Jeff Crawley
Veteran Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- A "Tourigrino" trip once Covid has passed, so 2023
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Just one question - will I need a hiking pole for the Ingles? I normally use one but I'm carrying my pack into the cabin so that rules out taking one with me (and bringing one back) but 66 years old, recovered from a bad knee, not done enough training walks (weather/snow/bad knee/lame excuses).
I arrive in SdC at 09:00 local time from London so I thought I might bus into the city, "borrow" (for a donotivo) an abandoned pole from the Pilgrim House, mooch around and catch the train to Ferrol, maybe even stop off in Coruna to see Gen Moore's memorial. Bring back the pole a week later and not feel guilty about buying a new pole and discarding it after just one week.
Thanks for this - I'm a confirmed one-pole man. If I use two I tend to walk too quickly and I intend to savour this Camino!Very little of the Ingles is on rough ground so probably not necessary for that. But there are a couple of short sharp hills where one would be handy. Two might be even better. I've recently been diagnosed with arthritis in one knee and the other is pretty suspect too. For decades I have resisted using twin poles - partly because I didn't find much benefit with them on previous attempts but mostly because I didn't want to look like a complete prat. After a couple of caminos ended very painfully and I was diagnosed with arthritis I reluctantly decided to use them on the Via de la Plata and for a long walk in Japan recently and now have to declare myself a convert. About 1500km trouble free in the past few months. I've now decided that for all but short local walks I will be using two in future. Why not pick up two if they are going spare? I remember seeing a mountain of the things in a store room in The Last Stamp too. If Pilgrim House can't help you you might try asking there.
If you have not visited A Coruna it might be worth giving it a day - or at least a half-day. Great town!
Pax et bonum.
Hello again Faith,Hi Jeff,
That's great that your Camino Inglés is so close!
I was so grateful for my two trekking poles on the Inglés in July - it was hillier than I'd expected, here and there, with a few steep climbs and descents. I did get a couple of blisters and probably would've suffered a few more if I didn't have the poles.
Pilgrim House still has a bunch of poles so you're welcome to grab one or two! What day of the week will you be in? Please just keep in mind that we're closed Wednesdays and Sundays. It will be great to meet you before and/or after your walk.
Enjoy all the planning and Buen Camino!
Faith
I also am a confirmed one-poler. My main reason is that it is much easier to grab my phone for the 2000+ photos I take! And, yes, dealing with my umbrella when needed, too.Thanks for this - I'm a confirmed one-pole man. If I use two I tend to walk too quickly and I intend to savour this Camino!
Besides, if it's sunny I'll need the other paw for my sun-brella!
Sticks and poles are personal, and therefore, if you normally walk with a pole, then your idea of picking one up at the Pilgrim's office appears to me to be a good idea. If you find walking with the pole does not work, then you can always drop it off at any alberge on the way, even if you do not stay there. Alternatively, many shops in Santiago sell poles, which, depending on how much they cost, you may find a better fit. There is also a Decathlon shop in Ferrol, but there is no guarantee they have walking sticks.
The stages on the Ingles are quite long, and so the worst thing would be to walk uncomfortably, regretting not picking up a pole in Santiago as you planned.
As @Bradyplus, says, the Ingles doesn't walk on the rough ground that other of the Caminos cover in the mountains. About half of the Ingles is on tarmacked roads, including the two steep 20 minute climbs out of Pontedeume and Betanzos. The rest is on country tracks. I thought about walking poles, but decided that due to the long stages, I wanted to save my energy moving my legs, not my arms.
There is only 1 direct train day per day from Santiago to Ferrol, leaving Santiago at 14.15 arriving Ferrol at about 4pm (cost about € 16, and you have the privilege of going on a high speed Alvia train). Therefore, unless you stay in La Coruna for a night (which I did and would do so again, because the Tower of Hercules and the Riazor are worth seeing) stopping off at La Coruna may be an issue. Moore's tomb is in the Xardin de San Carlos in the old citadel, and the battlefield with the Moore memorial, harder to find and reach in the hills in the suburbs.
The train station at La Coruna is some way from the city and the uphill walk back to the station from the city is not something, I would do with a pack. Maybe, as you will have had a very early start if you land at 09.00, better to take the bus into Santiago, pick up that stick, have a good lunch and then sleep / relax on the train to Ferrol early afternoon. This is especially because I found it very difficult to find a restaurant serving good evening meals which was open before 9pm in Ferrol (again, noting your very early start).
What you can then do on arrival in Ferrol after finding where you stay is to walk down to the start of the Ingles by the harbour, obtain a credencial / first stamp from the tourist office by the harbour (open till 6pm) and then walk up to the tourist office by the station for a second stamp (open till 7pm), so that next day, you save yourself the time of not needing to go down to the harbour again and start walking from the front door of where you are staying (obtaining a stamp before you leave), especially because the tourist offices are not open until 10am and the first stage (if you are walking all that way) to Pontedeume is very long. There is also a large El Corte Ingles supermarket on the main shopping street in Ferrol to pick up water / fruit / provisions which is open until 9pm.
Has anybody come across a .gpx or .kmz/l file indicating where food or refreshments may be found?
Good thinking - thank you kindly.There's a kmz file from a couple of years ago that @miguel_gp posted that does show some of the café/bars/restaurants. But I'd probably look first at Gronze's pages about the English route. It indicates which towns/places have a spot for food/drink. Now, whether the place will be open when you go by, that's another story!
I think I agree. I did 10k yesterday and another 12 today in the Merrells but while they're comfortable they don't feel mmm "cosy" yet.Should be warm and dry enough in Galicia for trail runners now. I would caution new shoes for a long walk day after day
Convinced!Jeff, about half the Ingles is on asphalt (local country roads). If I were walking the Ingles now in minimum temperatures of 18 degrees plus (and possibly higher), I would not take walking boots. As long as your trail runners can cope with a possible day's rain, I would have thought the lighter footwear would be much more comfortable .
Sound advice - the traillies worked well and there was just the one day of rain.Jeff, about half the Ingles is on asphalt (local country roads). If I were walking the Ingles now in minimum temperatures of 18 degrees plus (and possibly higher), I would not take walking boots. As long as your trail runners can cope with a possible day's rain, I would have thought the lighter footwear would be much more comfortable .
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