Well...
Since there was some interest in this tourigrino endeavour of mine as a guide in PMs I decided to write something brief about it. Some will be surprised that I'm posting at all and the others won't even know why the minority is surprised. But let's leave it at that. I also doubt that anything I will write could really help "walking" peregrin@. OK, maybe food options.
The group consisted of 16 pilgrims, 1 priest (Slovenian-Argentinian which was great because of his fluent Spanish) and 1 myself
Half of them jubilados and almost half of all of the group (completely coincidetially) were active or retired medical doctors which didn't prevent that half of us returned infected with Covid. We had our own mini bus and Spanish driver once in Spain. Every day I found a church for a holy mass in Slovenian language. Travel agency was selling this trip for 1250€, half board in hotels at least 3* (if not in hotels then the meal was for me to find). We never had dinner before 21:30 and it was really hard to explain and prove that it is almost impossible to get dinner in Spain (within menu del dia) before 20:00 or 20:30. All other expenses were on them. Anyway they didn't have any time to spend any money
Baaad baaad K1
Let's go:
Day 01 (Wednesday, 30.03.)
- 08:00 - start by bus from Ljubljana (Slovenia) to Treviso Airport (Italy)
- fly to Valencia
- from airport (landed at 15:35) by bus to the city center and then on foot: Porta dels Serrans - Placa de la Mare de Deu - Catedral - Placa de la Reina - Mercat Central - Placa del Ayuntament - Iglesia de la San Juan del Hospital
- where we were met by
@JLWV who brought us credenciales (2 per person!!!), had a photo session for bishop's office and then headed to...
- La Cigrona (on Jean-Luc's recommendation) for dinner: ensalada mixta, paella Valenciana/Mariscos etc. for 20€, very good
- bus to hotel Holiday Inn Express Valencia Bonaire (some 13kms from the center, don't know how much the agency paid for hotels but this one is of no use to us ordinary walkers anyway).
Day 02 (Thursday, 31.03.)
- 08:30 bus to Parroquia San Josemaria Escriva for holy mass (never was departure scheduled before this hour because I firmly stand on my opinion that if I'd want to walk around the foreign country early and in the dark I could as well walk around my house in the middle of the night whole year round... I want to see!)
- bus to Platja del Cabanyal where (mostly) jubilados ran like little kids barefoot across some 200 meters of sand to the Mediterranean Sea. The Priest and myself just standing there in awe
- bus to Ciutat de les Arts y les Ciencias
- bus to Moixent
- walking Moixent - La Font de la Figuera (ca.18km)
- bus to Almansa (Blu Hotel & Spa Puerta de Almansa)
- dinner at Meson de Rogelio (+34 967 34 00 16) where we had the whole place for ourselves for 12€ pp and could choose individually what to eat which resulted in 3 hour visit
Day 03 (Friday, 01.04.)
- 08:30 bus to El Pedernoso
- walk El Pedernoso - El Toboso (ca. 20km)
- holy mass at El Toboso (Iglesia de la Comunidad de Monjas Franciscanas Clarisas)
- bus to Tembleque and a tour around one of the loveliest balcony squares
- bus to Toledo (Mirador del Valle)
- bus to Puente de Alcantara
- walk to Remonte de Safont - Alcazar - Santa Iglesia Catedral - Iglesia de Santo Tome - Museo del Greco - Mirador del Paseo del Transito - Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca - Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes - Puerta del Cambron
- bus to Hotel Hidalgo Esquivias (50km in direction to Madrid)
- dinner in hotel (Sopa de Picadillo, Emperador a la Plancha etc - very good)
Day 04 (Saturday, 02.04.)
- 08:30 bus to Madrid
- walk Palacio Real - Teatro Real - Almudena Catedral
- walk to holy mass in Real Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago y San Juan Bautista
- walk to Plaza Mayor - Puerta del Sol - Gran Via - Plaza de Espana - Plaza de Oriente
- bus to Avila (Hotel II Castillas - ca.3km outside in direction of Toledo)
- walk Avila (Catedral, walls etc. - very short)
- dinner at hotel (Sopa Castellana, Chuleta de Sajonia a la Brasa etc. - quite good)
Day 05 (Sunday, 03.04.)
- 08:30 walk Avila - Gotarrendura (ca. 22km)
- bus to Salamanca
- walk Plaza Mayor - Catedral (old & new)- University
- bus to Zamora
- walk from Puente de Piedra to Iglesia de San Pedro y San Ildefonso (holy mass)
- bus to Ares Hotel (very nice and 400m from Pl.Mayor but the staff is there just until 8pm for check in!!! Maybe because it was Sunday???)
- walk Hotel - Parador - Albergue de Peregrinos - Catedral - Castillo - Plaza Mayor
- dinner at El Horno (16€, Sopa de mariscos - UNFORGETTABLE!!!, Secreto a la brasa etc. and there's a story about the wine which is quite similar to Port Wine. The manager Ruth told me it's from Moro which has for itself some of the best wines in Spain. The wine was produced by her father, the vine is the same as Port but the earth is different and it was barriqued for 2 years in oak barrels, 15% alc! Yes you can buy it - 5€ for a bottle, believe an old alcoholic - the best of the possible bargains there is!!! EVER)
Day 06 (Monday, 04.04.)
- 08:30 bus from hotel to Iglesia de San Pedro y San Ildefonso (holy mass)
- bus to Calzadilla de Tera
- walk to Rionegro del Puente (16km)
- lunch at Me Gusta Comer with Teo(filo) - it was my 4th time there, hahaha (13€ and I have no idea what we were eating but it was almost Micheline as always)
- bus to Braganca (Portugal, on Camino Zamorano), visit new Catedral, old Catedral, Castello
- bus to Ourense
- walk Puente Romano - Catedral (in scaffolds) - Plaza Mayor
- bus to Hotel Eurostars Auriense
Day 07 (Tuesday, 05.04.)
- 08:30 bus to Capela do Santiaguino (Outeiro, by the albergue after Ponte Ulla)
- walk to Praza do Obradoiro (ca.24 km)
- holy mass at Igrexa de Santa Maria Salome
- a lot of drinking and few free afternoon hours for the folks
- bus to Hotel Santiago Apostol (nice rooms but 4 km before the SdC)
- dinner (only bad experience, personally wouldn't pay more than 5€ for that food while the wine was a la carte and the cheapest wine although good was 16€)
- bus to Alameda Park for a night panorama and back to the hotel
Day 08 (Wednesday, 06.04.)
- bus to the Seminario Menor
- walk to Mercado de Abastos - Catedral
- 12:00 pilgrim mass at Catedral
- direct bus to Cabo Finissterre (the shortest)
- lunch at Rte.Tearron in Fisterra (not expensive and good but not really memorable)
- bus to the Plaia da Langosteira where exactly the same scene as a week before took place in Valencia but now while running to walk into the Atlantic barefoot
Ah, those kids... (Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean)
- bus to Lavacolla Airport (along the coast through Muros and Noia)
- 22:30 flight to Bergamo (Italy)
Day 09 (Thursday, 07.04.)
- 00:50 landed in Bergamo
- bus to Ljubljana (Slovenia)
- 07:00 arrival
That was it. My first group of tourigrinos. It's easier to guide an individual or a pair but it is what it is. I have four more Camino Combos up my sleave so let's see what'll happen next