Leaving from Valencia in early May

[peregrina2000]

Since it's been about 6 years since I last walked the Camino Frances, I had originally thought I'd return in 2013. But then all the talk of crowds and rushes and the plague of toilet paper started giving me cold feet. And then a few posts on the Camino de Levante started me thinking.

My only hesitation now is that it looks like it will be yet another solitary camino. I love walking alone, but I've had quite a few solitary caminos these past couple years and I was really in the mood for some companionship.

I know that once I hit Zamora I will have plenty of company to Santiago, but what about Valencia to Zamora?

More to the point, is there anyone else who's tempted to start from Valencia in early May?

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[cornishtim]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

I have just completed the Norte. This is a lovely walk and lacks the crowds of the Frances. A diversion along the Primitivo would give a mix of company and solitude.

 

[LTfit]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

You are probably right Cornishtim except that Laurie is a Camino veteren and believe has completed both the Norte and the Primitivo!

I would like to attempt this route at some time Laurie (was contemplating it last year though by bike) but need to first finish up the Via de la Plata from Zamora onwards via the Sanabrés. As I probably won't be starting until July I will be following in your foot-steps as of Zamora .

I totally agree with you about the companionship. There were only a handful of us walking the VdlP when I was on it but at least there was someone!

 

[sillydoll]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

ooohhhh!! If I wasn't taking the Slow Camino group next year I wouldv'e jumped at the offer Laurie!

A South African priest (now a Bishop) once said about walking the Camino: “Solitude is necessary and often welcome but there are times when we need com-pan-eros, the ones we eat bread with. Bread is so evident at Spanish meals, not only those wonderful bocadillos, but the bread that comes with everything you eat. As the Spaniards say “Com pan y vino, ande el camino”. With bread and wine we walk the camino! A companion is someone we share bread with, not just the edible type but also the bread of our experiences and the many insights, revelations and learnings that we consume as we walk along the Way."

 

[unadara]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

Laurie
Great to see you making more plans. My last plan changed and was changed again very quickly to accommodate other's plans..so..my immediate thoughts are next April-Portugues and Invierno or other short route, but I will wait until Jan/Feb to finalise. My husband didn't get to walk this year due to an achilles rupture, he talks about Via De Plata in April (leg permitting). I will keep track of your plans with interest, I like the solitude, walking alone and company too. On the Camino Norte there were 5 in our "family" I won't do that again. On Madrid just 2 of us, works very well if both like to "walk not talk" (am a bit of a silent type, but NOT always).
Good Luck with plans.
Una

 

[Sagalouts]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

I have been looking at this route for a while now,and if I walk this way it will be early May-having just done the very solitary way from Rome to just passed Arles,it would be nice to know other people would be walking at this time.
I see that another post on the Levante from a Canadian was also looking for people walking from the 1st of May
its a bit early for me to commit I can't think passed Christmas at the moment.
Ian

 

[peregrina2000]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

I guess I'm really not expecting the stars to align so that I meet someone on the forum who is walking this route on the same days, but it is somewhat encouraging to read that there is some interest out there. Maybe I will meet some others after all. It has always been true for me on these isolated caminos that I am able to spend free time with villagers who, like the pilgrim who has finished washing clothes and buying food for the next day, have very little to do in the late afternoon. I enjoy those interactions a lot, but having some other peregrinos around would be so nice.

I'll probably keep pulling this thread up periodically to see if there's anyone out there with interest, but for now I'm planning on leaving the US on May 1 and heading to Valencia!

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[tyrrek]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

The Plaza de la Virgen in Valencia would be a lovely place to have some food and drink the night before starting your Camino. The cathedral basilica is opposite the bar/restaurants and you often see newly married couples leaving to the sound of fire crackers in the plaza. Then at night the bats come out. Lovely place, and I've spent many great nights there. Oh yes.

Buen Camino!

 

[jaylynn37]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

Hi Guys

This will be my first Camino. And for some reason my first choice was from Valencia....Sept/Oct.2013
Your posts have got me wondering that maybe i should choose a more trodden route?

Jay

 

[peregrina2000]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

Hi, Jay,

This route is apparently not "less trodden" -- it is "untrodden." I have walked several similar caminos, the Salvador, Vadiniense, Invierno, Madrid, and met a total of two pilgrims over all of those many hundreds of kilometers. It gets rough, but if you speak good Spanish and are willing to hang out in the plaza or in a cafe you will find plenty of company. What will be lacking is companionship. I am a solo walker, I much prefer to walk by myself most of the time, but when I arrive at my destination, I love the chance to be with others. For meals, conversations, advice, etc.

