Questions about the Viejo/Olvidado

[Albertagirl]

The Viejo to the Olvidado to the Invierno is drawing me in as my next camino. Even better to begin on the Aragones (post 24, above) which I have been longing to return to since I walked it in 2016. I have started my research by reading about the Olvidado from Bilbao, and find myself uninterested in Bilbao and the early part of the Olvidado. For me it seems more interesting to walk through Pamplona to the Viejo, then join the Olvidado later. With this many routes to link, I shall have to know the distances on each and how practical it is to link them. It might be possible to plan some version of this for the autumn of 2022. I shall not need to make any commitments or bookings until the summer. I am starting to plan tentatively.

 

[VNwalking]

Even better to begin on the Aragones

Yes, absolutely.

My >2-months-long pipedream?
Llança-Montserrat-Jaca (Cami Sant Jaume/Cami Catalan)
Jaca-Pamplona (Aragones)
Pamplona-AdC-Bonar (Viejo/Olvidado)
Bonar-Oviedo (San Salvador)
Oviedo-Santiago (Primitivo)

It will never ever happen. Pieces of it, I hope.

 

[Albertagirl]

Yes, absolutely.

My >2-months-long pipedream?
Llança-Montserrat-Jaca (Cami Sant Jaume/Cami Catalan)
Jaca-Pamplona (Aragones)
Pamplona-AdC-Bonar (Viejo/Olvidado)
Bonar-Oviedo (San Salvador)
Oviedo-Santiago (Primitivo)

It will never ever happen. Pieces of it, I hope.

It might take me closer to three months but I can afford the time. A greater challenge is the futility of planning long caminos in a time of pandemic. For me it is as much a dream as a plan.

 

[VNwalking]

One thing to keep in mind is that much of the Viejo between Miranda de Ebro and Aguilar de Campoo will be marked for the GR99, but I believe there are no camino markings (@caminka can correct me if I'm mistaken).

And a lot if it (other than the area around Frias) looks pretty remote. Glorious walking for some, but a trial by fire for others. Sheffield James got stuck and had to sleep outside on Oña - off the Viejo, and a place that gets a lot of visitors, but apparently there was no room at the inn.

I was just looking at the first section along the Ebro, after La Presa (where I had assumed I could walk along the road) to find there are 5 short tunnels, with zero shoulder inside.

 

[Albertagirl]

One thing to keep in mind is that much of the Viejo between Miranda de Ebro and Aguilar de Campoo will be marked for the GR99, but I believe there are no camino markings (@caminka can correct me if I'm mistaken).

And a lot if it (other than the area around Frias) looks pretty remote. Glorious walking for some, but a trial by fire for others. Sheffield James got stuck and had to sleep outside on Oña - off the Viejo, and a place that gets a lot of visitors, but apparently there was no room at the inn.

I was just looking at the first section along the Ebro, after La Presa (where I had assumed I could walk along the road) to find there are 5 short tunnels, with zero shoulder inside.

I think what I am hearing is that the Camino Viejo is a name, rather than a walkable camino route. I am comfortable with camino routes marked as GR's (Grande Route) but this depends on how well and frequently the route is marked. As for "no room at the inn," I had to bus forward a number of times while walking the Levante. So much was closed that I had to go by public transport to the next place with any available accommodation. My first albergue after Toledo was a couple of rooms in a church outbuilding: bunk beds and blankets, but no shower and the toilet had to be flushed by filling a bucket with water in another room and pouring some down the toilet. It was still better than camping out without camping gear. This depends, in part, on the season and the weather.
I appreciate your comments and shall keep in mind the necessity of booking accommodation ahead of time. As a slow walker, I often do not know for sure where I shall reach at the end of the day, not to mention several days ahead. And of course much accommodation of all types is closed because of covid. Much depends on my personal sense of urgency to walk another camino. I have found that I tend to purchase a ticket a few months ahead to walk a planned route. Then I deal with the consequences. Today I get my third covid vaccine shot: a booster for seniors who are six months past their second. I felt safe walking in Spain and hope to continue to feel safe on any future caminos.

 

[VNwalking]

I think what I am hearing is that the Camino Viejo is a name, rather than a walkable camino route. I am comfortable with camino routes marked as GR's (Grande Route) but this depends on how well and frequently the route is marked

Gronze shows it on their map as an alternative but with no other information. Someone please set me right if that has changed.

I get the sense that it's definitely walkable, but even less developed than the Olvidado proper from Bilbao. I can't speak to the waymarking, but no doubt there will be the occasional red and white blaze. I hope @caminka will chime in about that. The stretch that coincides with the Vasco has mojones and albergues, of course, but the rest? Albergues not so much.

 

[Albertagirl]

Gronze shows it on their map as an alternative but with no other information. Someone pkease set me right if that has changed.

I get the sense that it's definitely walkable, but even less developed than the Olvidado proper from Bilbao. I can't speak to the waymarking, but no doubt there will be the occasional red and white blaze. I hope @caminka will chime in about that. The stretch that coincides with the Vasco has mojones and albergues, of course, but the rest? Albergues not so much.

I am not so interested in albergues at present, for two reasons. I can currently afford to stay in hotels/hostals when on camino, and I feel safer during the pandemic when using private accommodation. The question of availability of private accommodation remains, as Sheffield James' experience shows.

 

[VNwalking]

@Albertagirl, then maybe your best way of getting a sense of possibility would be to peruse this the planning thread, make a tentative plan, and get in touch with some of the places to stay we found - just to see if they are still open. The main stretch I would be concerned with on the Viejo is from Puebla de Sanabria to Aguilar de Campoo, with the exceptiin of Frias. Short stages (or for that matter, transport if you need to move ahead) may be a challenge.

