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It's short, painless, and unavoidable. On the camino, as in life, there are ugly bits. Learn to accept the entire road, and all it holds.I also noticed closer to Compostela there is a day on Invierno you walk through an industrial area
I respetfully beg to differ, Michael. Plenty of first-time walkers navigated the Francés just fine before it became so easy as it is now. Some people just prefer quiet - and those stages where there are no bars every 4 ir 5K are a balm, rather than a challenge.I don't think the Invierno route is a good choice for inexperienced walkers. There are parts with little to no services and some difficult elevation changes. Walk a week on the Frances or Portuguese.
I absolutely agree with this. While the Camino can be considered a series of day hikes, when done as a continuous walk, it is definitely more than the sum of its parts.I recommend clearly distinguishing between the tourism part of your trip (taking convenient buses and trains, staying in private hotels) and the part where you "do the Camino" (walking or cycling, staying in pilgrim hostels). Mashing them together will give you a subpar tourist experience and no insight into what the Camino is about.
Thank you for the advice. We are from a rural area and that is exactly why we chose this route. We want a quiet al be it challenging walk away from the maddening crowd. Not bothered too much with services. Live against a mountain on a farm in Africa so will be o.k with the ups and downs too ( I think). Really appreciate the inputI respetfully beg to differ, Michael. Plenty of first-time walkers navigated the Francés just fine before it became so easy as it is now. Some people just prefer quiet - and those stages where there are no bars every 4 ir 5K are a balm, rather than a challenge.
And the hills on the Invierno aren't any harder than what's on the Francés. This camino has an undeserved reputation as being super-hard - those messages often being passed along by people who haven't walked it. Not to be put off...it's a beauty, and yes, a quiet one. But if you're tiring of the Francés conga line, this way is just the ticket.
Thank you. Making changes as per your suggestionIf you're planning to experience the Camino and you would like to receive a Compostela in Santiago, you need to walk at least the last 100km of an official route (or cycle the last 200km). For the invierno, that means starting in Chantada:
That will take you perhaps four or five days. You could combine it with a touristic visit to Burgos or Leon, but travel to and from those cities will eat up a day or two of your precious time in Spain.
I recommend clearly distinguishing between the tourism part of your trip (taking convenient buses and trains, staying in private hotels) and the part where you "do the Camino" (walking or cycling, staying in pilgrim hostels). Mashing them together will give you a subpar tourist experience and no insight into what the Camino is about.
I don’t mean to pile on here, but IMO the Invierno is perfectly doable for a first timer, especially for someone who would like to avoid the crowds and still get a “camino feeling”. Not exactly sure how to describe that, but I know it when I feel it. The markings are way beyond excellent, and though services are spotty on some stages, I just always carry some fruit, nuts, and yoghurt and I have never had a problem. People in the villages will always happily fill your water bottle if you run out. The elevation gain profiles do not suggest that its elevation gain is extreme in any way.I don't think the Invierno route is a good choice for inexperienced walkers. There are parts with little to no services and some difficult elevation changes. Walk a week on the Frances or Portuguese.
I respetfully beg to differ, Michael. Plenty of first-time walkers navigated the Francés just fine before it became so easy as it is now. Some people just prefer quiet - and those stages where there are no bars every 4 ir 5K are a balm, rather than a challenge.
And the hills on the Invierno aren't any harder than what's on the Francés. This camino has an undeserved reputation as being super-hard - those messages often being passed along by people who haven't walked it. Not to be put off...it's a beauty, and yes, a quiet one. But if you're tiring of the Francés conga line, this way is just the ticket.
Having just walked the Invierno I disagree. It is beautiful is places and very quiet but a simple look at the maps and elevation charts on Gronze show the difficulty of planning and walking on this View attachment 61558route.
Having just walked the Invierno I disagree. It is beautiful is places and very quiet but a simple look at the maps and elevation charts on Gronze show the difficulty of planning and walking on this View attachment 61558route.
I just walked it solo, Michael, as an 60-something not very fit woman. I did not find it particularly arduous. It was certainly challenging at times, but not dramatically so. Those compressed elevation profiles had scared me for years, unnecessarily.Having just walked the Invierno I disagree. It is beautiful is places and very quiet but a simple look at the maps and elevation charts on Gronze show the difficulty of planning and walking on this
Amen.just trying to emphasize that the challenges it presents, IMO, are not enormous. And the OP says she knows there are few services, and says she’s used to mountains. I think she has her bases covered if that’s the camino she is drawn to.