Last year I walked for about 3 weeks with no company, and then in Oviedo finished my camino on the Primitivo, which had a small but perfect number of peregrinos. I vowed then that I wouldn't walk another solitary camino, but after reading the posts of several forum friends, I decided that I am really attracted to the long open spaces, the trail through towns that are not in anyone's guidebook, the opportunity to get away from it all.

So I'm headed to the Levante this year, knowing that when I hit Zamora, I will join the VDLP, which means that I will end my walk in my own little camino bubble with whomever else happens to fall in. I have heard from someone on a Spanish forum, who lives in a town along the Levante, that he sees pilgrims no more than once a month. So I guess the odds are low that I'll find others, but I will be walking in what should be one of the best times of year weatherwise, so maybe I'll be lucky.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do this camino, but I'm sure you want to have a realistic idea of what lies ahead. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[andy.d]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

Jay,

I walked the Levante as a first Camino in September 2009, so it is possible to do it. I was the only pilgrim until Zamora. As Laurie says, in terms of deciding whether to do it or not, you will need to consider whether you have the resources to be walking on your own and then pretty much on your own in the afternoons and evenings when you have stopped walking. There are very few people who speak English on the route.

Saying that, it is one of the best things I have done. If you click on the link to my blog below, there are a lot of posts about in September and October 2009 (or via the Camino de Levante tag).

Happy planning and please ask if you have any questions,

Andy

 

[flecher]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

Hello Laurie.
Glad to hear your'e still out there walking.
I also intend to walk from Valencia to Santiago next year starting in early May.
I'd be going via Zamora and Astorga.

Like you I also like to walk alone but company for eating and chatting would be good.

So maybe we can meet up,

Robert.

 

[peregrina2000]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

Hi, Robert,
That's great news. I'll PM you, but for others, my plans are getting settled -- looks like I'll be starting to walk around May 4. Leave the US on May 1, arrive in Spain May 2, see Valencia May 3, walk May 4. Based on Kevin, Andy and others' info and schedules, I'm thinking that I'll allow 49 days for walking plus two extra days for good measure, arrive Santiago around June 24. Leave Santiago, June 27. That means I'll only get to Muxia if I can arrive in Santiago a few days ahead of schedule. That's a pretty good incentive for me, because I love the walk to Muxia. I'm almost ready to take the plunge and buy the tickets.

I've found an angel in Valencia who will buy the guide book and send it to me when she returns to the US in Dec. or Jan. The shipping and bank transfer costs were going to push my cost well up over 60 euros.

The stampede on the Camino de Levante is about to begin..... Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Nitgu]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

Well my wife and me also intend to walk from Valencia (?) to Santiago but at year 2014... starting at the end of April or at early May...somewhere. We have tolked about it. It will be our third Camino (2010 Frances from pamplona to Finnisterre860 km, 2012 Via de la Plata from Sevilla -Salamanca, Zamora and Camino Sanabrese/Orense1000 km )..

But We are not sure yet. ..may be we will begun walking in Granada..and take the Mozatrabe insted. :roll: . Dew the reason that we like walking alone but have litle company for eating and chatting ..and may be even walking from time to time..yes it can be funy..We do like to pick a less trodden trail to trak. So we're going to keep-trakking from the south.... and continue via Camino Sanabres (Orense). We hade a wonderfull waling there this September.

Buen Camino

 

[peregrina2000]

Re: Anyone interested in walking from Valencia?

Thanks to the fact that the internet makes the world so small, someone I don't know bought the Association guide to the Camino de Levante in Valencia, and gave it to someone else I don't know, who is studying in Valencia for a year, who in turn took it home to her mother over Christmas, who works in my town and just gave it to me. I am very grateful.

Ok, now, is anyone else planning to walk this Camino?

Planning to arrive in Valencia on May 2.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

It's about 6 weeks now, and I'm hoping to meet some other pilgrims on the Levante. I'm planning to start walking on Friday, May 3. Is there anyone else who is drawn to this Camino?

 

[AJ]

Is there anyone else who is drawn to this Camino?

Yes, but maybe starting Alicante. I haven't looked at it properly yet. It is a possible for 2014.

