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Guide for via de la plata???

Marcel234

“Not all those who wander are lost.”
Time of past OR future Camino
2009/10/11/12/13/14/15/16 and this June 2017
I'm thinking about walking the VdlP. I already did the Frances and used a dutch guide.
Now I find it more difficult to choose a guide. Can anybody help me? I prefer a Dutch or English guide, but German isn't q problem either.

Thx!
 
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Hi,

I'm on the VdlP right now. If you can read German, I'd get the German guidebook. I've heard wonderful things about it, and there's an up-to-date version.

I don't know when you're going, but Alison Raju has a new version of her English guidebook coming out this fall. The old one is about seven years old.

Hope this helps!

Anna-Marie
 
Hi Anna-Marie,

I have been enjoying reading your blog - wow, you have come so far!

Regarding guides, aren't you using the CSJ guide? I am leaving in Jluly so won't be able to use Alison's book.

Buena suerte en buen camino during the last 200 km!

Cheers,
LT
 
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Anna-Marie said:
Hi,

I'm on the VdlP right now. If you can read German, I'd get the German guidebook. I've heard wonderful things about it, and there's an up-to-date version.

I don't know when you're going, but Alison Raju has a new version of her English guidebook coming out this fall. The old one is about seven years old.

Hope this helps!

Anna-Marie
Anna-Marie! I love your blog! Looks like you're having a wonderful time.

I'm leaving in July, don't want it to get chilly on the VdlP ;), so Raju isn't an option. There are a lot of German guides. Do you know the name?

Buen Camino!
 
Hi Marcel,

If you are looking for a Dutch book the new guide 'Blik op Oneindig' by Hans van den Breul might be for you: http://www.santiago.nl/nieuws_20110314_blik_op_oneindig.php.

I just found out about it myself and e-mailed him yesterday. Curious how current it is. Maybe if you e-mail him too we will get a faster response. I prefer English, Dutch or Spanish to German.

I see that you are also going in July. Maybe will see you. Just bought myself a 2L playtus for the heat!

Cheers,
LT
 
Hi Marcel.

If you've got an iPhone, iPad or iTouch, I've got a travel app guide to the VDLP from Sevilla to Salamanca that's very recent -- from trips in November 2010 and this past March. I'll be going back this August/September to walk Salamanca to Santiago via Ourense and finish it. The good thing: no bulk or weigh in your backpack! Plus thousands of photos (plus text and maps, of course) to help guide you around the tricky spots. It's on iTunes and at SutroMedia.com.
Melanie
 
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If you go to the tourist office you might be able to pick up the Castilla y Leon guide - Route to Santiago The Silver Route a practical guide for pilgrims. It´s free. I got one in english but had to wait til I got to Salamanca. Very lightweight and up to date. 2010 version.

Sharon 8)
 
Thanks all! I ordered a German guide of 2011. I've met a lot of Germans on the Francés and I always liked their guides.

@ LTfit I will send him an email. I'm still in the orientation phase so I like to read as much as possible before I make up my mind.

Thanks again and buen camino!
 
Thanks all! I ordered a German guide of 2011. I've met a lot of Germans on the Francés and I always liked their guides.

@ LTfit I will send him an email. I'm still in the orientation phase so I like to read as much as possible before I make up my mind.

Thanks again and buen camino!
 
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Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
LTfit said:
Regarding guides, aren't you using the CSJ guide? I am leaving in Jluly so won't be able to use Alison's book.

Hi LT,

I'm glad you've made your decision. I am using the CSJ guide, but if there was a more thorough up-to-date option in English I'd take that. Particularly because the CSJ maps aren't helpful navigationally, and maps are really useful to have (I'm using some I found on the Internet).

Thanks for the good wishes!

Anna-Marie
 
Greetings fellow pilgrims well have decide to also do the Via de la plata in 2012 and would like a good guide for someone who has problems reading directions and getting lost. Any good suggestions. Mind I did the Camino Frances starting in Lourdes France and was surprised never got off track for once.
Was thinking of mid April til May is the weather nice that time of the year.
Pax et Bonum.
n+
 
Ann Marie would like your feed back on this Camino Have done the Norte and Frances how do you describe the Via de la Plata.
Thanks,
n+
 
