OK, This is no laughing matter .....

[Robo]

Having returned from my first Camino, clearly saying that it was so good, repeating it would just be a disappointment............. We're thinking of May 2016

Oh I can hear the sniggering already

My wife Pat now has it in her head that she would us like to walk from Sarria next year. She is no long distance walker, so I quite understand her decision to walk the minimum distance required to receive a Compostela. And it will make my life easier too

I walked this year from St Jean and hit the final 100 kms around 1st June. It was so busy that I pre arranged my accommodation about a week beforehand. Glad I did......

We'll plan to use private accommodation, as I did. No albergues. Please do not ask why. Discussions will not be entered into Just personal choice....

So..... I have a couple of challenges. We'll probably start out first week of May.

One. I'd like some flexibility in where we stay, so that we can gauge our distances to Pat's comfort level. Which of course won't be known until we start walking and putting a few kms behind us.

But....my experience of that last 100 kms would seem to show that not booking ahead could leave us without a room.

Any thoughts/experiences regarding the final 100 kms undertaken at the start of May, would be helpful. Are casas/hotels in small places likely to book out the first 2 weeks of May? I'm thinking of places like Morgade, Ventas, A Rua, where there might only be 1 or 2 places to stay.

Second. Yes, I realise this is somewhat the wrong way around......... but Pat would like to walk a section past the Cruz de Ferro before we get to Sarria. Kind of........may this stone, a symbol of my efforts on the Pilgrimage I am 'about to undertake'.........

So I'm thinking Foncebadon to Acebo would be a nice introductory walk, with some nice views. And from Acebo we could somehow hop forward to start our 'real' walk from Sarria. The walk down to Molinaseca would be too hard on her legs and likely lead to divorce

So the question is...........how to hop forward from Acebo to Sarria? I'm thinking taxi to Ponferrada and then train/bus? Any thoughts?

 

[C clearly]

Oh I can hear the sniggering already

Not really. I was quite confident you were just deluded temporarily and would come to your senses eventually. (I was a little surprised by how fast!) I can't help much with your specific questions, but do consider staying at La Trucha del Arco Iris if you stay over in El Acebo.

 

[Kanga]

@Robo we found that lots of Casa Rurals just off the Camino route happily pick up and return pilgrims the next day. It gives a bit of leeway if you are prepared to stay in accommodation a bit further away. Another thought us to plan your stages so you are only walking 15 km a day.

 

[mspath]

Robo,

Since you wish to taxi down from El Acebo you might call/write Jorge for assistance at his Hacienda El Val. He often meets guests and drives them to his splendid 17th c casa rurale outside Ponferrada in Salas de los Barrios. Stopped there late last November and loved it.

Happy planning!

MM

PS. Jorge also arranges visits to the Roman gold mines, Las Medulas, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and fabulous.

 

[DurhamParish]

If you want to do it really posh, you might try www.marlycamino.com

 

[Robo]

@Robo we found that lots of Casa Rurals just off the Camino route happily pick up and return pilgrims the next day. It gives a bit of leeway if you are prepared to stay in accommodation a bit further away. Another thought us to plan your stages so you are only walking 15 km a day.

Yes that's always an option. Though I did that a couple of times this year and found I was dining on my own

 

[Robo]

If you want to do it really posh, you might try www.marlycamino.com

Yes, looks very nice.

Though I'd rather not be a total 'Tourigrino' !

 

[Alan Long]

Rob,

We had an excellent stay at Pazo de Ludeiro, which was outside Palais de Rei, about 15 minutes drive away. They picked us up from the camino and dropped us back the next morning. Dinner and breakfast was included, and was excellent.

 

[DurhamParish]

Yes, looks very nice.

Though I'd rather not be a total 'Tourigrino' !

Understand. And don't get the idea that I have anything to do with this outfit financially, I'm not trying to market anyone. I took them this past April with a group that needed the support that was provided and they are wonderful outfit when it comes to service.