I must disagree with that. I walked the Invierno 2 years ago after the Sureste starting in Alicante. I like to walk 35 to 40 kms a day and this is my blog post from the first day on the Invierno - Ponferrada to Puente de Domingo Florez 35kms - was 'Route was easy to follow. That said it was a tough day, the tough bit was the ups and downs. Given how long I've been walking this time I am fairly fit and like 40 plus days. Had to go up 300m and down again twice, plus another climb up of 300m and then down 400m and that climb down was long and hard. Would hate to do it in the wet, but more importantly, I would hate to try it without a good few days ( or weeks) on the Camino first!I respetfully beg to differ, Michael. Plenty of first-time walkers navigated the Francés just fine before it became so easy as it is now. Some people just prefer quiet - and those stages where there are no bars every 4 ir 5K are a balm, rather than a challenge.
And the hills on the Invierno aren't any harder than what's on the Francés. This camino has an undeserved reputation as being super-hard - those messages often being passed along by people who haven't walked it. Not to be put off...it's a beauty, and yes, a quiet one. But if you're tiring of the Francés conga line, this way is just the ticket.
I did exactly the same on my first Invierno: all the way from Ponferrada to Puente de Domingo Flórez. There was nothing open at all, not even my Café Bar Ronda in Santalla. It was too early for Bar Marisol in Borrenes, although I sat down in the shade by the fountain. It was really hot!.
There is an easy solution to that, @MikeJS - don't walk so far.
The stage you describe would be brutal. But that's because it's an especially long stage, not because the Invierno is especially hard. Most people stop long before that, quite happily.
There are plenty of places to stay on the Invierno!I don't want to walk 35+ km on any day, which is why I have spent so much time trying to plan my Invierno, given the prospective state of accommodation when I am walking in the fall.
If you can think of anywhere on the camino between Quiroga and Montforte de Lemos (35.4 km according to Gronze) or between Montforte de Lemos and Chantada (30.4) km where I can stay in November, I would be grateful to hear of it.There are plenty of places to stay on the Invierno!
Plenty of information in the guide and in other posts here.If you can think of anywhere on the camino between Quiroga and Montforte de Lemos (35.4 km according to Gronze) or between Montforte de Lemos and Chantada (30.4) km where I can stay in November, I would be grateful to hear of it.
I see that you're referring to Gronze, which is a good guide. For the stage from Quiroga to Montforte de Lemos it shows two options pretty close to the Camino:If you can think of anywhere on the camino between Quiroga and Montforte de Lemos (35.4 km according to Gronze) or between Montforte de Lemos and Chantada (30.4) km where I can stay in November, I would be grateful to hear of it.
Before Monforte, Pension Pacita may not be on the camino. But it may as well be: it is very very close, and a lovely place to stay - the family there is very welcoming. I paid a very rwasonable amount (I think 20€) for a room with attached bath. I suspect that was a discount, but I don't know for sure. The food there is very nice too.If you can think of anywhere on the camino between Quiroga and Montforte de Lemos (35.4 km according to Gronze) or between Montforte de Lemos and Chantada (30.4) km where I can stay in November, I would be grateful to hear of it.
@RaggyI see that you're referring to Gronze, which is a good guide. For the stage from Quiroga to Montforte de Lemos it shows two options pretty close to the Camino:
1. Pensión Pacita - 350m from the Camino in A Labrada
2. "Acogida en el polideportivo de A Pobra do Brollón" (Accommodation in the sports hall at A Pobra do Brolion). - 400m from the village. I'm attaching two maps below - In the first, an Orange line shows the route of the Camino through A Pobra do Brollón. In the second, the red point shows the location of the sports hall.
A lot of little towns that lack albergues offer their municipal sports halls as pilgrim accommodation. It's generally pretty basic - you may find a bunk bed or you may find some mattresses on the floor. But there are showers and a roof over your head.
The first map is copied from IGN (Spains' National Geographical Institute)
Visualizador de los Caminos de Santiago en Europa del IGN
Visualizador de cartografía de los Caminos de Santiago en Europa creado por el Instituto Geográfico Nacional y el Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica con la colaboración de la Federación de Asociaciones de Amigos del Camino de Santiago.nco.ign.es
@Raggy
Thank you. I am planning on staying in Pension Pacita, if I can get a reservation for Nov. 1, which is a statutory holiday in Spain and the day that I expect to be going through there. It is also a Friday, so the first day of a three day weekend. I am familiar with information about the albergue in A Pobre de Brollon, but @peregrina2000 was through there recently and confirmed that the information about the albergue at A Pobre de Brollon has not been totally accurate. The current summer use only albergue is apparently in a school which formerly provided residential space for students and is still used as a school during term, so will not be available for walkers during the term. See her comment below:
"In Pobra de Brollon no progress has been made on the albergue. The group conversation that I started in the bar with my innocent question led to many guffaws and slapping of knees and shaking of heads. Right now the town puts up pilgrims in the rooms attached to the school where boarding students used to live (not the polideportivo as has been reported). But this is only viable when school is not in session. Private efforts to start a private albergue have been stymied."
