Begin my Camino from O Cebreiro or Sarria?

[Veeda]

Hi folks! I am planning to walk only the last part of the Camino as I have limited time off from work. I have 8 days (from Oct 2 to Oct 9). I have a dodgy knee and have not done the Camino before. What are your recommendations? Should I start from Sarria or O Cebreiro? How much can I expect to walk in a day and still have time to explore a bit of the towns that I walk through?

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You can expect to walk about 20km per day, so eight days from O Cebreiro will cover the 160km. If the eight days includes getting to the starting point, then starting in Sarria will be better. Both sections have a lot of up and down, so if you have never done daily half-marathons with a pack, your knee may not like it.

There is not a lot to explore in the towns. Usually you can see everything as you walk through, though Samos, Melide, and Arzua offer some possibilities. Most churches are closed, so you can see the exterior rather quickly.

 

[GerryDel]

On my recent camino, I hopped from Pamplona to Sarria. My original plan was to hop from Pamplona to O'Cebriero and start the last part of my camino there. However, the downhill from O'Cebriero looked tough, and my son's feet were blistered, so we opted for Sarria. Get out the elevations and look at them before deciding. Downhill can be tough on the knees. Also, look at accessibility. To get to Sarria, I took a train to Montforte de Lemos, and then took a local train to Sarria the next morning. It was fairly easy. I did not have a plan for getting to O'Cebriero. I knew that I had to get to Ponferrada and then somehow get a bus to O'Cebriero, but I wasn't quite sure how to do it. Maybe someone on the forum knows how to get there easily.

 

[wayfarer]

Downhill from O'Cebriero is not so bad, it just looks bad on paper, coming down in Zubiri or Molineseca is probably a lot worse, but I would agree with falcon and go for a Sarria start unless you have eight days walking.

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Dodgy knee and limited time? Sarria it is.

You could even shuttle to Samos by taxi or bus and visit the monastery before you start (or start there). Sarria is 112 km from Santiago. Remember that it will be time consuming just to reach Sarria or Cebreiro, so you will have to factor that in as well. In any case, nothing wrong with starting in Sarria, it should still be a memorable experience and it will allow you to slow down and meet more pilgrims and smell more roses.

Agree with falcon, the towns don't offer much except cold beer, great coffee and lots of pilgrim warmth (which is probably all you need).

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

On my recent camino, I hopped from Pamplona to Sarria. My original plan was to hop from Pamplona to O'Cebriero and start the last part of my camino there. However, the downhill from O'Cebriero looked tough, and my son's feet were blistered, so we opted for Sarria. Get out the elevations and look at them before deciding. Downhill can be tough on the knees. Also, look at accessibility. To get to Sarria, I took a train to Montforte de Lemos, and then took a local train to Sarria the next morning. It was fairly easy. I did not have a plan for getting to O'Cebriero. I knew that I had to get to Ponferrada and then somehow get a bus to O'Cebriero, but I wasn't quite sure how to do it. Maybe someone on the forum knows how to get there easily.

I believe the only way to get to Cebreiro id not walking is to reach Piedrafita del Cebreiro by bus (there is one or two a day if I am not mistaken, check the ALSA bus website), then either hike the 7 km up the hill to O Cebreiro on the main road or take a taxi.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I believe the only way to get to Cebreiro id not walking is to reach Piedrafita del Cebreiro by bus (there is one or two a day if I am not mistaken, check the ALSA bus website), then either hike the 7 km up the hill to O Cebreiro on the main road or take a taxi.

At least one taxi shuttles between Piedrafita and O Cebreiro. Ask in the tobacco shop; they will give her a call.

The downhill from O Cebreiro is not terrible until you get to the last stretch toward Triacastela, though the footing is generally good. It varies from improved footpath to road to mud.

 

[natefaith]

Veeda, do you have 8 days total, including flying to and from Spain (are you flying in?)? Or do you have 8 days on the ground here? If you do have 8 days on the ground here, it's possible to do the Camino from O Cebreiro to Santiago (about a 7-day walk) but you won't have much margin before or after (which you might think is fine if you just want almost all of your time to be on the Camino). However, if you only have 8 days which includes having to fly into and out of Spain, that means you realistically only have about 6 days to work with - and in that case it would be a better idea to start from Sarria (5 day walk).