I went back last month to walk the last half of the camino with my nephew in the "proper" way, with backpacks and staying in albergues. Our guide told the home office in Madrid that I was coming back in June and they put together a customized package of private accommodations for us without all the support, just the accommodations. I thought it was at a pretty good price. I didn't use it though, I like being more spontaneous and I don't need private accomodations. You could contact them to see what they could do if you would like.

Again, I have absolutely no connection with this company other than I have used them once, I just have a great admiration for them.

Cheers, and good luck.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

If you walk the last 100 km on the first part of May, you definitely need to book well in advance. May 1 is a national holiday, and a huge number of people decide to start their "express camino" on that long weekend. I can't give advice on which are "the best" inns or hostels, but I can tell you they're going to be full of high-spirited, just-starting-out new pilgrims!

 

[GettingThere]

Having returned from my first Camino, clearly saying that it was so good, repeating it would just be a disappointment............. We're thinking of May 2016

Oh I can hear the sniggering already

My wife Pat now has it in her head that she would us like to walk from Sarria next year. She is no long distance walker, so I quite understand her decision to walk the minimum distance required to receive a Compostela. And it will make my life easier too

I walked this year from St Jean and hit the final 100 kms around 1st June. It was so busy that I pre arranged my accommodation about a week beforehand. Glad I did......

We'll plan to use private accommodation, as I did. No albergues. Please do not ask why. Discussions will not be entered into Just personal choice....

So..... I have a couple of challenges. We'll probably start out first week of May.

One. I'd like some flexibility in where we stay, so that we can gauge our distances to Pat's comfort level. Which of course won't be known until we start walking and putting a few kms behind us.

But....my experience of that last 100 kms would seem to show that not booking ahead could leave us without a room.

Any thoughts/experiences regarding the final 100 kms undertaken at the start of May, would be helpful. Are casas/hotels in small places likely to book out the first 2 weeks of May? I'm thinking of places like Morgade, Ventas, A Rua, where there might only be 1 or 2 places to stay.

Second. Yes, I realise this is somewhat the wrong way around......... but Pat would like to walk a section past the Cruz de Ferro before we get to Sarria. Kind of........may this stone, a symbol of my efforts on the Pilgrimage I am 'about to undertake'.........

So I'm thinking Foncebadon to Acebo would be a nice introductory walk, with some nice views. And from Acebo we could somehow hop forward to start our 'real' walk from Sarria. The walk down to Molinaseca would be too hard on her legs and likely lead to divorce

So the question is...........how to hop forward from Acebo to Sarria? I'm thinking taxi to Ponferrada and then train/bus? Any thoughts?

Oh Robo - you too, huh?! I well remember our conversation when we met, when you said you definitely wouldn't want to do it again and we agreed with you! And now of course, guess what - Mum and I had barely stepped off the plane back home and we were talking about going back! Not next year sadly, but hopefully 2017.

We hit the last 100km late May this time so a bit later than you're planning, but give the public holiday on May 1st and my experience of that time of year elsewhere in Europe I'd agree with @Rebekah Scott that booking would be necessary. In fact I found it quite tricky later in May to find paces to book private rooms - I felt I'd left it a bit late and found lots of places already full several days in advance. I found that while there are lots of albergues "between the stages", there were not a proportional number of places with private rooms - it actually felt like there were fewer than earlier on the Camino, although that may just have been because I expected there to be more with the greatly increased numbers and villages closes together. Flexibility may not be an option, at least in terms of choosing where to stay - but maybe with your training beforehand you'll have an idea by then of how far Pat will be able to walk. By that stage we were going pretty slow and not able to walk very far each day, so we were basically doing about half the Brierley stages each day - we took 10 days to get from Sarria to Santiago. Sometimes we could have walked further, but stopping early was worth it as we were fresher and less tired the next day, and could explore the places we stayed or just sit around in the sun!

