bhovers
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Ingles walked in early June 2015.
I just returned from walking the Camino Ingles and wanted to circle back to this forum to post some thoughts on it, in hopes it might provide useful to others.
Unlike many on this forum, I hadn’t ever really thought seriously about doing the Camino, although I had heard about it. But when my husband announced he needed to take a business trip to Madrid, I decided to join him with the idea that we could tag on some vacation days to do some hiking. We considered several other hiking destinations in Europe, but then decided that doing six days on the Camino would be fun since we would be in Spain anyway.
I found this forum and posted questions to get up to speed on the Camino quickly as I had only a few weeks to make our travel arrangements. I am grateful to all the wonderful people who responded so thoughtfully to help me figure things out. As evidenced by my previous posts, I struggled with the decision on which Camino to take. From one day to the next, I changed my mind…. Should I do the classic Camino Frances? The Portuguese Way? The Primitivo? I even considered the Via de la Plata for it’s beautiful scenery. I finally settled on the Camino Ingles, but remained ambivalent about my decision.
Did I choose the right camino? I chatted with some pilgrims along our route that had done other Caminos and in the end, I think this one was a good fit for us.
We wanted a quiet route. Although we saw ~3 to 15 pilgrims every day, we generally were on the trails/roads alone and we liked it that way. There were three groups of pilgrims that seemed to be somewhat in sync with us, so we saw some familiar faces along the way and chatted with them a bit.
We enjoyed the hills on this route and chose it, in part, due to our preference for this type of terrain. Because we hike in hills like these on a daily basis where we live, we didn’t find any of them truly challenging.
The biggest surprise: the flowers!! I hadn’t heard anyone mention them on the forum and they were truly one of the highlights for us. From wildflowers to garden-variety flowers growing by the sides of trails and roads, we were enchanted again and again by the stunning, showy displays everywhere we looked. I'm not sure if our timing was just good or if it's always like this.
Most memorable encounters, there were two: 1. We were coming into Neda, passing through some lovely little houses. A bread delivery van pulled up to deliver baguettes to the mailbox of a house. He tried to chat with us but soon realized we didn’t understand Spanish—so he gestured for us to stand there while he went into the back of his van, pulled out fresh bread to give us and wished us a “Buen Camino!” 2. On the way from Pontedueme to Betanzos, we saw several roads converge and at first glance did not see a waymarker. A Spanish woman leaned out a second story window of one of the houses along the road—she pointed the way and shouted helpfully down to us—“Camino!!” The charming spirit of the camino….
I was told by a pilgrim along the route (who had done several caminos) that the Ingles was harder than the Frances only because there are so few food/ albergue choices along the way, making it a much more structured itinerary. Some knowledgeable person on this forum had stated it clearly to me when I was weighing the different routes—but of course, I didn’t get it at the time he told me. I am used to long day hikes, so the idea of not having cafes around didn’t worry me. I thought I might be able to get wholesome food at groceries along the way and found that wasn’t always the case. Thankfully, I brought lots of nuts/ trailmix with me and relied on that heavily.
Other pilgrims told us that most of the little churches along the Camino Frances were open and they were disappointed along the Ingles that most were closed up tight! I would have liked to peak inside more of the little country churches on the route.
Although I had read on the forum that very little English spoken by the locals on the Camino Ingles, I was still surprised by it. It is such a rare circumstance these days to have to try to speak the local language but I loved blundering my way through.
Finally, I cannot thank Johnnie Walker enough for his excellent walking guide to the Camino Ingles. As a planner and organizer by nature, I relied on it heavily. While the waymarkers were quite good on this trail, I liked reading ahead to know what to expect and whenever I felt uncertain, I consulted his clear, concise instructions. I do not have high enough praise for his guide!!
Unlike many on this forum, I hadn’t ever really thought seriously about doing the Camino, although I had heard about it. But when my husband announced he needed to take a business trip to Madrid, I decided to join him with the idea that we could tag on some vacation days to do some hiking. We considered several other hiking destinations in Europe, but then decided that doing six days on the Camino would be fun since we would be in Spain anyway.
I found this forum and posted questions to get up to speed on the Camino quickly as I had only a few weeks to make our travel arrangements. I am grateful to all the wonderful people who responded so thoughtfully to help me figure things out. As evidenced by my previous posts, I struggled with the decision on which Camino to take. From one day to the next, I changed my mind…. Should I do the classic Camino Frances? The Portuguese Way? The Primitivo? I even considered the Via de la Plata for it’s beautiful scenery. I finally settled on the Camino Ingles, but remained ambivalent about my decision.
Did I choose the right camino? I chatted with some pilgrims along our route that had done other Caminos and in the end, I think this one was a good fit for us.
We wanted a quiet route. Although we saw ~3 to 15 pilgrims every day, we generally were on the trails/roads alone and we liked it that way. There were three groups of pilgrims that seemed to be somewhat in sync with us, so we saw some familiar faces along the way and chatted with them a bit.
We enjoyed the hills on this route and chose it, in part, due to our preference for this type of terrain. Because we hike in hills like these on a daily basis where we live, we didn’t find any of them truly challenging.
The biggest surprise: the flowers!! I hadn’t heard anyone mention them on the forum and they were truly one of the highlights for us. From wildflowers to garden-variety flowers growing by the sides of trails and roads, we were enchanted again and again by the stunning, showy displays everywhere we looked. I'm not sure if our timing was just good or if it's always like this.
Most memorable encounters, there were two: 1. We were coming into Neda, passing through some lovely little houses. A bread delivery van pulled up to deliver baguettes to the mailbox of a house. He tried to chat with us but soon realized we didn’t understand Spanish—so he gestured for us to stand there while he went into the back of his van, pulled out fresh bread to give us and wished us a “Buen Camino!” 2. On the way from Pontedueme to Betanzos, we saw several roads converge and at first glance did not see a waymarker. A Spanish woman leaned out a second story window of one of the houses along the road—she pointed the way and shouted helpfully down to us—“Camino!!” The charming spirit of the camino….
I was told by a pilgrim along the route (who had done several caminos) that the Ingles was harder than the Frances only because there are so few food/ albergue choices along the way, making it a much more structured itinerary. Some knowledgeable person on this forum had stated it clearly to me when I was weighing the different routes—but of course, I didn’t get it at the time he told me. I am used to long day hikes, so the idea of not having cafes around didn’t worry me. I thought I might be able to get wholesome food at groceries along the way and found that wasn’t always the case. Thankfully, I brought lots of nuts/ trailmix with me and relied on that heavily.
Other pilgrims told us that most of the little churches along the Camino Frances were open and they were disappointed along the Ingles that most were closed up tight! I would have liked to peak inside more of the little country churches on the route.
Although I had read on the forum that very little English spoken by the locals on the Camino Ingles, I was still surprised by it. It is such a rare circumstance these days to have to try to speak the local language but I loved blundering my way through.
Finally, I cannot thank Johnnie Walker enough for his excellent walking guide to the Camino Ingles. As a planner and organizer by nature, I relied on it heavily. While the waymarkers were quite good on this trail, I liked reading ahead to know what to expect and whenever I felt uncertain, I consulted his clear, concise instructions. I do not have high enough praise for his guide!!
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