eyes or if you speak a few Spanish phrases to ask the locals for information.
The hospitaleros are locals and have enormous informations if you ask.

To walk from Burgos to Santiago in 17 days is far from impossible, but it is a stretch. You have to give your body a week of adjusting to the walk and I would say it is just a little to far for the average walker starting in Burgos. All depends on your groups physic.
My suggestion is to arrive to Burgos, absolutely see the cathedral as it is very special as Margaret wrote, and just start walking.
Go slow for the first week and take it a it comes.
If you experience that you need to move faster then ask for bike rentals or just take the bus a little of the way.
Don't decide now. Let your experience decide for you.
Either way you will find your own way on the Camino.

Buen camino
Lettinggo

 

[camino.tati]

thanks so much for the motivation! Luckily I am half spanish and therefore fluent I definitely want to stay part of the day in Burgos looking at the cathedral and the city itself.. However, I am worried that if I start walking too late I wont find accommodation in the next village? you are right!! I should wait till I am there and enjoy the experience!! Luckily, my friends and I are fit and sporty so hopefully we will make it.. but I do want time to enjoy and relax in each of the villages or at least a few and get to know some places.. so maybe i will have to get a bus across a part of it.. hopefully there are buses which go from one part of the camino to another easily. Anyway, thanks for the advice!!

 

[camino.tati]

camino. tati

Welcome to the Forum!

For information and tips regarding biking the Camino be sure to check out this Forum topic below.
biking-the-camino/

The Bike-Lne Service for cyclists on the Camino Frances lists those albergues which ARE definitely cyclist friendly. See >> http://bike-line.blogspot.com.es/ As you scan down the right hand column of the home page you will see PASAPORTE BIKELINE mentioned above a photo of a red guide book. Click on the photo and you will open their albergue list.

For anyone who has an interest in architecture, public spaces or design The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago by David M. Gitilitz and Linda Kay Davidson is a most useful guide. It provides a comprehensive explanation of the history, art, architecture, and importance of every village, town, and city crossed along the Camino. You can order it from Amazon.

For the last 50 years architectural history has been my profession and passion. Here are some personal favorite spaces and places on your planned stretch of the CF from Burgos west.

Of course the majestic cathedral of Burgos and its adjacent museum complex but also the new urban re development higher up the hill from the cathedral along the Calle San Esteban near the old castle and the CAB. See >> http://www.cabdeburgos.com/en/contenido/?idsec=3. As you leave the city walking west along the the riverside promenades visit the great mix of Renaissance and contemporary at the University law school and notice the clash of a nineteenth century panopticon-plan prison next to the camino path leading towards Tarjados.

West of Burgos the immense wind-swept Castillian plateau known as the Meseta especially between Hornillos del Camino and Castrojeriz is magical. Frigid in late autumn and winter it must be hot as hell in summer.

Just west of Leon the Brutalist church in Virgen del Camino was designed by Fray Francisco Coello, a Dominican monk, influenced by Le Corbusier. Basically a glass and concrete box this is a haven of peace in the midst of industrial chaos. Be sure to go inside! See > http://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/train-tickets-and-weather.18777/ and >> http://virgendelcamino.dominicos.es/webvirgen/index.php

At the end of your camino in Santiago, of course, the great cathedral and the arcade streets of the historic city center are special. Nevertheless don't miss Peter Eisenman's contemporary and controversial hillside City of Culture . See >> http://www.eisenmanarchitects.com/
Also visit the offices and exhibits of the Consorico de Santiago to learn more of the city's urban planning both ancient and today. See >> http://www.consorciodesantiago.org/concursocentrocsic/index.php?page=consorcio

... What a journey you will have!

Happy biking and looking and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

Thanks for the advice Margaret!! I see you are well informed on some top architects. I will definitley note down all these architectural gems for the trip.. I had no clue Peter Eisenman had a building in Santiago!! I am hoping to base my dissertation on Urban Design and rural villages along the camino.. so I am sure I will have rich experience and be able to do lots of sketching along the camino. I am walking most of it but was wondering if there was any chance to cycle a day or two of it just for a different experience. Are there any specific monasteries that I shouldn't miss seeing?? It seems there is soo much to see that I will have to do a bit of filtering in my sightseeing..Also, I was wondering, are there many detours along the route which is marked by the yellow shells? Or is it just one route? Thanks again for this information

 

[mspath]

camino.tati,

Here is some more info in answer to your queries to help you plan.

