My question was going to be. What is the most scenic part to walk ? When I was talking to this couple in PV, they mentioned an area that was VERY flat. I hoped it wasn't from Sarria. They talked about most hikers avoiding it and going around it. We have NEVER walked the Camino. Our plan before it was cancelled last week was to start in Sarria Spain after spending 3 weeks in the Dolomites, Italy hiking. What would you suggest? We are healthy and in our mid 70's. We are pretty avid hikers. We spend our Winters away avoiding the snow so we can hike. We are now looking at rebooking for the first of September 2021. Unless, you experts think early June 2021 might be better weather. Our plans call for us to be in Morocco and Egypt most of the Fall months at this point in time. Thanks stay well out there
Hi there, welcome to the community and I hope you have an amazing trip whenever you're able to do it!
Here are a few answers to your questions and some general thoughts. To start with the latter, my apologies if I'm reading too much into this or reading you wrong, but the camino is not exactly a hike highlighted by beautiful scenery. It's a village-to-village walk on or near roads and paths through scenery that can be nice but is often mundane. If you're in it primarily for hiking and scenery, especially after coming from the Dolomites - which are absolutely incredible - I think you'll be disappointed. There's quite a famous article called
10 Reasons Why El Camino Santiago Sucks in which the author didn't like it because he didn't 'get' it.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what the camino is about because it's different for different people, but there's a magic in it that comes from a combination of the shared experience with other pilgrims, the spirit of the camino, the religious and/or spiritual aspects, the kindness of the people you encounter along the way, unexpected architectural/artistic discoveries, the rhythm of the daily walk, and plenty more. If you're able to approach it as an 'experience' and not purely a hike, I think you'll get more out of it. Or if that doesn't sound like something you'd enjoy, then that's OK too - the camino's not for everyone.
Regarding your questions, as trecile mentioned above, the very flat part is the Meseta, a stretch of 180km of essentially nothing but wheat fields between Burgos and Leon. (Although I will point out here that relatively speaking, and especially coming from the Dolomites, the whole Camino Francés is pretty flat, with some obvious exceptions - again, it's not a mountainous hike.) Some people do skip the Meseta because the landscape can be quite boring and if you're there in summer, the heat is very taxing. I thought the churches and villages of the Meseta were very interesting, so I enjoyed it as part of the overall journey - when you do the full Camino Francés, part of the joy is seeing the landscape, architecture etc of Spain change in front of your eyes over the course of 800km as you walk through the different regions.
Sarria is 4-5 days walk (100km) from Santiago and is the most popular starting point because 100km is the minimum distance you have to walk to receive a certificate (compostela). Many pilgrims who have walked other stretches would say that the stretch from Sarria is not their favourite part because it is overdeveloped and the trail is overcrowded. Scenery-wise, you can expect a lot of greenery (which comes with a lot of rain!) and some nice stretches of forest walking. For a similar length but less crowded pilgrimage, you could consider the Camino Inglés from A Coruña or Ferrol to Santiago. Or if finishing in Santiago is not important to you, you could pick another stretch of the Camino Francés.
As for weather, you never really know what you're going to get on the camino. The two times I walked into Santiago (on the Francés and the Primitivo), it was June/July and it rained more often than not on those final days in Galicia. September is generally considered to be a good month but, again, you never really know. I have been on caminos from April-July and have experienced searing heat, driving rain, hail, snow and everything in between.
Finally, one more thing to consider is that 2021 is a holy year in Santiago and the number of pilgrims in general is expected to be very high. How the coronavirus crisis will impact that is yet to be seen. Maybe people will still be unable or unwilling to travel in 2021, or maybe they will be and there'll not only be the holy year 'bump', but another bump from those who had to put off their plans in 2020.
I hope this helps.
But that greenery is amazing!
