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Hi Sulu. Great info. Thank you very much!
Did you like the route itself?
I love this camino. It's still so rural and solitary and camino-y! Thanks for reminding me of its simple splendor, Sulu.
I like to stay in municipal albergues whenever possible, I also like to self cater so I try and choose albergues with kitchens, for others who think likewise here is my experience. I must stress that walking at a different time of the year or on different days of the week will make for a different set of experience.
Day 1: I aimed to stay at Tres Cantos as I didn't want to walk to far on the first day, unfortunately the 'albergue' is in the Town Hall and only available between 21.00 and 06.00 so I walked on to Colmenar Viejo. There is no albergue but Sra Andrea lets rooms/beds for €20. No kitchen but there is a fridge, lots of bars locally. I had a salad and a long rest as I was on my own.
Day 2:Mataelpino - €8 New, everything clean and in good condition. The kitchen only has a microwave but there are microwaveable dishes. There is a shop near the albergue.
Day 3: Cercedilla - I paid €30 for half board at the Youth Hostal Las Dehesas so I could get in early and rest and cut down the following days walk.
Day 4: I walked to La Granja de San Ildefonso, there is an Albergue Turistica €10
It is super and has everything one could need. I was alone and had the kitchen to myself, I'm sure that it is different in summer.
Day 5: Zamarramala - free! Really well equipped, there is a hospitalero there in the afternoon.
Day 6: Sta Maria de la Nieva - €5, a private albergue, a quaint little cottage, kitchen tiny but has everything. It was here that my careful planning fell to bits as I arrived on a Saturday afternoon and the shops were shut, I had forgotten Spain's strange opening hours.
Day 7: Villeguillo - €5 A lovely albergue with a nice kitchen and dining area, that is until you try and cook in the kitchen, loads of plates and dishes but almost no cutlery. Only 1 pan and 1 frying pan, I still managed to prepare a 3 course meal for 2 from my emergency supplies!!
Day 8: Alcazaren - donativo. The kitchen has a microwave and a fridge but no plates, cutlery or anything else and only 2 chairs. There are shops and bars.
Day 9: Puente Duero - donativo
This was place was mad but brilliant, we had a communal BBQ, breakfast at 07.00
Day 10: Cigunuella €3 plus 1 extra to use the kitchen. Really well equipped, there is a shop but when I was there it wasn't open in the afternoon.
Day 11: Medina de Rioseco €7. Really well equipped and the nuns were really generous with provisions.
Day 12: I planned to stay at Cuenca de Campos but it was shut, being used for a congress! Villalon de Campos €5 voluntary hospitaleros March to October. Very well equipped
Day 13: Santervas de Campos €6 No kitchen, but there is a microwave and a few dishes and cutlery. It is in a wonderful old house.
I hope this will be of use to someone. I must add that I always carry basic foods with me; soup, pasta etc.
Yes, it's come back to biteIt's a great compilation, thanks! I see some of the places where I stayed myself, a couple of months earlier. Although I'm quite the opposite from you - I stay in hostals whenever there's a possibility. Sorry, no true pilgrim... :O(
I loved the blog from your Camino de Levante a couple of years ago. I remember that I also read somewhere on the Forum that you said that you had been cured from the "Camino bug" once and for all - has it come back to bite you?! :O)
/BP
When are you leaving? I'll be off sometime in the first two weeks of May. Started the 'get fit again' routine this evening with an hour's brisk walking. The plan is to add 5 minutes each day up to 2 hours, then do a few longer hikes on weekends. Have also bought two tubes of Gehwol cream to start the foot improvement regime 4 weeks before departure, and have purchased some very fetching knee high ladies tights for under the socks, which really helped last time out. I also have a complete set of gpx and klm coordinates for the whole route and am planning to stay in as many places that I didn't stay in last time, just for fun. Looking forward to the trip again. Doesn't time fly!
Hi @sulu and many thanks for this useful thread. I was about to start a new thread asking about taking a diversion to La Granga de San Ildefonso, so that I can walk a shorter day into Segovia and have plenty of energy to take a good look around. Luckily I came across this first. Was the route easy to find and would you recommend the diversion? Do you know the distance between Cercedilla and La Granga and between La Granga and Segovia?
I am at an early stage of planning and so far am looking at the following stages:
Madrid to Tres Cantos 22 km
Tres Cantos to Mataelpino 34 km
Mataelpino to La Granga de San Ildefonso ??km
La Granga to Segovia ??km
Many thanks for your help.
La Granja de San Ildefonso is really worth seeing, it's a pity you're so worn-out by the time you arrive. It's a palace/summer hideaway built by Philip V, the first Bourbon king in Spain, with gardens and froufrou to rival Versailles. The formal gardens, topiary, allees, etc are unique in Spain; the fountains are particularly spectacular, but it's hard to figure out when they're scheduled to be switched on... The town maintains an 18th century air and is quite touristy in a nice sort of way; some really good bars to be found there.
http://www.patrimonionacional.es/real-sitio/palacios/6252
I like to stay in municipal albergues whenever possible, I also like to self cater so I try and choose albergues with kitchens, for others who think likewise here is my experience. I must stress that walking at a different time of the year or on different days of the week will make for a different set of experience.
Day 1: I aimed to stay at Tres Cantos as I didn't want to walk to far on the first day, unfortunately the 'albergue' is in the Town Hall and only available between 21.00 and 06.00 so I walked on to Colmenar Viejo. There is no albergue but Sra Andrea lets rooms/beds for €20. No kitchen but there is a fridge, lots of bars locally. I had a salad and a long rest as I was on my own.
Day 2:Mataelpino - €8 New, everything clean and in good condition. The kitchen only has a microwave but there are microwaveable dishes. There is a shop near the albergue.
Day 3: Cercedilla - I paid €30 for half board at the Youth Hostal Las Dehesas so I could get in early and rest and cut down the following days walk.
Day 4: I walked to La Granja de San Ildefonso, there is an Albergue Turistica €10
It is super and has everything one could need. I was alone and had the kitchen to myself, I'm sure that it is different in summer.
Day 5: Zamarramala - free! Really well equipped, there is a hospitalero there in the afternoon.
Day 6: Sta Maria de la Nieva - €5, a private albergue, a quaint little cottage, kitchen tiny but has everything. It was here that my careful planning fell to bits as I arrived on a Saturday afternoon and the shops were shut, I had forgotten Spain's strange opening hours.
Day 7: Villeguillo - €5 A lovely albergue with a nice kitchen and dining area, that is until you try and cook in the kitchen, loads of plates and dishes but almost no cutlery. Only 1 pan and 1 frying pan, I still managed to prepare a 3 course meal for 2 from my emergency supplies!!
Day 8: Alcazaren - donativo. The kitchen has a microwave and a fridge but no plates, cutlery or anything else and only 2 chairs. There are shops and bars.
Day 9: Puente Duero - donativo
This was place was mad but brilliant, we had a communal BBQ, breakfast at 07.00
Day 10: Cigunuella €3 plus 1 extra to use the kitchen. Really well equipped, there is a shop but when I was there it wasn't open in the afternoon.
Day 11: Medina de Rioseco €7. Really well equipped and the nuns were really generous with provisions.
Day 12: I planned to stay at Cuenca de Campos but it was shut, being used for a congress! Villalon de Campos €5 voluntary hospitaleros March to October. Very well equipped
Day 13: Santervas de Campos €6 No kitchen, but there is a microwave and a few dishes and cutlery. It is in a wonderful old house.
I hope this will be of use to someone. I must add that I always carry basic foods with me; soup, pasta etc.
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