The one stage I got really stuck for somewhere on the Camino route was between Portomarin and Palas de Rei - everywhere was full. SO I found this place on booking.com - it's a few km off the camino but like many such places they will pick you up and drop you back in the same spot the next day for no charge. Lovely old renovated farmhouse, wonderful evening meal (no menu, just what they feel like cooking that day - they'll accommodate special requirements if you warn them). Highly recommended!

Good luck and have fun with the planning!!

(PS: Also I second @C clearly on La Trucha del Arco Iris in El Acebo - lovely place!)

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Rob, We camino addicts have heard the "I think one Camino is enough for me" line so often that we pay it no heed. It sounds like a wonderful walk with your wife. I agree with La Trucha in El Acebo if you sleep there. It's a very comfortable casa rural. If you stay a night in El Acebo, you might also consider spending the day on your way to Ponferrada with a visit to As Medulas and Peñalba de Santiago, two amazing places very close to Ponferrada. I think Margaret (mspath) set this up with a taxi or private driver last year.

For the last night, I would suggest Casa de Amancio. http://www.casadeamancio.com/ Though its address is Lavacolla, it is only 5 km from Santiago and is right on the Camino and after the biggest part of the ascent from the "center" of Lavacolla up the hill. The accommodations are very nice, the food is good quality and home made, and it gives you a very short stroll the next morning. I think it was Anniethenurse who introduced me to this place and I really enjoyed myself. The owners have had the house in the family for a long time and can show you the precise spot where the grandma, or maybe the great grandma, gave birth to one of the current owners.

Onward with camino número dos! Laurie

 

[Kiwi-family]

*snigger*

Given that you intend to walk in May of next year, would you and your wife consider going out before then to do some walking around where you live? You could start with a couple of kilometres and slowly work your way up to a distance that she feels comfortable with. It would give you some idea before you leave of what your wife could expect of herself and she would be better prepared than if she just jumps straight up off the couch onto the trail.

 

[JulieandPeter]

Hi,
We finished up our walk from St. Jean in May this year. We were doing the Sarria to Santiago portion of our walk from May 6 to May 12. We did not have any problems getting hotels except for in Arzua on May 9. We traversed the city twice - lots of no vacancies and lots of pilgrims. We booked the last room in a hotel recommended by the fully booked Hotel Teodora which looked like a nice place. We liked the place we stayed, but I don't remember the name (same owner as Teodora).

I did not like the hotel we stayed at in Portomarin (bed bugs), so I will not mention the name here. We stayed in Ventas (Casa Molar -an albergue, but we had a private room/shared bath with one other room, good food, and cozy) which was very picturesque and beautiful in May. In Palas de Rei we stayed at Hotel Arenas (http://arenaspalas.com/ excellent restaurant/nice views). In Melide we stayed at Pousada Chiquitin (http://www.chiquitinmelide.es/index_en.htm conveniently located across from an albergue with great laundry facilities). Then we stayed in Arzua in the place owned by Hotel Teadora. Next we stayed at Hotel O' Pino (http://www.hotelopino.com/index.php/en/ very nice) in O Pino and had an excellent dinner at the only other restaurant in town because the hotel was closed on Sunday (which also happened to be Mother's Day). The on to Santiago.

If we booked in advance at all, it was a couple of hours before we arrived, and as I said, we only had problems finding a place in Azura. I'm glad I came across your post (I got on the forum with a question of my own about Camino Portugues in during Christmas - any opinions???) because it made me go back and figure out where we stayed and write it down some place. It has only been a couple of months, but the details are fading in my memory. So, thank you!

 

[Delynda Drury]

Hi,
We finished up our walk from St. Jean in May this year. We were doing the Sarria to Santiago portion of our walk from May 6 to May 12. We did not have any problems getting hotels except for in Arzua on May 9. We traversed the city twice - lots of no vacancies and lots of pilgrims. We booked the last room in a hotel recommended by the fully booked Hotel Teodora which looked like a nice place. We liked the place we stayed, but I don't remember the name (same owner as Teodora).

