Brent Macdonald
Squamish Walker
- Time of past OR future Camino
- - Primitivo - Muxia 2023
- Full Francingena 2024
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Hi BrentHello - my father and I started in Barcelona on September 10 - wd are now in Monzon heading towards the Aragonese and ultimately to Muxia!
We have met another Canadian in Montserrat - a lovely lady named Heather also walking to Muxia!
Other than that no one - empty - so far no problem finding accommodation - albergues are often closed but many hostels and other accommodations are available. The locals have been amazing so friendly and helpful and the scenery and weather have been excellent!
In a few days closer to the Aragones we might have to camp a night or 2 but so far so good!
Thank you to everyone who gave me advice before our journey especially for the route out of Barcelona to Montserrat! Montserrat was spectacular and we received the pilgrims blessing in front of the black Madonna and heard the famous boys choir - truly a special place indeed!
That’s it for now - will post more in a bit - Buen Camino!
She is amazingThanks Brent for sharing your journey and your photos. Wishing you well and I'm delighted you met up with our good friend Heather. No better hiking companion!
She is amazing - so good natured and easy going - we have teased her constantly and she never gets madThanks Brent for sharing your journey and your photos. Wishing you well and I'm delighted you met up with our good friend Heather. No better hiking companion!
45 more days roughlyHi Brent
Great photos, how many days do you plan till you reach Muxia. Thanks for your update.
Hello - I will for sure post a more detailed update soon with accommodations etc… looks like we are camping the next 1-2 nights due to no accommodations but I will keep you posted - we are in Bolea right now!Beautiful photos, thank you!
Looking forward to more updates, when you have time and energy to spare. Any specific and current information about accommodation would be really valuable for those following behind.
Wow - thank you for remembering@JabbaPapa’s recent post on the waymarking of the route from Barcelona to Montserrat, triggered my memory and I wondered — how is @Brent Macdonald doing?
Have I missed updates?
My rough calculations suggest you are no longer walking, and I hope all went well!
Thank you so much - it was a fantastic journey - I swam in the Mediterranean and finished swimming in the Atlantic - carried my pack every day and never took any form of modern conveyance - no vehicles, no trains, not even an elevator - climbed every set of stairsCongratulations to you from a fellow Canuck! I have vivid memories of walking this splendid route (I have walked it a couple of times and once in reverse following the Loyola route). It sounds like it was a memorable experience for you and your father.
Wow. What a journey.
Congratulations!
Just curious - what were your stages on the Catalan
Did you sleep in Sr. Josep’s acogida in his farm equipment complex? (not sure really how to describe this place). One of my favorite Camino quips of all time — I asked @LTfit if she was going to wash her clothes, and she replied — “No way, the sink is dirtier than my clothes.” That makes me sound ungrateful, which I am not, because it is very generous of him to open this place up to peregrinos.Day 7 - Linyola
Hello - it’s raining hard here on the west coast of BC and it’s great to go back through the pictures to answer your questionsWe walked some of those same stages back in 2015!
Did you sleep in Sr. Josep’s acogida in his farm equipment complex? (not sure really how to describe this place). One of my favorite Camino quips of all time — I asked @LTfit if she was going to wash her clothes, and she replied — “No way, the sink is dirtier than my clothes.” That makes me sound ungrateful, which I am not, because it is very generous of him to open this place up to peregrinos.
Were the albergue open in Algerri, Tamarite, Berbegal, Pueyo and Huesca? We had pretty carefully planned out our stages to stay in albergues, most of which were really quite nice.
I remember the descent from San Juan de la Peña to Santa Cruz de la Serós as one of the worst of all my caminos — my knees did not really recover all the way into Santiago. I can’t imagine doing it without sticks — how did you find it?
Haha - that’s exactly the spot and so lucky we had a roof at least as there was an epic thunderstorm that night!Brent, I believe I recognize your night's stay in La Estación de la Peña. It looks like the waiting area besides the tracks. I had lunch there.
It looks like covid made things difficult for you. For me all four places in Santa Cilia were closed, even the place going for €950 a night. I had to move on to a hotel in Puente la Reina de Jaca in the rain and dark (it was November). I figured I would get lost trying to make it to Arres. The CF for me was one day, to Pamplona.
Sounds like you and your father had a tough but wonderful trip.
That's why I asked, because on paper options look thin on the ground - and that's clearly an accurate impression. Covid on top of the fact that it was already a challenge make it a real stretch.after Huesca all the way to the Aragones there are very few options!
that’s exactly the spot and so lucky we had a roof at least as there was an epic thunderstorm that night!
I didn’t see the panaderia but there’s a restaurant called Carmen’s I think - she was very friendly and we had a great meal and many drinks - she let us hang out for quite awhile - they have paper table cloths and we filled ours playing hangman and drinking wineThanks, Brett!
That's why I asked, because on paper options look thin on the ground - and that's clearly an accurate impression. Covid on top of the fact that it was already a challenge make it a real stretch.
Nature wishing your Dad a happy birthday?...but geeze! It's good to know there is that option in a pinch, though. Were any other services open in La Peña? My maps show a panaderia and restaurant.
Yes that's the one on my map.there’s a restaurant called Carmen’s
That's why I asked, because on paper options look thin on the ground - and that's clearly an accurate impression. Covid on top of the fact that it was already a challenge make it a real stretch.
Unfortunately since Covid there’s no places open in Ena, Sarsamacuella, or bolea - from Huesca all the way to the Aragones there are very few options now and you will need to sleep out at least 1 night maybe 2 depending on far you can walk@Brent Macdonald — You and your dad are much more _______ (fill in your favorite positive adjective here) than I am, because I can’t imagine sleeping outside at that train station. Kudos to you two.
Out of covid times, the lodgings may be thin but they are there and they are well situated (see @Lindam’s thread).
From Huesca, you can walk either to Bolea (23) or on to Sarsamacuello (another 16).
From there to Ena (25 and it is a beautiful albergue — it’s 25 from Bolea) or Botaya (another 8 km from Ena)
From there up to San Juan de la Peña and then you have many choices — a real hotel in Santa Cruz like @Brent Macdonald did, continue on to the Aragonés, or hitchhike like Lt and I did back up to the Somport pass to start the Aragonés from the border.
This amics services list has a Nov. 2021 date, but it doesn’t show any closures, so I am wondering how current it is. The association noted on their web page that they just reopened in Nov. after being closed since March, so anyone who is planning to walk this route next spring should definitely get in touch with them.
http://amicsdelspelegrins.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/servicios-cami-SJDLP.pdf
Covid or no covid, when I walk an out of the way camino, I always contact the associations. Levante, Mozárabe, Catalán, Salvador, Invierno (well, it was out of the way in 2011), etc. I am almost always bowled over by their helpfulness and friendliness. I have so often been happy to meet people — Girona, Cervera, Almería, Rua de Valdeorras, Nava de Ordunte, and La Robla are a few that come to mind. And on more than a few occasions, a call to one of these camino angels helped me out of what could have been anything from an inconvenience to a real problem.They were very helpful though and made a lot of ph calls for me - definitely worth contacting them!
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