Camino Francés 2012 - do I need a guidebook?

[elirin]

Hello everyone!

I'm a rookie preparing to walk the Camino Francés next fall. Being a planning freak, I have spent the last three months reading most of this brilliant forum , following blogs and browsing sites on the internet, going through my local library for camino- or pilgrimrelated titles, and trying out the various available apps - I'm planning to take my iPhone for several reasons. This Friday, Camino candy from the British Isles landed in my mailbox in the form of Sil's Your Camino and the DVD The Way. The massive amount of information available is at times overwhelming, but I love it! I am currently a very happy peregrina-to-be!

The guidebook (in Swedish) I bought day 1 seemed perfect to me at the time. I now see that it is a bit outdated already (printed 2009) and on the heavy side, even with arts and crafts like page ripping, silhouette cutting and origami (optional) applied to it. January is approaching, and I am currently considering whether I should order the CSJ 2012 or the new edition of the Brierley, that so many members are fond of and seem to bring along on their Camino.

My question is this: Provided that I will learn enough Spanish, and I think I will, the Eroski app contains basically all the practical info on their website, and the Blu Guide ones extra info on culture and history. I don't want to "just" follow the spiders, sorry, the arrows, I love all the extra in-depth info I can get. I also like the thought of a book as a travel companion. Do I need a guidebook? What will taking the Brierley or the CSJ bring to my Camino, respectively? Better maps? More detail? A peregrino perspective?

I am sorry about the extensiveness of this post . That's just me, I guess.

Elisabet

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Elisabet

You have summarised the issues very well indeed. Let's deal with essentials first for the Camino Frances.

The path is so well walked and marked you don't even need a guidebook and many people who are prepared simply to follow the well trod path from one albergue to the next often just print out a list of the "stages" and where the albergues are.

Maps - are not essential if you simply want to walk the Way. It is well waymarked and there are other pilgrims around. You won't get lost. But then again some people like to see the topography and the relationship of the camino to the country around it. IMHO none of the maps in the guidebooks including the Brierly guide provide this. There are lists around of the various maps you'll need to buy if you want this.

Up to date information - many people walk without a guide, others walk simply with a print-out of the Eroski guide or the information from Mundicamino.com and find these perfectly satisfactory for their needs. However if you are not using albergues and prefer to use or book ahead private hostel accommodation then you may wish an up to date guide - again IMHO only the CSJ guide which is updated annually provides this. Brierley is good but is not up-dated as frequently.

Detours - if you are interested in detouring to places of interest then the Brierley guide and to some extent the CSJ guide will give the information you need - although there are other sources of this information.

History and background to places: The CSJ guide has some of this but the reason the Brierley guide might be popular is that it does include information on places along the way - and some people like to read about where they and where they are going in the evenings.

Technical information - the Brierely guide gives information on the amount of road walking etc. Frankly I've never found this particularly useful. There is plenty of extant information on the internet (indeed in this forum) on elevations along the Camino Frances etc.

I'm biased in favour of lightweight walking and the CSJ guide does it for me. I see people more and more using simple print outs of the Eroski guide and others just picking up lists of albergues as they go along.

Good luck with your choices!

John

 

[elirin]

Thank you John, this was really helpful. I think I might get the CSJ guide in January, get to know it and see how I like it, and then add notes, Evernotes/digital scans or printouts from all the other (great) sources I already have access to, if need be. Loads can be packed into the device with zero extra weight.

 

[newfydog]

There is a nice map available anywhere on the way which is a reference to fold out and look at progress. Other than that, the only guides I ever found useful were the ones which filled in the cultural and historical details. All that becomes quite interesting once you are on location.

To find the route, follow the yellow arrows. Stay anywhere that looks nice and fits your budget and schedule. There are many options, and they are often best selected on the trail.

 

[elirin]

I couldn't help myself, so here I am with the new edition Brierley (302g) AND the corresponding Maps (135g), which turned out to be a booklet. I will have to read them before I decide whether to get the CSJ as well for comparison, but I do have a question about maps.

For practical purposes I suppose the maps provided in these books are great, filled with everything you ever need to know, and then some. I guess I am old-fashioned, but I like the topographical, "real" maps, the kind that fold out to give you an overview of a larger area, not just the trail that you are on and a couple of hundred meters to each side. Google Maps don't really do this for me, either. So I am interested in this map available once I get on the Camino mentioned by newfydog. What is the (approximate) scale of it? Is it a topographical map, or more like the simplified Brierley stage maps? Does it give any practical info?

Maybe I should just buy a regular map in a Spanish bookstore and combine this with either the CSJ or the Brierley? Or, quite seriously actually, go with God? Thoughts?

Elisabet

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Be careful with Brierley maps; they can be too schematic. For example, there are a lot more roads out of La Faba than Brierley shows, and I was lost on several of them. The angles of streets in Astorga are not correct. And more. Follow the yellow arrows! As to regular maps, there are good ones in France, but I never found a useful map in Spain. I am sure they exist, but they did not seem to be in the tobacco and book stores. You don't need them, but I agree it is nice to have real maps.

 

[newfydog]

The map I'm talking about is a fold up thing at 1:100,000 (1cm=1km). It covers a strip about 10km wide with towns etc off the route.. It has symbols for things like fountains, camping, albergues cathedrals etc. It has no topo lines.

I can't find mine at the moment but it is pretty standard---I have two different color glossy books which reprint it for reference.