I did not like the hotel we stayed at in Portomarin (bed bugs), so I will not mention the name here. We stayed in Ventas (Casa Molar -an albergue, but we had a private room/shared bath with one other room, good food, and cozy) which was very picturesque and beautiful in May. In Palas de Rei we stayed at Hotel Arenas (http://arenaspalas.com/ excellent restaurant/nice views). In Melide we stayed at Pousada Chiquitin (http://www.chiquitinmelide.es/index_en.htm conveniently located across from an albergue with great laundry facilities). Then we stayed in Arzua in the place owned by Hotel Teadora. Next we stayed at Hotel O' Pino (http://www.hotelopino.com/index.php/en/ very nice) in O Pino and had an excellent dinner at the only other restaurant in town because the hotel was closed on Sunday (which also happened to be Mother's Day). The on to Santiago.

If we booked in advance at all, it was a couple of hours before we arrived, and as I said, we only had problems finding a place in Azura. I'm glad I came across your post (I got on the forum with a question of my own about Camino Portugues in during Christmas - any opinions???) because it made me go back and figure out where we stayed and write it down some place. It has only been a couple of months, but the details are fading in my memory. So, thank you!

Hi Julieandpeter
I understand your reluctance to share the hotels name for advertisement purposes but by releasing the name of the inn that was infested with bedbugs would be greatly appreciated. We intend to take that journey as well and
I enjoy and use this site as a reference of good as well as bad. If these below standard services would lose a little business due to their innadequacies perhaps they would do something about their bed bugs.
Thank you

 

[Anamya]

We liked the place we stayed, but I don't remember the name (same owner as Teodora).

Pension Begonia, same owners as Teodora and lovely place! We stayed there after a lot of fully booked places last May as well. We were VERY tired after walking further than expected, but the pension had a chiropractor that made us feel brand new! I'd totally recommend that place!

I don't think that's being tourigrino, it's just adapting to your reality, to the environment around you and listening to your body.

The cathedral tour guide in Santiago said something I'll never forget: "All the ragged and tired pilgrims are pretty and noble, they keep the tradition. But it's the 5 star ones that actually bring money for the city to grow, not only survive."

I'll NEVER again criticize tourigrinos after hearing that.

 

[DurhamParish]

Here's a nice one within walking distance of the camino.

http://www.pazodesedor.com/

 

[Anemone del Camino]

*Snigger*! You are the man who wanted to walk with a rice coocker, right?

Why not try a different 100km? Something you have not walked before and you could not compare your second walk to? Like the Portugusemor the English?

 

[Delynda Drury]

Pension Begonia, same owners as Teodora and lovely place! We stayed there after a lot of fully booked places last May as well. We were VERY tired after walking further than expected, but the pension had a chiropractor that made us feel brand new! I'd totally recommend that place!

I don't think that's being tourigrino, it's just adapting to your reality, to the environment around you and listening to your body.

The cathedral tour guide in Santiago said something I'll never forget: "All the ragged and tired pilgrims are pretty and noble, they keep the tradition. But it's the 5 star ones that actually bring money for the city to grow, not only survive."

I'll NEVER again criticize tourigrinos after hearing that.

Hi
Hi Anamya
In response to your post earlier regarding the hotels you stayed.
The hotel with bedbugs wouldn't happwn to be
Pensión Arenas Porto would it? My husband and I have started making our reservations for the Camino amd certainly do not want to experience the bedbugs.
Thank you

 

[Anamya]

No, I did not experience any bedbugs, I believe it was Julie and Peter's post that referred to it!
I was reminding them the name of a good pension in Arzua, with the same owners as Casa Teodora (it's Pension Begonia and it's very good, extremely clean).

