- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances 2016; Mansill de las Mulas to Finisterre/Muxia 2017; Aragones 2018; Suso/Yuso, Meseta 2019
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Bravo!.... "5000 year old dolmen near Villanua"? I completely missed that!.... And a sailplane ride from the field at Santa Celia? Brilliant! Would never have occured to me!This journey for me came together through indecision, nothing "clicked" until I started reading about this marvelous route which has it all: mountains, history both religious and political, and an aerodrome. So I did it all, most guides mention 6 stages, I walked the route in 11 days starting at Somport ending at Puente la Reina. Since usually I do not care for buses, I took the regional train from Zaragoza leaving before dawn and watched the sun rise as the landscape changed from flat brown (autumn) farmland to steep rock faces with soaring vultures to green trees and tall mountains tipped with snow. The train arriving at the historic station in Canfranc passed the roundhouse (hidden from the path) with 11 vintage, dilapidated train cars, as @amancio said, a step back in time. The walk down the mountain passed bunkers from 3 different eras of Spain's past. To save my knees I took a taxi from Jaca to the monastery of San Juan de la Pena. My driver was a real gift, 4 hours instead of the usual 1 hour to explore the monasteries old and new, the churches of Santa Cruz de la Seros and his favorite overlooks back to the Pyrenees. On the way to Arres I stopped at Santa Celia to go soaring, a sailplane ride (non-motorized transport) for a peregrina, much to the amusement of the men in the local bar. The aerial views of the mountains and foothills, and the valley extending from Jaca to Yesa were glorious! I stayed in Ruesta and was included in a fascinating post lunch (non-confrontational) political discussion. After Sanguesa, I saw no other pilgrims for three days as I walked to Javier, the monastery of Leyre, the Foz de Lumbier and on to Monreal. If you are not having a guided tour of Leyre, the visitors office will give you a key to the church and crypt and tell you to lock yourself in, seriously! The Foz de Lumbier is a different world! The Aragones ended with the jewel, the church at Eunate which was open. The only thing I missed was the 5000 year old dolmen near Villanua, being too occupied with watching out for the large killer (really!) rocks on the path. Perhaps return in the spring to see that dolmen?View attachment 48462View attachment 48463
Here is the website for the aerodrome: fly-pyr.es Being somewhat late in the flying season, I was not sure that I would be able to fly so did not arrange anything in advance. But, that day in late September I watched three sailplanes being towed so I stopped at the village bar. The proprietor called ahead to secure my flight and another man volunteered to drive me to the aerodrome. My pilot was french and my plane was an ASK-21. My flight was just a half hour introductory flight but they offer more advanced flights. Rev J, the greens and scenery in your photo are beautiful! For me in late September, everything was much more brown.
We took off and flew over the foothills, caught a thermal to gain altitude, flew a couple of circuits of the near valley before lining up to land, all too soon.
Wonderful description and a much different path from the usual!This journey for me came together through indecision, nothing "clicked" until I started reading about this marvelous route which has it all: mountains, history both religious and political, and an aerodrome. So I did it all, most guides mention 6 stages, I walked the route in 11 days starting at Somport ending at Puente la Reina. Since usually I do not care for buses, I took the regional train from Zaragoza leaving before dawn and watched the sun rise as the landscape changed from flat brown (autumn) farmland to steep rock faces with soaring vultures to green trees and tall mountains tipped with snow. The train arriving at the historic station in Canfranc passed the roundhouse (hidden from the path) with 11 vintage, dilapidated train cars, as @amancio said, a step back in time. The walk down the mountain passed bunkers from 3 different eras of Spain's past. To save my knees I took a taxi from Jaca to the monastery of San Juan de la Pena. My driver was a real gift, 4 hours instead of the usual 1 hour to explore the monasteries old and new, the churches of Santa Cruz de la Seros and his favorite overlooks back to the Pyrenees. On the way to Arres I stopped at Santa Celia to go soaring, a sailplane ride (non-motorized transport) for a peregrina, much to the amusement of the men in the local bar. The aerial views of the mountains and foothills, and the valley extending from Jaca to Yesa were glorious! I stayed in Ruesta and was included in a fascinating post lunch (non-confrontational) political discussion. After Sanguesa, I saw no other pilgrims for three days as I walked to Javier, the monastery of Leyre, the Foz de Lumbier and on to Monreal. If you are not having a guided tour of Leyre, the visitors office will give you a key to the church and crypt and tell you to lock yourself in, seriously! The Foz de Lumbier is a different world! The Aragones ended with the jewel, the church at Eunate which was open. The only thing I missed was the 5000 year old dolmen near Villanua, being too occupied with watching out for the large killer (really!) rocks on the path. Perhaps return in the spring to see that dolmen?View attachment 48462View attachment 48463
Sorry to hear that you fell near Jaca!
My South African walking friend Docpam fell on rain-wet stones just inside the side entrance to Jaca Cathedral, broke her leg, and misssed the rest of her CA.... Very sad! (I don't know that Docpam would agree, but I was very favorably impressed by the emergency services and the public hospital in Jaca!)
Hope you had time to see the Jaca Cathedral, btw -- it, and the attached museum, were one of the hightlights of the walk, for me.... In Jaca I stayed at the Hotel El Acedo, and can recommend it.
And the final question now... do they arrange flights for passengers with no experience?You only need a license to be the pilot, no license to be a passenger. @amancio, thank you for your great enthusiasm for the Foz de Lumbier and for Canfranc Estacion!
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