P
For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
Hi: After obtaining some advice from other Forum members, I downloaded Maps.Me (free) on my phone. It divides each country into quite a large number of small sections, so you just need to download the parts of the country that you will be travelling in. You can then add an overlay from Google Earth of the track you want to follow. I have not used this app for navigation in the field yet, but will be doing so this summer. It appears that it should work well.
Thanks to some recent help from @peregrina2000 and@dougfitz, I have downloaded some tracks from this site. You need to pick your camino and then download each day's track separately.i downloaded map.me and the specific Spanish regions for the Camino de Levante. How do I get the actual track of the Levante on the map?
Thanks to some recent help from @peregrina2000 and@dougfitz, I have downloaded some tracks from this site. You need to pick your camino and then download each day's track separately.
I have no idea what conversion he was talking about! And I don't know what gpx files are for. I was downloading to my Android phone.Ok, C clearly you are now way ahead of me. The tracks I see there are all .kml and I only know how to download .gpx tracks. I know that @dougfitz can do the conversion but I can't. Doesn't your GPS need .gpx tracks?
That's great, but I don't understand a word of it.I have no idea what conversion he was talking about! And I don't know what gpx files are for. I was downloading to my Android phone.
I have the tracks now on maps.me on my phone, but also downloaded the Wikiloc app and am playing with that, trying to figure it out.
I have no idea what conversion he was talking about! And I don't know what gpx files are for. I was downloading to my Android phone.
I have the tracks now on maps.me on my phone, but also downloaded the Wikiloc app and am playing with that, trying to figure it out.
That would be great, but we'd have to successfully navigate to the same place at the same time!C Clearly, we CLEARLY have to meet up on the Camino somewhere someplace sometime.
You all are a big help! I was able to use Map.me, download specific Spanish areas, then (per C Clearly) download the individual tracks. Plus it is good to know that I don't need the GPS, as I am not a big map guy to begin with. But I have read several places the GPS/coordinates tracks are helpful especially navigating through towns.
I have no idea what conversion he was talking about! And I don't know what gpx files are for. I was downloading to my Android phone.
I have the tracks now on maps.me on my phone, but also downloaded the Wikiloc app and am playing with that, trying to figure it out.
Yes, it is, but I am not very skilled with them. There is the issue of having to download all the maps for offline use, too.Instead of using Map.me, is it possible to use the Tracks on Google Maps or Google Earth instead?
Instead of using Map.me, is it possible to use the Tracks on Google Maps or Google Earth instead?
Instead of using Map.me, is it possible to use the Tracks on Google Maps or Google Earth instead?
Yes. It's fairly straightforward, though it takes a little figuring out.
(This assumes a desktop or laptop.)
(1) Download all your KML files and have them in one place.
(2) Bring up Google Maps and go to the main menu (the 3 horizontal lines in the upper left hand corner).
(3) Go to "Your Places"
(4) Go to "Maps"
(5) "Create Map" is at the bottom. Click it.
(6) Name your map, something like Levante (1 - 10) or whatever you want.
(7) Import your first KML file, then the next KML, etc. You are limited to ten imports per map so for the Levante, for example, with its 42 KML files, you will end up having 5 maps.
That's all there is to it. When you use Google Maps, you can just go to Your Places > My Maps > > then select one of these as an overlay.
DkP
Thanks! Once you create 4 or 5 maps, do those same maps show up on your Android phone and are usable on Google Maps?
Thank you for this process.Yes. It's fairly straightforward, though it takes a little figuring out.
(This assumes a desktop or laptop.)
(1) Download all your KML files and have them in one place.
(2) Bring up Google Maps and go to the main menu (the 3 horizontal lines in the upper left hand corner).
(3) Go to "Your Places"
(4) Go to "Maps"
(5) "Create Map" is at the bottom. Click it.
(6) Name your map, something like Levante (1 - 10) or whatever you want.
(7) Import your first KML file, then the next KML, etc. You are limited to ten imports per map so for the Levante, for example, with its 42 KML files, you will end up having 5 maps.
That's all there is to it. When you use Google Maps, you can just go to Your Places > My Maps > > then select one of these as an overlay.
DkP
Yes. Open Google Maps, go to Your Places and then Maps, and any maps you have created on a desktop/laptop should be listed.Thanks! Once you create 4 or 5 maps, do those same maps show up on your Android phone and are usable on Google Maps?
Thank you for this process.
The requirement to use a single layer for each individual .kml file seemed rather cumbersome, so I tried importing the stage data in .gpx files instead. One .gpx file can contain all the stages for a particular route, subject to some file size limitations. I tried using data for the Via de la Plata and Sanabres. If you want to see the results, they are here. This only used two layers, but I think it would also have been possible to amalgamate the files for these two camino routes into one large file, and still stay within the overall file size limitations for Google Maps.
It would also pay to have a pattern of downloading the map data for the next few days as an offline area when you have a wifi connection.
I am cautious about any one source being 'best'. In the resources section (here) I have put up the Centro de Deschargas provided tracks translated from separate .kml stages into a single .gpx file. There is an explanation of the source at the link. I am sure you will find other sources.Can you tell me where the best source for the .gpx file(s) is for the Sanabres?
Please disregard. I found it in that file. Thanks Dogfitz for posting it!Does anyone know about where to find the KML files for the Camino de Sanabres? I don't think I saw it in the Centro de Deschargas.
KML stands for Keyhole Markup Language, a file format developed by a firm named Keyhole before it was taken over by Google. My best understanding is that it is largely about the presentation features needed to display geospatial information. So the information it contains is about points, polygons, text descriptions, etc.So, if you will indulge another neophyte question, what is the difference between gpx files and kml? I think my GPS (A Garmin Dakota) requires gpx, but I have no idea what the differences are.
On my most recent walk, the people I observed taking the most wrong turns, were the ones most reliant on electronic maps. One guy who was wedded to his GPS told me he had got properly lost 3 times on a day I had not even needed to look at my guidebook. I later went shopping with him, and he was genuinely surprised when I was able to bring us back to the town square, having walked a 15 minute circuit of the streets. I even had to point out boot prints and bike tyre tracks to another guy, who was insistent we turn back.
Over reliance on these maps seems to me to deaden intellectual and instinctive modes of navigation, such as looking at the sun, the path, the topography, and even the way markers.
My favourite navigation tip of my last trip came from a Spanish guy. We couldn't find the well hidden bar in a village. Suddenly he pointed "Over there: badly parked vans."
I would still be on the camino de levante with the buzzards picking over my bones if it wasn't for those files.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?