If I really wanted topos I'd go with a garmin GPS with Garmin Topo Spain loaded.

 

[elirin]

Be careful with Brierley maps; they can be too schematic.

That's exactly what I'm thinking, looking at them. Amazon.co.uk have Michelin maps 1:400000. I have used and been happy with those before. I believe it would take three to cover the entire Camino Frances - 571 Galicia, 574 Aragon-Catalunya and 575 Castilla y Léon/Madrid. It's bulk and weight, especially if I need to buy them in advance and carry all of them from the start. But it might be worth it - I guess I could rip off the Madrid part, though.

As pointed out, there is the option to rely on the yellow arrows and let go of the need for maps, control and (over)planning. At this, my brain is yelling, very loudly, Are you mad?? at present. I will, however, seriously consider this. If I do get lost, I have an inexpensive, GoogleMaps-based GPS app in my smartphone - maybe there are better options without the need to bring another piece of equipment?

 

[Josefine]

Hi Elisabet.
Just wanted to say welcome to another Swedish pilgrim and tell you we have a Swedish Caminogroup on Facebook. If you would like to join just PM me. If you live in or near Stockholm you are welcome to our monthly "training for the Caminowalks".
Josefine

 

[elirin]

Thanks, Josefine, will do!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

1:400,000 maps will not show a lot of detail. You can look at various scales here:

http://www.omnimap.com/catalog/int/spai ... 37,253#p12

 

[Soliwo]

Michelin also overs a map-booklet which I find very useful, and which is multi-langual.

 

[elirin]

Falcon you are right, of course. I have checked my battered french Michelin maps. They were 1:150000, and have served me well, but mainly for biking, motoring and hiking along roads or well marked trails. They don't seem to exist for Spain. Plus, greater detail than that would actually be better for the camino.

 

[anniethenurse]

i have used this one. But you don´t really need a map - just follow the yellow arrows.

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Hi Elizabet,

I like you like to have a map which gives me an overall view of where I am.
I got a pull-out map in a guide book and photocopied it and cut out a strip showing about 50 klms from north to south and the whole length of the camino. I folded this like a concertina and slipped it into the back pocket of John Brierly's guide. No weight, but i could see where I was in relation to the rest of Spain.

Buen Camino.

 

[elirin]

Thank you all for this really good and useful advice. I'll check out the Michelin Camino map/booklet, it seems to be very close to what I am looking for. I will now plunge into the Brierley, head first. I am very intrigued by the subtitle - A Practical&Mystical Manual for the Modern Day Pilgrim". My original question on this thread is taken to a whole new level - do I need a Mystical Manual? I guess I have to find that one out for myself...

 

[anniethenurse]

The Michelin Camino de Santiago booklet is very lightweight only 88 grams. Combined with the Brierley guide that will be all you need. But as said you will be fine with the Michelin booklet only.

The Michelin booklet has good maps and quite much info on the albergues, cafees, and other facilities wih adresses and telephone numbers. But no cultural or religious info or reflections. It can be ordered from http://www.adlibris.se in Sweden.

http://www.adlibris.com/se/product.aspx?isbn=2067148052

 

[tjz]

This map also looks pretty good. It is 1:380,000 scale and weighs 91 grams. It covers quite a lot of Northern Spain besides the Camino Frances. Disappointingly, it just misses St. Jean Pied de Port and Roncesvalles and picks up at Espinal. You could easily cut off the town index at the bottom and save maybe 20% of the weight.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1566955386/?tag=casaivar02-20

 

[elirin]

Hi tjz!
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. It looks like a great map for topo overview, even though the scale makes it less useful for the actual hiking.

I have ended up deciding to take the CSJ 2012 guide (115gr) as a guide book and travel companion, with additional info from the Brierley and this forum scribbled in the margins (which the paper quality allows). I will scan selected Brierley pages into my Dropbox or Evernote folder, and make them accessible offline on my iPhone, where I will also have the PDF from caminoguide.net and the Eroski app.
Map-wise I'll take eihter the Brierley maps only version (130gr), or the Michelin Camino map (86gr). The total will then be either 245 gr or 199 gr. This NG map would be even lighter if cropped.

I'll report back when I've finished to tell you how this worked out. Maybe I have by then ended up ditching everything, repeating the mantra "just follow the yellow arrows" incessantly to myself. Haha!
She who lives, will see, as we say in Swedish.

Thanks and buen camino to all!
Elisabet

 

[MoniRose]

I took Brierley's guide but only really used the maps twice: once when faced with all the options going into Burgos and the second time when entering Leon. I came in on the bus and the map of Leon was confusing, even to the locals who tried to help, and it took me forever to find the cathedral. Also, I didn't really pay much attention to his albergue advice but relied on others on the route as well as my gut. What I did use it for was to know the approximate milage between towns (cafes) so I could plan my water/food/breaks.
I know some who used it religiously, but they wanted to walk off the beaten path. I never got lost by following the arrows. Never. Buen Camino to you!! -M :arrow:

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Brierley's guide but only really used the maps

Brierley has a book of just maps, and they go to Finisterre. It weighs almost nothing. The primary problem with his maps is that they are not oriented to north, but they do have a compass rose showing north. If you rotate the book to a north orientation, then the city maps maps make a lot more sense! He has a few errors, so watch out for them. Some errors in maps are intentional so that the copyright holder has evidence of copyright violations.

You can find the route by the yellow arrows, but you do not know what is up ahead!