There is one major Camino Frances path but along the way there are various alternates also marked with the famous yellow arrows and shells. For example the Valcarlos alternate which I always follow to Roncevalles or the alternate to Villar de Mazarife which avoids some industrial sprawl out of Leon. Many small roads also parallel parts of the CF. For a schematic on-line overview of the route look at the Euroski site >> http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es./los-caminos-de-santiago/frances/. For in depth professional mapping on line check out what fellow Forum member Peter Robins mentions here >> http://pilgrim.peterrobins.co.uk/routes/details/frances.html.

Be sure to visit the Benedictine monastery of Samos in the hills along your route between Tricastela and Sarria. Parts of the Benedictine monastery complex are as early as the 9th century, but the majority was built in the 16th and 17th centuries. Much, however, had to be rebuilt after a fire in 1951. Still in use only sections can be visited. There is an albergue but it is FRIGID. You can read about my past visits at >> http://mermore.blogspot.fr/2011/04/aasam.html

Another extraordinary monastery is Sobrado dos Monaxes just north of Arzua. This Cistercian complex is a Baroque masterpiece, but the pilgrim albergue is a actually a renovated stable. When there I wandered through the other structures in awe. Evening vespers service was held in a splendid circular contemporary space. All was either painted white or natural wood and lit by thick candles. The monks wore their white robes and responded in unison. It was truly timeless and memorable. Here is their web http://www3.planalfa.es/sobrado/sobrado.htm

Urban design / rural villages along the camino should be a GREAT research topic! Be sure to visit the hamlet of Foncebadon which ten years ago was almost in total ruin and now is slowly being revived thanks to the camino. you will see much adaptive reuse along the way . One personal favorite is the albergue at Granon which has been handsomely inserted into the church tower. See >> http://mermore.blogspot.fr/2011/04/aagran.html

Good luck with ALL your endeavors!

Margaret Meredith

 

[Kiwi-family]

camino. tati
welcome to the forum
you've already drawn out the person who springs to mind as the one who will have lots to offer you on architecture!
I'd just like to let you know that this trip is likely to be a taster and you'll be back for longer!!!!
enjoy it, knowing you'll return for details later

 

[naplesdon]

I am an architect, retired for many years now, and Margaret Meredith's advice is spot on. There are many great examples of both contemporary and contextual architecture in Santiago, I would see if you can find an architectural guidebook for the town before you visit there. You will find most villages along the way are the result of thoughtful organic development and some of the great ones are Rabanal, Astorga (with its early Gaudi church) and Acebo. Somewhere between Sarria and Portomarin there is stunning contemporary home basically built in the middle of nowhere. It's unfortunate that you will miss Torres del Rio, not only because of the way the town is developed on the hillside upon which it sits but more importantly because the Santo Sepulchro is one of the most incredible structures I have ever seen. I am still totally amazed that someone could design and engineer an octagonal structure like this in stone to such a level of perfection in the 12th century.

 

[scruffy1]

Don't consider leaving Burgos before seeing the Monastario de Las Huelgas Reales just off to the left of the Camino as you leave Burgos. No longer a monastary but a museum which may be seen only by guided tour-your studies will get you through even if you do not understand the Spanish-it is an amazing place. The cathedral in Burgos is overwhelming even for an architecture student-find a good guidebook such as the Gilitz book mentioned above (11 some odd pages of description). Those who attempt a one on one confrontation with the building are left with "pretty lights and nice music syndrome" and leave much poorere for the experience. Saint Isodoro in Leon I mentioned? Another must see and yes take the tour there too in order to see the Romanesque church and frescos - mind boggling!

 

[mspath]

.... It's unfortunate that you will miss Torres del Rio, not only because of the way the town is developed on the hillside upon which it sits but more importantly because the Santo Sepulchro is one of the most incredible structures I have ever seen. I am still totally amazed that someone could design and engineer an octagonal structure like this in stone to such a level of perfection in the 12th century.

Copy that for Santa Maria de Eunate which for me is paradise on earth! Unfortunately it is off Camino.Tati's route from Burgos west.

MM

 

[naplesdon]

Again, I total agree with you, been there and done that too, but just like Torres del Rio it's many kms before Burgos.

 

[camino.tati]

I am an architect, retired for many years now, and Margaret Meredith's advice is spot on. There are many great examples of both contemporary and contextual architecture in Santiago, I would see if you can find an architectural guidebook for the town before you visit there. You will find most villages along the way are the result of thoughtful organic development and some of the great ones are Rabanal, Astorga (with its early Gaudi church) and Acebo. Somewhere between Sarria and Portomarin there is stunning contemporary home basically built in the middle of nowhere. It's unfortunate that you will miss Torres del Rio, not only because of the way the town is developed on the hillside upon which it sits but more importantly because the Santo Sepulchro is one of the most incredible structures I have ever seen. I am still totally amazed that someone could design and engineer an octagonal structure like this in stone to such a level of perfection in the 12th century.