I did not stay in Pensión Arena in Portomarin, but it is very rare that a pension would have bedbugs. They happen usually in the albergues.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I did not stay in Pensión Arena in Portomarin, but it is very rare that a pension would have bedbugs. They happen usually in the albergues.

I would not count my chickens until .... any sort of accomodation where a peregrino sets foot after putting their back pack down on the ground is as likely as any other to get bed bugs.

 

[Diane Kinney]

Having returned from my first Camino, clearly saying that it was so good, repeating it would just be a disappointment............. We're thinking of May 2016

Oh I can hear the sniggering already

My wife Pat now has it in her head that she would us like to walk from Sarria next year. She is no long distance walker, so I quite understand her decision to walk the minimum distance required to receive a Compostela. And it will make my life easier too

I walked this year from St Jean and hit the final 100 kms around 1st June. It was so busy that I pre arranged my accommodation about a week beforehand. Glad I did......

We'll plan to use private accommodation, as I did. No albergues. Please do not ask why. Discussions will not be entered into Just personal choice....

So..... I have a couple of challenges. We'll probably start out first week of May.

One. I'd like some flexibility in where we stay, so that we can gauge our distances to Pat's comfort level. Which of course won't be known until we start walking and putting a few kms behind us.

But....my experience of that last 100 kms would seem to show that not booking ahead could leave us without a room.

Any thoughts/experiences regarding the final 100 kms undertaken at the start of May, would be helpful. Are casas/hotels in small places likely to book out the first 2 weeks of May? I'm thinking of places like Morgade, Ventas, A Rua, where there might only be 1 or 2 places to stay.

Second. Yes, I realise this is somewhat the wrong way around......... but Pat would like to walk a section past the Cruz de Ferro before we get to Sarria. Kind of........may this stone, a symbol of my efforts on the Pilgrimage I am 'about to undertake'.........

So I'm thinking Foncebadon to Acebo would be a nice introductory walk, with some nice views. And from Acebo we could somehow hop forward to start our 'real' walk from Sarria. The walk down to Molinaseca would be too hard on her legs and likely lead to divorce

So the question is...........how to hop forward from Acebo to Sarria? I'm thinking taxi to Ponferrada and then train/bus? Any thoughts?

Rob, I can't help with question two but for question one, my friend and I walked from Leon to Santiago late May 2015 and had no difficulty with accommodations (private as well as albergues). For private we would book one day ahead having estimated, based on how we felt, where we thought we would land. In leaving one place the owner/manager would often call and make our reservation. I can recommend a few places. Albergue San Marcos in Palais de Rei. While an albergue, it has private rooms with WC, more hotel than albergue experience. Very new, clean and comfortable. A lovely case rural in Castaneda call La Calleja and a nice hotel in A Rua called O Pina. The latter two we booked the day before.

And I am doing the last 200K this September with friends. Hopefully in a few years I will do the entire route.

 

[Robo]

Rob, I can't help with question two but for question one, my friend and I walked from Leon to Santiago late May 2015 and had no difficulty with accommodations (private as well as albergues). For private we would book one day ahead having estimated, based on how we felt, where we thought we would land. In leaving one place the owner/manager would often call and make our reservation. I can recommend a few places. Albergue San Marcos in Palais de Rei. While an albergue, it has private rooms with WC, more hotel than albergue experience. Very new, clean and comfortable. A lovely case rural in Castaneda call La Calleja and a nice hotel in A Rua called O Pina. The latter two we booked the day before.

And I am doing the last 200K this September with friends. Hopefully in a few years I will do the entire route.

Thanks for the tips Diane. Maybe we met on the road? I arrived in Santiago on 6th June this year. Having left Leon on 22 May.

 

[Diane Kinney]

Thanks for the tips Diane. Maybe we met on the road? I arrived in Santiago on 6th June this year. Having left Leon on 22 May.

Hi Robo, I made my trip in 2014 not 2015 as I wrote but am packing for September 2015. It does become addictive!