Mixing Via dl P with cPortuguese

Donaldclive · Feb 26, 2017

I am planning on starting the Via de la Plata from Seville in mid March and walking up to Salamanca. From there I will take a train to Coimbra and continue on the Caminho Portuguese to Santiago De Compostela (I have Portuguese friends on route and would like to see them). This is my first Camino so any advice would be welcome. Also, does anyone foresee any problems with this plan?

mmm042 · Feb 26, 2017

Sounds good to me!

One piece of advice I give for any long-distance hikes is to buy compression sleeves for your arms. They'll keep you really warm but can be easily rolled down when the day starts to heat up. They're also very lightweight, don't take up much room and dry quickly.

Buen Camino!
Melanie

sharon w · Feb 26, 2017

mmm042 said:
Sounds good to me!

One piece of advice I give for any long-distance hikes is to buy compression sleeves for your arms. They'll keep you really warm but can be easily rolled down when the day starts to heat up. They're also very lightweight, don't take up much room and dry quickly.

Buen Camino!
Melanie

Have bought some to take with me this Camino. I have the summer weight ones that you can wear to keep the sun off. Also thought they would be good for cold mornings.

KinkyOne · Feb 27, 2017

Donaldclive said:
I am planning on starting the Via de la Plata from Seville in mid March and walking up to Salamanca. From there I will take a train to Coimbra and continue on the Caminho Portuguese to Santiago De Compostela (I have Portuguese friends on route and would like to see them). This is my first Camino so any advice would be welcome. Also, does anyone foresee any problems with this plan?

Hola, Donald,

If by any chance you have enough time there's a Camino Torres from Salamanca to Ponte de Lima. See subforum dedicated to it or: http://caminosantiago.usal.es/torres/

Happy planning and Buen Camino / Bom Caminho!

Donaldclive · Feb 28, 2017

mmm042 said:
Sounds good to me!

One piece of advice I give for any long-distance hikes is to buy compression sleeves for your arms. They'll keep you really warm but can be easily rolled down when the day starts to heat up. They're also very lightweight, don't take up much room and dry quickly.

Buen Camino!
Melanie

Thank you for that advice. I am going to look in Amazon for the sleeves.

Donaldclive · Feb 28, 2017

KinkyOne said:
Hola, Donald,

If by any chance you have enough time there's a Camino Torres from Salamanca to Ponte de Lima. See subforum dedicated to it or: http://caminosantiago.usal.es/torres/

Happy planning and Buen Camino / Bom Caminho!

I didn't know about the Camino Torres. I don't think I will attempt that extra walking stage this year as already I have an ambitious schedule for my first Camino - but if all goes well this year I may well add that in in future years. Thank you for that.

peregrina2000 · Feb 28, 2017

Hi, Donaldclive, Welcome to the forum. The only "problem" I foresee is that they are going to have to drag you kicking and screaming off of the Vdlp because it's such a beautiful camino. Though, truth be told, the two days from Salamanca to Zamora are not my most highly ranked days.

I believe there is only one train a day from Lisbon to Madrid and that it stops in both Salamanca and Coimbra. My memory is that it's an overnight train, which will mean that you probably have to get on late and night and get off early in the morning. I have taken the train in the Lisbon to Madrid direction and got a sleeper car. I got a pretty decent night's sleep. Hope you can spend some time in Coimbra, it's a charming old university town with an ancient cathedral, a Santiago church and very pleasant ambiance. Bom caminho, Laurie

Donaldclive · Feb 28, 2017

peregrina2000 said:
Hi, Donaldclive, Welcome to the forum. The only "problem" I foresee is that they are going to have to drag you kicking and screaming off of the Vdlp because it's such a beautiful camino. Though, truth be told, the two days from Salamanca to Zamora are not my most highly ranked days.

I believe there is only one train a day from Lisbon to Madrid and that it stops in both Salamanca and Coimbra. My memory is that it's an overnight train, which will mean that you probably have to get on late and night and get off early in the morning. I have taken the train in the Lisbon to Madrid direction and got a sleeper car. I got a pretty decent night's sleep. Hope you can spend some time in Coimbra, it's a charming old university town with an ancient cathedral, a Santiago church and very pleasant ambiance. Bom caminho, Laurie

Hi Peregrina2000. Thank you for the advice and especially for the good news that the Via de la Plata is so beautiful. Were it not for the fact that I want to explore Coimbra for the first time and see my Portuguese friends in Porto (I, and my wife who died in March last year, have already explored a lot of the rest of Portugal over the years), I would have continued on the VdlP. I also want to explore Salamanca before getting the train to Coimbra. Really looking forward to it all despite - or even because of - the fact that parts of the walk will trigger very emotional moments for me.

peregrina2000 · Feb 28, 2017

Hi, Donald,
Please accept my sympathy. I hope the camino will be healing and life-affirming for you. My mother died last March, and my May camino was just what I needed to put it all in perspective. I was on a very solitary camino and found many perfect moments for shouting, crying, remembering. Everyone grieves in their own way of course but I bet you will find that you can reach inside and find ways to both celebrate your wife's life and mourn her death while you are putting one foot after the other, day after day. I am a pretty non-mystical person but it was just what I needed.

Donaldclive · Feb 28, 2017

peregrina2000 said:
Hi, Donald,
Please accept my sympathy. I hope the camino will be healing and life-affirming for you. My mother died last March, and my May camino was just what I needed to put it all in perspective. I was on a very solitary camino and found many perfect moments for shouting, crying, remembering. Everyone grieves in their own way of course but I bet you will find that you can reach inside and find ways to both celebrate your wife's life and mourn her death while you are putting one foot after the other, day after day. I am a pretty non-mystical person but it was just what I needed.

Thank you, Laurie. My sympathies for your loss too. Don.

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