Thats great I will be able to see one of the few buildings Gaudi Designed outside of Catalunia! I have looked up Torres del Rio and it is a pity it is not part of my stretch.. do you think it is worth going there first and then perhaps taking a bus to Burgos? or perhaps missing a part of the stretch between Burgos and Santiago de COmpostela and do la Los arcos to Burgos? I wish I had more time.. but I dont know which parts between Burgos and Santiago de Compostela are perhaps worth missing (taking a bus along a part of the stretch)?? Also, do remember anymore particular albergues within churches or monasteries? I'd like to stay in as many of them as possible!! What an experience that will be! Thanks again, for the advice Reminds me of the Ely Octagon in the UK.. impressive technology for the time!!

 

[naplesdon]

I know there is bus service between Bilbao, Los Arcos and Logrono which puts you in the vicinity of Torres del Rio. The same would be true for bus service to and from Pamplona and Puente la Reina which puts you in the vicinity of Eunate. Puente le Reina is well worth taking the time to visit, as well as in a lesser way is Los Arcos. How that gets you back on schedule to Santiago is beyond me and I personally wouldn't want to miss walking through the Meseta just because of the beauty of the countryside. As far as albergues within churches the one most often mentioned is Granon, I'm sure there others but I haven't had the pleasure.

 

[mspath]

Here is my inventory of 25 albergues east and west of Burgos within a church or monastery setting.

east of Burgos.

Roncevalles, three albergues; the new, the old and the winter, in monastery structures
Trinidad de Arre, in a monastery garden
Eunate, structure adjacent to church
Viana, structure adjacent to church
Logrono, albergue parroquial de Santiago, in church
Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Nuestra Sra. de la Anunciacion, in monastery
Granon, albergue parroquial San Juan Bautista, in church tower
Belorado, refugio parroquial in church
San Juan Ortega, in monastery wing

west of Burgos

Burgos, albergue Divina Pastora, in church
Itero del Castillo, albergue de San Nicolas, in church
Carrion de los Condes, monasterio de Santa Clara, in monastery wing
Carrion de los Condes, albergue parroquial de Santa Maria, in church structure
Carrion de los Condes, albergue Espiritu Santo, in monastery wing
Sahagun, albergue de peregrinos Cluny, in church
Sahagun, albergue de las Madres Benedictinas, in monastery
Leon, albergue del monasterio de las Benedictinas (Carbaialas), in monastery
Hospital de Orbigo, albergue parroquial, in priest's house
Astorga, albergue de peregrinos Siervas de Maria, ex convent
Cacabelos, albergue de Cacabelos, on church grounds
Carracedo del Monasterio, albergue, in monastery grounds
Samos, Albergue del Monasterio de Samos, in monastery wing
Sarria, albergue Monasterio de la Magdalena, in monastery wing
Santiago de Compostela, albergue San Martin Pinario, in seminary
Santiago de Compostela, albergue Seminario Menor La Asuncion, in seminary

Amongst these examples are successful and poor examples of adaptive re-use, retro fitting and contemporary additions. Much to visit, view and ponder. For location info and basic photos see the Eroski site Etapas and albergues . For more personal comments and /or photos see each location as cited in my Camino Gazetteer.

Margaret Meredith

 

[Adriano]

Hey everyone,

This sight is absolutely incredible and reading everyone's experiences has convinced me this is going to be more than just an experience of beautiful sceneries and intensive walking. I think the more I know, the better prepared I will be for the trip! I am really excited, but also scared about all the unexpected things that could happen along the trip- especially because I have not organised much of it apart from the flight there and back..

1) I am arriving in Burgos on the 3rd September and hoping to get to Santiago de Compostela by the 20th September: Does anyone think this is impossible timing?

2) I going with two other friends.. will we be able to cycle a part of the trip? Perhaps rent some bikes from one village and drop it in another?

3) What time should we aim to reach each village to look for accommodation? I have heard that by midday most people are already looking for hostels..

4) And a very vague question: For anyone who has an interest in architecture, public spaces or design, which villages would you recommend staying more time in? Or are there any places that are perhaps not mentioned in the guidebooks that you would recommend going to see? Any responses would be greatly appreciated as I want to get as much out of the trip as possible!!

5) Also, which parts of the camino have the highest amount of abandoned villages which are starting to revive as a result of the popularity of the camino?

I will be so grateful for any responses as I am doing this trip partly because of my interest in travelling and architecture but mostly as a internal, spiritual experience. I am really excited but also a little lescared of my lack of preparation..

Bikes are available at www.recicleta.org phone +34-659-672-450. Cost for everything is around 10 Euros per day!!