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hi Nathanael

Pili Pala Press were considering a new edition of Cole&Davies 'Walking the VdelaP'
Not sure where they are at currently but there was a page by page update to 08 last time I looked at their website
http://www.pilipalapress.com/plata/updates.html

hope this is useful - weather (predictably unpredictable!) could be ok in May but maybe starting to hot up 'down south' - so maybe you should aim to be well into Gallicia by mid May - am hoping to start on Granada - Cordoba - Merida stretches by early March
buen camino
Peter
 
peter thanks for the info but that guide is out of print they told...guess will have to get one from Confraternity of St. James.
pax, n+
 
Hello!
Walked Via de la Plata this spring and used a German Rotherguide together with the CSJ guide.
The Rotherguide had ok maps but was not good and sometimes not right. All the Germans and Austrians on the road had another German guidebook, OUTDOOR, small yellow guide. This seemed to be much better than mine and they are updated each year. I have just ordered one OUTDOOR guide for the Arles route and Le Puy route from http://www.amazon.de.
Have tried to find out if there is an English version, but have not succeeded.
Before I started I also considered taking with me the Alison Raju, but it was heavier and the maps are not good.
Randi
 
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I've mentioned this before, but for those who speak Spanish the Eroski guides have good walking instructions, details about albergues, distances, etc. The website is http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/ , and there is a line on the right that says "Imprime y llevatela al Camino." By clicking on that you get a version of the guide that is printable. The pdf version of their Vdlp guide is 53 pages this is Sevilla to Astorga, so if you go on the Sanabres from Zamora you'll need to add those pages), but doing it double sided really makes it a manageable amount of paper.

I found the Eroski guide to be much more helpful than the CSJ guide, and the Raju Cicerone guide is very outdated. If I could read German, I'd buy one in a heartbeat, because I often got excellent information from Germans I met who translated from their guides for me. I know there are two strong sets of opinions on the German guides -- one is yellow and one is red, and each one has its strong supporters, but I don't know the differences myself. I think it has to do with the fact that one guide is too detailed in some people's opinions, and maybe other things as well. I think they are both updated annually, so either one would have good lodging and albergue information.

In my opinion, the Vdlp is so heavy with arrows and mojones that you really don't need a book with detailed walking instructions. Based on people's experiences there with the devastating heat this past September, I'd try to start in springtime if at all possible. I walked in May and it was lovely. I think April may actually be more crowded than May, since many have holidays around Easter and tend to start then. I'd jump at the chance to walk it again! Buen camino, Laurie
 
i used the guide of the Amigos del Camino ,got from hotel Simon in Seville ,just off the main cathedral strip ,and then i found an English version later at the actual Amigos office in Triana . Also in Triana is the Hostel Triana where pilgrims seem to stay and the guy there knows a lot about the walk .
The guide gave basic information and was not heavy ,which is my main consideration .Not too good as approach towns in terms of directions ,nor are the signs ,inconsistently placed sometimes .But on the whole it was sufficient as on the majority of the walk i completed ( i only did to Merida though ) its pretty self evident as the road stretches seemingly endlessly in the shimmering haze of heat .
 
Just hit Santiago today, and got to see the botafumeiro swing, as Wednesday is a big holiday and there were large pilgrim groups in town from all over the world. I hope to have the Salamanca-Santiago part of my VDLP trail guide completed and included in the existing app (Sevilla to Salamanca) by Christmas. Lots of road construction in this last half, so lots of Camino detours and things that will likely change once construction is completed. It's always an adventure!

Melanie

P.S. They re-routed this lovely section right before A Susana that went into the woods; now the entire stretch from Lestedo to Santiago is pavement.
 
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Just a note on the Raju Cicerone VDLP Guide (English). It is being updated. I have just looked on the Book Depository and is due out in 464days! It can be pre-ordered. I must say that the new Via Francigena guide written by Raju arrived in the post within days of when it was meant to. On the German guides the red (Rother) ones have the better maps, the yellow (Outdoor) ones have good height profiles.
 
Samba, read your VDLP and am interested in doing it for April/May. About Triana in Seville have looked at that place a few weeks ago and seems to be the place to stay. I will probably take 3 days there soaking up the city. About the guide would like further info. on it thaks much,
n+
 
In May I used the both the CSJ guide and the most recent version of the Raju book. Neither was really satisfactory because some of the information (route, phone numbers, etc) was wrong. The guides in French, Spanish, Dutch, German etc were all much better.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Jeff, greetings how recent is the Raju guide..saw one at chapters it was a 2006, is there a 2012 on it's way? Let me know.
thanks,
n+
 
Nathaneal: Unless there is, and all I know is what I have read here, don't bother with it. I used the 2006 version and it is hopelessly outdated.
 
