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I was SO happy to hear you are posting for this Camino. I am looking to try it for the 1st time next May and am already taking in everything I can from "seasoned vets" like yourself. I am confused though, are you do the entie route of Camino Frances. Once again, please fogive me for my ignorance but I have to begin my lessons somewhereI wasn't sure I was going to post "live from the Camino" for this Camino. I'm happy to do so on my solo Caminos, but when I am walking with family, my focus is a little elsewhere and I am mindful of the privacy of my companion. But here goes. Just know that it won't be as detailed as the threads from last year.
In a sense, today is the first day of this Camino. In another sense, it is the third, and in another sense it is the fifth. It is the fifth day since we set out from Villafranca del Bierzo. It is the third day we have walked. And it is the first of what will hopefully be a continuous walk to Santiago.
After leaving Canada on the 5th and arriving in Spain on the 6th we made our way to Leon where we slept the night in Hospederia Pax. By sheer coincidence, the fellow I had walked some of the Camino de Madrid with last year was also in Leon at the albergue next door, ready to start his Camino de San Salvador. So we met for a drink and a bit of a chat before bed.
The next morning we set out by bus to Astorga where we had breakfast, bought some chocolate, and saw a bit of the town before taking the bus to Villafranca. Here we had a private room in an albergue. And here, during dinner, we met and had a lovely chat with @MARSKA.
On the morning of the 8th we set out to walk to Trabadelo on the high route with a detour through Pradela. It was a beautiful walk, and we really enjoyed breakfast at the albergue in Pradela with the homemade chestnut cake. We spent that night at Casa Susi, as my daughter's introduction to albergue life proper. The communal dinner was wonderful but it was becoming clear that my daughter wasn't feeling well.
She held up through the walk to Las Herrerías early the next morning, where we had reserved horses to take us up to O Cebreiro but, while she had a brief revival there, it was clear that she wasn't feeling well and she asked if we could take a cab to Liñares where we had reserved beds in the albergue. The next day we bussed to Triacastela where we rested for a couple of days before setting out on this morning's very short walk to Casa Forte de Lusío. They were a very quiet couple of days, but we did make it out for a comida with @Pelegrin and his cousin yesterday, before walking back on the path for a kilometer to see the ancient chestnut tree.
As mentioned, today we are staying in Lusío. The Xunta albergue is in a magnificent 18th century estate house, all nicely renovated. The hospitalera, Eugenia, is wonderful and dropped by the dorm to offer us beautiful little regalitos of crocheted ornaments. There are 60 beds, according to what you read. We are the only ones here. Tomorrow we walk to Samos. I'm hoping to gradually increase the distances we walk to something more standard. It is pretty clear we won't make it to Santiago for the 17th, but I'm hoping to have a better idea of when we will arrive before trying to change my reservation at San Martín Pinario.
Photos: looking back at Villafranca del Bierzo just at the start of our climb towards Pradela, riding horses to O Cebreiro, sunrise in Liñares, ancient oak just before Triacastela, albergue in Lusío.
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But, Berducedo is on C. Primitivo. Is there another one on the Frances ?.We made it to Samos today but it was a tough day for my daughter. We're going to try some strategies to improve things for her tomorrow on the way to Berducedo.
D'oh. Barbadelo. Corrected.But, Berducedo is on C. Primitivo. Is there another one on the Frances ?.
The whole concept of an "entire" Camino Frances is a little fraught. Unlike, say, the Camino de Madrid, which starts in Madrid, there isn't a clear starting point. When I first did the Camino in 1989, it was just called the Camino de Santiago, and included both the route over the Somport Pass (from Arles) and the route over the Cize Pass (from Paris, Vezelay and Le Puy). The guidebook I have from then shows the Cize route from Ostabat, where the routes from Paris, Vezelay and Le Puy join together. It was common to talk about the Camino Aragones over the Somport Pass and the Camino Navarres over the Cize Pass joining and becoming the Camino Frances in Puente la Reina. Nevertheless, many Spaniards considered the Camino to start in Roncesvalles (and the "half way point" by Sahagun marks half way from Roncesvalles to Santiago). Many people nowadays like to start at St. Jean Pied de Port, the nearest town with good transit connections to Ostabat, but that is a purely arbitrary choice. Many more people like to start in Sarria.I was SO happy to hear you are posting for this Camino. I am looking to try it for the 1st time next May and am already taking in everything I can from "seasoned vets" like yourself. I am confused though, are you do the entie route of Camino Frances. Once again, please fogive me for my ignorance but I have to begin my lessons somewhere
Thank you so much for explaining. I now have a better understanding of the Camino. I will be exploring the wealth of guide books and internet sources such as the threads from veterans like yourself as my "journey" begins on planning a trip for 2025.The whole concept of an "entire" Camino Frances is a little fraught. Unlike, say, the Camino de Madrid, which starts in Madrid, there isn't a clear starting point. When I first did the Camino in 1989, it was just called the Camino de Santiago, and included both the route over the Somport Pass (from Arles) and the route over the Cize Pass (from Paris, Vezelay and Le Puy). The guidebook I have from then shows the Cize route from Ostabat, where the routes from Paris, Vezelay and Le Puy join together. It was common to talk about the Camino Aragones over the Somport Pass and the Camino Navarres over the Cize Pass joining and becoming the Camino Frances in Puente la Reina. Nevertheless, many Spaniards considered the Camino to start in Roncesvalles (and the "half way point" by Sahagun marks half way from Roncesvalles to Santiago). Many people nowadays like to start at St. Jean Pied de Port, the nearest town with good transit connections to Ostabat, but that is a purely arbitrary choice. Many more people like to start in Sarria.
All that said, as I mentioned in my first post, we decided to start in Villafranca del Bierzo, which is much closer to Santiago than SJPP or Roncesvalles. And our continuous walk, for however long it ends up being, will be from Triacastela, which is just over 130km from Santiago.
Hi David, You are definitely making some good lemonade decisions out of a few lemons your daughter has experienced from feeling ill.Then assess how much time before the flight home on the 10th. I will want some time in Madrid and a visit to Toledo before we fly home.
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