 

[MermaidLilli]

I am interested as well, but in 2014. Ideally I would like to see the Fallas in Valencia, a festival not to be missed, but am concerned about the weather from that time forward. I will have to check it out thoroughly before I commit.
I have family in Valencia as well, so it would be a multi-purpose city to start from.
Lillian

 

[peregrina2000]

Hurray, Mermaid Lilli is back! You were such a tremendous help to me with the Vdlp many years ago, but unless I've missed something, you've not been posting here recently. So good to see you here again. I got my hopes up for a moment when I saw you had posted on this thread, thinking that maybe you were intending to walk from Valencia this year.

Well, I'll do my best to take good notes so that Lillian, AJ and anyone else can decide whether it's the thing to do.

I think I'm down to about 6 weeks till departure! the excitement builds - Laurie

 

[Nataliewg]

Hello peregrina2000,

I am thinking about doing the camino de Levante, maybe in August-September. I have never done anything like this before. I live in Valencia, so maybe when you get here, we could meet up for coffee and you could give me some tips.

Have a safe trip to Spain!

Natalie

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Natalie,
I will send you a PM because I will be arriving in Valencia in a little more than two weeks. It'd be great to meet you for a coffee. I was hoping you were going to say that you wanted to walk with me! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[m_passpartout]

Laurie, we hope you find some com-pan-eros along the way. Especially at the end of the day it's good to have "family" there. Diane and I might be in Santiago June 27 or 28. I wonder if we can get together for a cafe or copa de vino?

 

[peregrina2000]

This happened to me last year with some other forum friends. I will be leaving Santiago on June 25! My hope is to arrive about June 19 or so, then walk out to Muxia and maybe back again, but I have a ticket home leaving Santiago at 9 am. So, if you happen to arrive early, let me know and we'll meet in Santiago! Buen camino to you, Laurie

 

[ranthr]

Buen camino Levante, Laurie! Hope you meet other peregrinos on your way! Guess you are soon off for Spain now.
Randi

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for the good wishes, Randi. My plans are a bit unsettled. My 88 year old mother has just been released from the hospital after two days for some heart issues, so I want to make sure that going to the camino is the right thing to do. She and my dad are both insisting all is well, but I think I'll wait a day or two to commit. I am scheduled to leave on Wednesday. Laurie

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Dear Laurie,

My prayers for your Mom's recovery and your parents' well-being. You are one very fortunate woman to have your parents in relatively good health. When they reach those golden years, it is always very difficult to leave them or to see them go on a trip. The same thought of Will I see her/him again? is always on your mind when you bid them farewell. My mother was 41 years older than me, so I lived with that thought every time I said goodbye. She has been gone now for 15 years, and my dad died when I was 6. So enjoy your parents very much
Laurie, if the doctor has given your Mom a good prognosis, and she is in good hands, then by all means do your Camino, -especially with them wanting you to do it! Many blessings to you and your parents!

Ultreia!

Mary

 

[andy.d]

Sorry to hear this Laurie - prayers,

Andy

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks so much for all the good wishes. Looks like I am setting out tomorrow. I am going to get an iPhone 5 today (which would make you laugh if you knew me) and hopefully people along the way can show me how to use it. I will skype home whenever possible, and will have some other back-ups for calling daily. I know that I may need to end my camino at any time, but I can deal with that.

I will try to have a blog, so if anyone is interested in the Levante, stay tuned in here! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[andy.d]

That's good news Laurie. In 2009, I had mobile coverage for at least some portion of everyday and for all of the time most days. And you are never that far from roads, taxis etc

Andy

 

[LTfit]

Wish you well Laurie and hope that the Levante treats you kindly.
Buen Camino.
LT

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Hi Laurie,

My departure is tomorrow as well and as I fly over the Atlantic I'll be thinking about you doing the same thing. My best wishes for a safe trip and many blessings along the Camino.

Ultreia!

Mary

 

[ranthr]

Glad to hear you are on your way. Hope everyhing is ok with your mum when you are away. Will be interesting to read your blog later.
Randi

 

[peregrina2000]

Mary! Buen camino to you also. I didn't know we were leaving on the same day. I can't remember where you are flying into to begin the Norte, but I will have a few hours layover in Madrid tomorrow morning. If you happen to arrive in Madrid and are hanging around the domestic part of T4 (I think the gates are H, J, M or some letters like that, while the international ones are R,S,U) for a transfer, I'll try to be near the gate for the Valencia flight. I will be fairly obvious with a pack, boots, and totally grey hair.