Jeff 001 & Nathanael: I had the same problem and peregrina 200 recommended the Eroski Consumer Santiago de Compostela website. It is in Spanish but I did an automatic tanslation and it works. I am not going to explore any further because the information on this website is complete and user friendly, that is what I am going to use when I start the VdlP on 15 April 2012.Buen Camino!! :)
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I must advice you: I was walking VDLP in May this year. The CSJ guide was not adequate: Outdated and incorrect in several places. I got lost several times. It saddened me because it (their guide) was SO good for my Frances walk in 2009. Before I start my 2012 last part of VDLP in May next year (from Salamanca), I will spend money on a better guide.

It saddens me a bit because I would love to hand over my payment to the CSJ for their honest and good work, but it (the VDLP guide) is not good enough.

But then again; I am sure some good soul is reading this, tipping the CSJ to take another walk on VDLP
and make the guide better: I sure know that I was SO grateful for their Frances guide.

PS: I was handed over a German guide, which was simply superiour! And I suspect so is/are English guide book(s).
 
I used the 2011 edition of the CSJ guide when I walked the Via de la Plata and the Mozarabe from Sevilla in April/May this year. It was good, and I recognise the fact that these books become outdated in some details as soon as they are published. I kept details in my diary of any anomalies that I found, and emailed those details to Alison Raju after I got home.She was kind enough to say they were of value,and would use them in future guides.

buen camino

Alan Pearce

Be brave. Life is joyous.
 
samba said:
i used the guide of the Amigos del Camino ,got from hotel Simon in Seville ,just off the main cathedral strip ,and then i found an English version later at the actual Amigos office in Triana . Also in Triana is the Hostel Triana where pilgrims seem to stay and the guy there knows a lot about the walk .
The guide gave basic information and was not heavy ,which is my main consideration .Not too good as approach towns in terms of directions ,nor are the signs ,inconsistently placed sometimes .But on the whole it was sufficient as on the majority of the walk i completed ( i only did to Merida though ) its pretty self evident as the road stretches seemingly endlessly in the shimmering haze of heat .

I dont know if this is the same guide but here it is for info http://www.viaplata.org.es/modules/Tienda/
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
The latest revision of Alison Ragu's guide 2011 The Camino Mozárabe or Vía de la Plata, Part A, Seville to Santiago is now available from CSJ. I ordered one this week, £5. I hope it's been fully revised considering the contributions above.
 
Hi everyone,

Hoping to revive this thread a little... :)
I'll be walking the Via de la Plata this spring 2012 and am in search for a guidebook (English). Everywhere I looked online, it seemed that the most recent book by Alison Raju is out of print, which is odd given that it came out so recently. I contacted the publishing company but haven't heard back yet. If anyone has input on the book and/or where I can get a copy, please do share. Also, following the leads here, I do intend to take iPad with me, mostly so that I can write in my blog, and now I'm wondering if I don't really need a guidebook, unless there's a really good, up-to-date one out there. Personally, I prefer having a physical guidebook with me, but I would love to hear about other pilgrims' experiences.

Many thanks!
Michal
--
http://michalrinkevich.wordpress.com/tag/camino-de-santiago/
 
Hi Michal

Just recently come across this website, not sure if it is on here all ready but it covers the area from Merida to Astorga and it gives you lots of really useful links if you go through it http://laviadelaplata.es. It is not totally dedicated to the Camino de Santiago but rather a collaboration between Jacobean associations and the local authorities through which the original roman road goes through.

Mike
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
alexwalker, greetings just had to comment on your image of the pilgrim walker just super. :D
n+
 
Hi all,

Instead of doing the Via de la Plata summer 2011, I went to India. But december 2011 I walked from Seville to Merida. I lost my German guide days before I left and only used à list with villages. It was perfect.

Here's the URL http://www.godesalco.com/plan
 
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Nathanael, Thanks! :D
l have to say that the German guide is superior: was given one last year and benefitted much from it. I also used the CSJ guide last year, but lost it. Gave the German guide to a pilgrim friend when I had to abort halfway, and have bought the CSJ guide again this year. I also have the godesalco map, http://www.godesalco.com/plan , and I figure it is enough to get me through The Way.
 

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