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) |
---|
Hello friends,
I walked the Camino Frances last year and am now preparing to walk the Camino del Norte in May. I've been checking out blogs and websites and also ordered the Spanish guide "Camino Norte de Santiago" by Anton Pombo (2010) which just arrived. On examining the maps today, I was surprised by just how much of the route is road-side walking and on asphalt (it looks like more than 50% of the way)!
I understand the views are spectacular on this route and the number of pilgrims few, but can anyone who has walked both the Frances and the Norte, give some comparison as to the surfaces of the trails and the overall environment you pass through. I felt that while there were many many pilgrims on the Frances, the trail itself was a very quiet way... through fields, sleepy towns and forrests. Is the North route through much more populated areas, and mostly along major roads?
Thank you so much for your feedback.
Cheers and Buen Camino
Liana
Hi Liana,
I'm curious to know whether or not you ended up walking the Camino del Norte and, if so, how you felt about the asphalt/roadside/next-to-freeway/in and out of big city/modern subdivision walking on this route.
I lasted for 10.5 days before I gave up, not because of the physical chal. For those people who can ignore the frequent roadside walking, this is an amazingly beautiful route. My mind, unfortunately, does not work that way and I would grit my teeth each time a car passed, no matter how beautiful the scenery. Or, when there were no cars, it was like looking at an exquisitely beautiful painting with a wide black line painted through the middle of it.
Like you, one of the things that most appealed to me about the Frances was the "trail itself was a very quiet way... through fields, sleepy towns and forrests."
I found what Rebekah Scott wrote to be true; the Europeans I met didn't give a second thought to the asphalt. Actually, neither did the North Americans. Fortunately, everybody else was thrilled by the spectacular scenery; I seemed to be the lone exception.
I'm now in Oviedo about to start the Camino Primitivo, which I understand to be much more remote.
Joe,Alyssa:
The Norte while having quite a bit of rural road walking also has a number of alternative routes, almost daily. The last third as the route turns in from the coast has the least amount of hard surface walking. I actually enjoyed the Norte, including a few detours onto the E-9, with the exception of the Gijon-Aviles section. The Primitivo is also a great walk. Just as hilly but much more rural, imo. Hope you enjoy the walk.
Ultreya,
Joe
Liana has not been on the forum since May 2012 so I don't think you will get to know now......... I was just curious to know what Liana's experience was of it after all her research and questions about it.
Thanks again!
Thanks for the heads up!Liana has not been on the forum since May 2012 so I don't think you will get to know now.
@Walking Viking - we still walk with a single wooden pole without any problem. Neither of us want both hands occupied by poles unless truly incapable of walking without them. Our trusty poles have just been to Santiago again and came in use for uphill and downhill at times as well as being easy to use on the level, or to lean on and admire the view.
I know others like yourself love their double poles but they are not for everyoneand as yet certainly not for us
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?