Thanks to everyone for your good wishes. My mom is stable but I would not be at all surprised to have to call this one off at some point. I tried to reschedule my flight to allow for a few days in DC before leaving for Spain, and American was happy to rebook me -- for only $2900 (yes, there are two zeroes there). Such compassion.

I'll try to post here, especially on those many lonely nights on the first stage of the walk to Zamora. And I'm hoping some of us can meet up in Santiago! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Laurie, I wish it were Madrid, instead my layover will be in Paris. LOL! I, too will be very obvious with the clothing of a hiker My pack will be checked due to the rescinding of small knives/scissors allowance.
Buen Camino to you and may you be able to finish CDL. Your new Smartphone will help you keep in touch with your loved ones via Skype for free. Technology is so marvelous it's frightening!
Many blessings to you, Laurie, stay well and have peace!

Mary

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks everyone -- looking forward to my first high tech camino. Laurie

 

[Kevin F. O*brien]

Buen Camino Laurie. I'm sure it will go well. Don't forget the unnecessary detour before Xativa so you save seven km. I envy you the La Mancha at this time of year.

Again, Buen Camino,

Kevin

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks, Kevin, I've got your emails with stage by stage comments in my pack!

Made it to Silla today, where I am now in the Nou Jove (youth center) using the internet. Beautiful day, beautiful weather. I'm soon heading back to Valencia on the train so I can visit the Museo de Bellas Artes this afternoon. It has a whole room of Sorolla paintings and I LOVE Sorolla (not to mention some Goya and Velazquez, so all in all, not too shabby!).

So far so good, was able to Skype with my parents from my new little phone, but I simply hate typing on it.

Staying in the Pension Paris for 22 euros. Great location, spotless.

Got a sello in the Cathedral from a very dour nun.

Yesterday afternoon two other pilgrims arrived at the pension, French and Italian walking together. They made it quite clear that they were totally uninterested in me and my walk, and they are going on to Algemesi today, so I probably won't see them again. But hopefully there will be more (and more friendly) pilgrims to meet!

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[jstys1]

Laurie: Buen Camino.

You are my fearless Camino hero!

I hope to follow in your footsteps someday.

Jeff

 

[andy.d]

Really good to hear this Laurie - it's bringing back lots of memories. Let me know if I can help in any way. The albergue and folk museum in Algemesi are excellent

Andy

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Buen Camino Laurie

I'll see you and your Iphone in Santiago...Laurie with an Iphone is quite a picture to imagine!

Hasta Santiago!

John

 

[CaroleH]

Buen camino Laurie... have a great, great time ... coming with you in spirit!

Maybe catch up in Santiago... another lunch?
Walk well
Carole x

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Laurie, let me know when you get to Arevalo or thereabouts. I can get a train to there and we can walk a ways, if you can have mercy and not walk my legs right off (as our friend JW did a couple of years ago). It will be good practice for my Camino Monacal/Portuguese Fisherman Route walk, planned for June.

I am thinking of you out there.
Reb.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, everyone,
Wow, messages from John, Carole, and REb all at once -- my three forum friends whom I´ve actually met in person! John, I will even take your picture with my iPhone if I learn how to use the camera before I get to Santiago (I´m carrying a small canon).

Carole -- Are you going to be in Santiago again this year? I´d love a meal and a chat.

Reb, Arevalo sounds good. Here are my tentative plans. Arrive Zamora no later than June 3 or 4. That then gives me time to get to Santiago by June 18, hopefully. And I´ll also be in Santiago after Muxia, maybe the 24th. I leave for the states from Santiago on the morning of June 26, unless I have to leave earlier.

So, back to arevalo. We could walk Arevalo - Ataquines (18) and Ataquines-Medina del Campo (16) and then to Siete Iglesias de Trabancos (26) and to Toro (32)(but I remember how you wrote quite painfully about that stage). Well, these are all hypothetical, of course. I have your phone number and will send you mine.

I have a blog, and given how much I> enjoy others´blogs, I thought it only fair to share (though I am always thinking people will find it cheesy or dull or just trivial -- Reb, I can´t hold a candle to your amazing blog). Anyway, I think the web address is levante2013.blogspot.com

 

[CaroleH]

Sent you a PM Laurie, and found your blog. It's great. Good to hear there are some other pilgrims on the Levante. Take care of your feet chica.