posted by @peregrina2000 on June 30:
@Raggy
Thank you. I am planning on staying in Pension Pacita, if I can get a reservation for Nov. 1, which is a statutory holiday in Spain and the day that I expect to be going through there. It is also a Friday, so the first day of a three day weekend. I am familiar with information about the albergue in A Pobre de Brollon, but @peregrina2000 was through there recently and confirmed that the information about the albergue at A Pobre de Brollon has not been totally accurate. The current summer use only albergue is apparently in a school which formerly provided residential space for students and is still used as a school during term, so will not be available for walkers during the term. See her comment below:
"In Pobra de Brollon no progress has been made on the albergue. The group conversation that I started in the bar with my innocent question led to many guffaws and slapping of knees and shaking of heads. Right now the town puts up pilgrims in the rooms attached to the school where boarding students used to live (not the polideportivo as has been reported). But this is only viable when school is not in session. Private efforts to start a private albergue have been stymied."
posted by @peregrina2000 on June 30:
Thanks so much. I have just been feeling guilty for stirring things up. If I am at Pension Pacita on Nov. 1, I would expect to spend the next night in Montforte de Lemos and be at either Hotel O Ruso or Torre Vilariño on Nov. 3. As this is early in the month, it is possible that Torre Vilariño would still be open, perhaps to take advantage of customers for the Nov. 1-3rd weekend. I shall contact both places at once. I realize that this commits me for a long time ahead, but it seems like the best thing to do.ps, Albertagirl. I have had a WhatsApp conversation with Torre Vilariño. They want to know what date in November you will be through, because they may be open. I would have sent this through a PM, but I wanted other forum members to know that if they will be on the Invierno in the fall, a PM to Torre Vilariño might not be in vain. It is a great place to stay and nicely breaks up the Monforte to Chantada stage.
Oh my goodness, @Albertagirl, please don't. You're hiving us an opportunity to talk about the Invierno, as well as to maybe make your way a little smoother. We should be thanking you.I have just been feeling guilty for stirring things up
Great news. I just heard from Susana that Torre Vilariño will be open on the 3rd. Closing after that for a month. She will write to you. Let me know if you don’t hear.Thanks so much. I have just been feeling guilty for stirring things up. If I am at Pension Pacita on Nov. 1, I would expect to spend the next night in Montforte de Lemos and be at either Hotel O Ruso or Torre Vilariño on Nov. 3. As this is early in the month, it is possible that Torre Vilariño would still be open, perhaps to take advantage of customers for the Nov. 1-3rd weekend. I shall contact both places at once. I realize that this commits me for a long time ahead, but it seems like the best thing to do.
@peregrina2000Great news. I just heard from Susana that Torre Vilariño will be open on the 3rd. Closing after that for a month. She will write to you. Let me know if you don’t hear.
Hotel O Ruso en Escairón.Before Monforte, Pension Pacita may not be on the camino. But it may as well be: it is very very close, and a lovely place to stay - the family there is very welcoming. I paid a very rwasonable amount (I think 20€) for a room with attached bath. I suspect that was a discount, but I don't know for sure. The food there is very nice too.
I got there early enough to soak my feet in the rio...it was heaven.
After Monforte, @alansykes had a post about his experience with Torre Villariño being closed, and he found somewhere in Escairon, but I can't find the post.
But that was my point, I find 35 to 40 km a day very comfortable and have walked 50 before now. So as I had already walked from Alicante before my first stage of the Invierno I was surprised that I found it tough!There is an easy solution to that, @MikeJS - don't walk so far.
The stage you describe would be brutal. But that's because it's an especially long stage, not because the Invierno is especially hard. Most people stop long before that, quite happily.
That was my option, since I read in a post by @alansykes that he had stayed there last November, when he found Torre Vilarino closed. However, it would involve either a significant walk off the camino or a long detour off the camino and back to the same spot the next day. Now it appears that Torre Vilarino will be open, but I have been having problems booking a place and have not so far been able to sort it out. I would prefer to present myself as a pilgrim, so with a significantly lower pilgrim rate, as described by @VNwalking above. However, having a bed to sleep in is my priority, so I hope that, with patience and the kind help of @peregrina2000, I shall get it all sorted. This route, especially out of the busy season, seems to require many telephone bookings, which is a challenge for my basic Spanish and the fact that I live in Canada. However, your descriptions of the Invierno have presented an interesting route in beautiful terrain and I look forward to walking it.Hotel O Ruso en Escairón.
