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August Camino

Rich1

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances (5/15)
Frances & Muxia (2016-18)
Camino from Madrid (9/18)
Frances to Burgos (9/19)
TBC
So looks like I'm on for my August Camino starting in Madrid.
Camino de Madrid to Sahagun, then either Salvador/Primitivo or Invierno (haven't decided on that bit yet!)
May even do a cheeky Ucles first ;)
Major concern is the weather - just how hot will in be especially on the Madrid? Am I likely to evaporate?!
Hoping my "Camino Spanish" will be enough. May try a crash course in Spanish. Any apps/podcasts etc recommended?

I've loved the Frances on my own and again with my wife - an immensely spiritual experience and really felt like a pilgrimage. Hope these different routes will provide similar...but in a different, more solitary way :)

Let the planning begin :):)
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I agree that DuoLingo is a good tool and I enjoy using it.

Buen Camino!
 
Undoubtedly it will be hot, so don't wear dark clothes, especially not black, as dark colours absorb heat and you will bake. And of course lots of water, with far fewer refill points than the Frances
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
It will certainly be hot - very hot. I walked part of the Cde Madrid last year starting on 1 October (crossed to the Levante then VdeLP after about a week) and that was plenty hot enough for me, particularly the afternoons, when the land on those long exposed agricultural stretches just seemed to bake. Agree - make sure you carry plenty of water, neither fuentes nor cafes/bars nearly as frequent as the Frances. I coped with the afternoon heat by taking a silvered euroshirm hiking umbrella, which provided more shade than a hat. I started in shorts and sunblock but my pale antipodean skin reacted to the sun and I got a heat rash on my calves. Not pretty. So long trousers it was after that.
Enjoy the Madrid - very peaceful, some very interesting villages and towns.
 
One further quick question about this Camino.
Just looking through the new CSJ guide - lots of handy info. Is there any need to phone ahead for accommodation at albergues to get them opened etc or is it ok to just bowl up and locate the key etc?
Thanks
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
It is a very quiet camino indeed. Where I stayed in albergues, I was the only one. So no rush for beds! I either knocked on the door of the house where the key was held, when I entered the village (eg Ane) or rang when I arrived and met the hospitalero/a somewhere.
 
Thanks Elizabeth - that's helpful. Yes, I knew it's very quiet :) it'll be strange being the only one in an albergue after 2 Camino Frances!!
 
Several other things to keep in mind that differ from the Frances - dinner timings really do stick to the traditional later hours ie 9 pm (no earlier dinner for peregrinos!); shops and bars do close on Sundays so you need to plan and stock up the day before, some villages have NO facilities eg Ane, no shop and no bar; there are not the frequent fuentes for water in every hamlet so allow for carrying extra water. Buen camino!
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Thanks....great tips :)
 
I've done it last year in August. Certainly the worst heat possible, but as a person who doesn't support the high temperatures very well I will always affirm it was one of the best caminos I've ever done. Peace, solitude and the beautiful surroundings. Most of the time, I was alone in the albergues. It was quite strange. On the other hand, there was no problem with getting up early (to escape the high temperatures during the day).
From Castilla on the accommodation facilities are very good, but, as it has been said, don't count on early opening bars (sometimes I had my first coffee at 11 am) and pilgrim menus.
I think it has the atmosphere of CF many many years ago. What can I add? Don't omit the albergue of Coca that looks as though your aunt had redecorated it :)
 

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Several other things to keep in mind that differ from the Frances - dinner timings really do stick to the traditional later hours ie 9 pm (no earlier dinner for peregrinos!); ...
But OTOH there aren't hospitaleros on this route to lock you in at 10pm (except Puente Duero) because you get the key and that's it ;)
Enjoy your dinners with locals @Rich1 and Buen Camino!
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
But OTOH there aren't hospitaleros on this route to lock you in at 10pm (except Puente Duero) because you get the key and that's it ;)
Enjoy your dinners with locals @Rich1 and Buen Camino!
That is absolutely true! But my problem was usually managing to stay awake that late...
 
And another thought - despite the lack of peregrinos, the locals I encountered were unfailingly kind, generous and helpful. If I paused at an intersection for too long, someone would usually point the way or stop and query if I needed directions. If I was the only person in a restaurant/dining room for dinner (this happened more than once), I still received a delicious meal and friendly service. In a hamlet where the only bar was closed that day, a local woman took me home for a cafe con leche then to the ayuntamiento for a stamp for my credencial. And when I arrived in one town, hot and tired, and couldn't find accommodation, a bar owner took me to the local police station where the three policemen there patiently found me a casa rural and drove me there in their SUV. Kindness indeed.
 
And another thought - despite the lack of peregrinos, the locals I encountered were unfailingly kind, generous and helpful. If I paused at an intersection for too long, someone would usually point the way or stop and query if I needed directions. If I was the only person in a restaurant/dining room for dinner (this happened more than once), I still received a delicious meal and friendly service. In a hamlet where the only bar was closed that day, a local woman took me home for a cafe con leche then to the ayuntamiento for a stamp for my credencial. And when I arrived in one town, hot and tired, and couldn't find accommodation, a bar owner took me to the local police station where the three policemen there patiently found me a casa rural and drove me there in their SUV. Kindness indeed.
Ditto all the way. The kindness and friendliness of the locals on CdM can only be compared to that on the Invierno to my experience.
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-

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Hi everybody, Which is the best way by foot : Uclès to Madrid or Madrid to Uclès (in july !)? And where find informations about accomodation ? Thank you

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