Olvidado and Invierno?

[Anthony Rocco]

How much time is needed to walk the combo Olvidado and Invierno? We're looking at starting in mid-September next year. Any comments you have would be welcome as other friends now heard about our intentions and want to jump in.

 

[peregrina2000]

There is no doubt in my mind that the Olvidado-Invierno combo is a match made in heaven. I’ve walked a lot of caminos, and I think that if pushed, I would say this or the Castellano-Aragonés is my absolute favorite.

I walked the Olvidado in 18 days, Bilbao to Ponferrada. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/my-stages-on-the-camino-olvidado.28456/.

If you walk longer stages, take a look at posts by @MikeJS.

But I walked the second half of the Olvidado again last year because of the new, GLORIOUS mountain alternatives, so that might add a couple of days. And I have to say that those mountain alternatives are really the crown jewel of the Olvidado.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/alun-and-laurie-on-the-olvidado.62740/

And the Invierno can be anywhere from 9-14 days. See lots of good info on the forum guide here

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/resources/invierno-forum-guide.535/download

My 9 stages are pretty typical, but many people take a few more days. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/my-stages-on-the-camino-de-invierno.11151/

Pictures from my first Invierno, just recently recovered from google! https://get.google.com/albumarchive...0uVA3TnxXa_lnOVbmIPmj4?authKey=CLanz9yLvpnsVA

So, my bottom line is to say this is a wonderful idea. Happy to answer specific questions, of course. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[VNwalking]

Having walked the Invierno this year, this combo is at the top of my list!!

About the Invierno:
Laurie, I loved your photos!
And the church of Sto Estevo looked well worth the detour! Wow.

Shamelessly promoting a thread I put together for anyone considering the Invierno who might want to read recent accounts of it:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/if-youre-planning-to-walk-the-invierno.63049/

@Sara_Dhooma's out there right now, so if you want to watch, rather than read, her vlog is the place for you.

Buen camino!!

 

[jungleboy]

We are also looking at doing this combination in 2020. Any thoughts as to whether May or June would be the better month?

 

[caminka]

mid-september may be a little late for the mountain alternatives of the olvidado if the weather becomes typically autumny (rainy and possibly snowy at those heights?) as you would be there towards the end of the month. on the other hand, it may be glorious.
the same probably goes for may, so maybe june is a better option?

 

[peregrina2000]

We are also looking at doing this combination in 2020. Any thoughts as to whether May or June would be the better month?

Since neither crowds nor heat is a factor, I would definitely go later rather than earlier. I started my first Olvidado on June 17. Last year, I only walked the second half, but we started in Aguilar on June 13 — there are blogs to both linked in my signature below)

I think late June and July are sweet spots on these untraveled northern caminos. August is tourist month all over Spain, so out of the way mountain areas fill up even if there are no pilgrims (I think I remember @anniethenurse once gave up on the Vasco in August for exactly that reason).

(And celebrating having found my old picasa pics, I’ll post a new link to my first Olvidado but be forewarned there are way way too many pictures — and I know that people like @jungleboy don’t like looking at pictures ahead of time anyway) https://get.google.com/albumarchive...xZ3aJG3ETSHxOIxRnPJb1?authKey=CP7ajL249_qj4AE

 

[QuailHiker]

Is starting in late April from Bilbao too early for the mountain stages of the Olvidado?

 

[VNwalking]

way way too many pictures

What's that? Impossible.

 

[peregrina2000]

Is starting in late April from Bilbao too early for the mountain stages of the Olvidado?

If you have flexibility, and even though the weather has been crazy, I would start as late as possible. I assume there can be snow on those Olvidado mountain alternatives through spring. Most of them have lower options (except maybe the one into Cistierna), but IMO it would be disappointing to walk the Olvidado and then walk the low route along the highway.

The later you go, the odds of rain decrease. But who knows, next year could be different. My rule of thumb, though, with mid April to June as possible start dates, is to start as early as possible if I start in the south and as late as possible if I start in the north. The north stays green through summer, while the south gets brown in June.

 

[lanileo]

I'm doing this combination this June It will be my first camino and I'm really looking forward to it. I will be starting in Irun and I'll walk the north until Bilbao and then I continue with the olvidado and finish with the invierno

 

[MikeJS]

It is a fabulous combination although a bit more of a challenge than some better know routes as accommodation is not as frequently available.

 

[lanileo]

I'm considering the option of taking a light weight tent with me. I know this rout is more a challenge but I prefer it over the masses of people on the north and definitely the French rout have. I fell in love inmidiately when I discovered the olvidado.

 

[peregrina2000]

I'm considering the option of taking a light weight tent with me. I know this rout is more a challenge but I prefer it over the masses of people on the north and definitely the French rout have. I fell in love inmidiately when I discovered the olvidado.

It is a perfect, magical, beautiful combination. Forum guide for Invierno, and Ender’s guide for Olvidado in English are both here on the forum. Really all you need.

The Olvidado has a strong and developing pilgrim infrastructure. There are lots of people along the way and in the associations who are really trying to bring pilgrims to their towns. In the tiny village of Vegarienza, for instance, a retired woman (who moved back to her pueblo to take care of her brother after her retirement) spearheaded the movement to open a small albergue above the doctor’s office. She takes care of it, checks you in, and is a real gem. She has never set foot on a Camino, but sees the potential for her beloved town. Fasgar is another place where the sheer will of the residents has produced a very lovely place to stay. I could go on and on..... By all means, go with the mountain alternatives that Ender’s guide recommends - one through Vegacervera and the other from Guardo to Campamayo to Puente Almuhey. The latter one is a bit long, but there are ways to shorten it by continuing on from Guardo to shorten the subsequent stage.

And if you want to go to Ponferrada, you will have to leave the official Olvidado after Congosto, but there are threads here to alert you to that issue. And there is also a shorter and apparently nicer route that others have suggested and I posted about.

Ah, and then comes the Invierno. There is just no better pairing of caminos imaginable, IMO.