@peregrina2000
I tried to book a room for that date, although I could see that it would cost a lot if I booked online, with no way to identify myself as a pilgrim. With the taxes, it comes to 43.75 euros, including a 5 euro breakfast, but no other food. Half pension is 35 euros, which is beyond my budget. Anyway, after I had filled in the form, there was a request for a prepayment of 10.94 euros, a quarter of the full price. But this did not appear to go through, as I did not fill in credit card information. Then I saw an online message which said "Reserva completa" and assured me that an email had been sent to me confirming my reservation. No such email has arrived. I did my best to send an email to the address which I found on the website, explaining what had just happened. I suppose that there was no one on duty by then: still no email. It is quite a muddle, but I hope to hear from someone tomorrow and that it will get sorted out. There doesn't seem to be much more that I can do.
Walk the first bit from StJean Pierre de Port it is the most beautifulMy 16year old son and I will be walking the Camino in Sept/Oct. I would love to walk Invierno and possibly parts of Frances. We have 9 days from Logroño to Compostela. The idea was to walk some and to bus some. We committed to walk at least 125km but this is our first hiking trail ever so we are praying for the best. ( advice on training also welcome ;-) )
Please help me decide which parts are better off being bussed. I thought of going via Burgess , Leon and on to Ponferada. That will mean we miss o'Cebreiro which sounded nice in what I read. Someone suggested riding up to o Cebreiro in horseback and down on a bicycle. I liked that.
I also noticed closer to Compostela there is a day on Invierno you walk through an industrial area. I would rather skip that in favour of walking a rural area. Leaving Logroño on 27 Sept. Have to fly out from Compostela 5 Oct.
Looking forward to your advice
Riana
South Africa
I stayed at expat Penelope Anderton in Castrotane between Monforte and Chantada:If you can think of anywhere on the camino between Quiroga and Montforte de Lemos (35.4 km according to Gronze) or between Montforte de Lemos and Chantada (30.4) km where I can stay in November, I would be grateful to hear of it.
Hola, Riana,My 16year old son and I will be walking the Camino in Sept/Oct. I would love to walk Invierno and possibly parts of Frances. We have 9 days from Logroño to Compostela. The idea was to walk some and to bus some. We committed to walk at least 125km but this is our first hiking trail ever so we are praying for the best. ( advice on training also welcome ;-) )
Please help me decide which parts are better off being bussed. I thought of going via Burgess , Leon and on to Ponferada. That will mean we miss o'Cebreiro which sounded nice in what I read. Someone suggested riding up to o Cebreiro in horseback and down on a bicycle. I liked that.
I also noticed closer to Compostela there is a day on Invierno you walk through an industrial area. I would rather skip that in favour of walking a rural area. Leaving Logroño on 27 Sept. Have to fly out from Compostela 5 Oct.
Looking forward to your advice
Riana
South Africa
Thank you,I stayed at expat Penelope Anderton in Castrotane between Monforte and Chantada:
Galicia holiday rentals
Castrotañe 2, San Vicente de Castillon, 27438 Panton, Lugo, España
+34 677 120321
+34 982 171632
Also: pandertonswann@gmail.com
It's right on the Camino.
That's what Laurie said.If you will walk from Monforte the stage to Castrotane might be a bit too short.
I stayed at expat Penelope Anderton in Castrotane between Monforte and Chantada:
Galicia holiday rentals
Castrotañe 2, San Vicente de Castillon, 27438 Panton, Lugo, España
+34 677 120321
+34 982 171632
Also: pandertonswann@gmail.com
It's right on the Camino.
Worth a try closer to the date if the stage lenght would be OK for @Albertagirl .
I'd tend to agree with Laurie, @Albertagirl .That's what Laurie said.
For kicks, I just went back and looked at my photos. There's not much of an overhang over the portico (or anywhere on the side or back, for that matter, not like some churches which have a proper covered porch someplace.What a night that would be!
You know, the lack of a real porch overhang is what I was wondering about. So many places in Spain, if there is a church porch, it is made inaccessible by a locked gate, unless there is something going on in the church. But I can still walk to Escairon if I have to, as @alansykes did last November when he found Vilarino closed. I have done what I can, with Laurie's help, so I shall just take my chances.For kicks, I just went back and looked at my photos. There's not much of an overhang over the portico (or anywhere on the side or back, for that matter, not like some churches which have a proper covered porch someplace.
Hee hee. It's Galicia. Which means you would be playing Russian Roulette with the weather.
Thank you. Making changes as per your suggestion
Haha! I love selective memory. Does the way out of Lalin ring a bell?industrial areas on the Invierno, I am drawing a blank, but maybe I am just forgetting something.
Exactamente!I don’t remember any factories at all after Lalín, just distribution warehouses and commercial dealers of all sorts of building supplies, furniture, etc. But others can correct me. And in addition to the two bars, there is also a four star hotel!
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