 

[VNwalking]

Fot quick reference here are the stages from the planning thread we did from Pamplona to Aguilar de Campoo:
Day 1 Pamplona to Hiriberri
Day 2. Hiriberri to Etxarri Aranatz 19.7 Km
Day 3. Etxarri Aranatz to Alsasua 22 Km
Day 4. Alsasua to Salvatierra 20.8 Km
Day 5. Salvatierra to Vitoria-Gasteiz (26.8km)
Day 6 Vitoria - Puebla de Arlanzon 17.9
Day 7. Puebla de Arlanzon - Miranda de Ebro 17.5
Day 8. Miranda de Ebro - Banos de Sobron. 18.76
Day 9. Banos de Sabron - Frias (via the road then the South bank of the Ebro after Embalse de Sabron)
Day 10. Frias - Trespaderne 12 or 20 km
Day 11.Trespaderne – Quintana de Valdivielso
Day 12, Quintana de Valdevileso – Pesqueria del Ebro 27.96 km
Day 13. Pesqueria del Ebro – Orbaneja del Castillo 25.8km
Day 14. Orbaneja del Castillo – Polientes 18.5km
Day 15. Polientes – Villanueva de la Nia 17.5
Day 16.
Villanueva de la Nia – Aguilar de Campoo

I kept the stages relatively short on purpose, but in some cases that was not possible.

 

[Stivandrer]

Yes, absolutely.

My >2-months-long pipedream?
Llança-Montserrat-Jaca (Cami Sant Jaume/Cami Catalan)
Jaca-Pamplona (Aragones)
Pamplona-AdC-Bonar (Viejo/Olvidado)
Bonar-Oviedo (San Salvador)
Oviedo-Santiago (Primitivo)

It will never ever happen. Pieces of it, I hope.

The Ruta Loca solution ?
My dream too...one day, one day ...
but by this route

 

[VNwalking]

but by this route

Same! That's precisely what's on my list.

 

[VNwalking]

Ruta Loca solution ?

I actially wasn't sure what you meant by this, @Stivandrer?

I think we are talking about the same route - which has some afficionados here thanks to the virtual walks we did along there last year.

Have you seen the threads? In case not:
Viejo (Pamplona-Aguilar de Campoo):

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/detailed-planning-for-viejo-olvidado-from-pamplona.67492/

Olvidado (Aguilar de Campoo-Ponferrada):

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/detailed-planning-thread-for-the-camino-olvidado.69681/

 

[peregrina2000]

Same! That's precisely what's on my list.

I always hesitate to get involved in threads requiring map reading, but it looks to me like VN and Stivander’s dreams diverge at Aguilar de Campóo, or more precisely at La Robla, I think.

Stivander would get on the Olvidado directly in Aguilar (the map has a typo by the way, it is FasgaR, not Fasgas), whereas VN wants to get on the Salvador. So VN would be on the Olvidado either to Pola de Gordón (which would be my recommendation, because it means you get to go via Vegacervera) or La Robla. Boñar is not on the Salvador.

If I am totally mixed up, just let me know and I will delete.

 

[VNwalking]

Stivander would get on the Olvidado directly in Aguilar (the map has a typo by the way, it is FasgaR, not Fasgas), whereas VN wants to get on the Salvador. So VN would be on the Olvidado either to Pola de Gordón (which would be my recommendation, because it means you get to go via Vegacervera) or La Robla. Boñar is not on the Salvador.

If I am totally mixed up, just let me know and I will delete.

Haha. No, you're not at all, Laurie.
I am.
Sorry to you and @Stivandrer both!

I've for so long been considering the Viejo-Olvidado-Invierno that when I saw the map couldn't see where we differed - completely forgetting that I'd posted about the more circuitous SS-Primitivo ending. That would be my go-to plan were time not an issue at all, so I went with it as the "pie in the sky" unattainable camino. In reality, I'd actually be far more likely to walk the SS-P after the Madrid, or on their own.

 

[Stivandrer]

I always hesitate to get involved in threads requiring map reading, but it looks to me like VN and Stivander’s dreams diverge at Aguilar de Campóo, or more precisely at La Robla, I think.

Stivander would get on the Olvidado directly in Aguilar (the map has a typo by the way, it is FasgaR, not Fasgas), whereas VN wants to get on the Salvador. So VN would be on the Olvidado either to Pola de Gordón (which would be my recommendation, because it means you get to go via Vegacervera) or La Robla. Boñar is not on the Salvador.

If I am totally mixed up, just let me know and I will delete.

My Ruta Loca version is a mixture of routes which will make an altenative traverse from Barcelona to SdC without going on the CF as little as possible:

* Barcelona - Tarrega - Husca - Puente la Reina
( Camio Catalan + Camino Montserrat a San Juan de la Peña)
* Pamplona - Aguilar de Campo - Ponferrada ( along Camino Viejo and the Olvidado)
* Ponferrada - to SdC ( along the Invierno and the Sanabrés)

 

[peregrina2000]

My Ruta Loca version is a mixture of routes that wil make an altenative traverse from Barcelona to SdC without going on the CF if possible:

If you want to get really loco, add on Llançà to Montserrat. That is a glorious route through Girona, Vic, and some drop dead gorgeous countryside.

I very much hope to walk the Viejo from Pamplona to Aguilar someday, and IMO, the Olvidado + Invierno combination is a match made in heaven!

 

[Isca-camigo]

Hi @VNwalking if you are going upto Oviedo from Bonar then you have this Variant of the San Salvador to consider as well https://www.rayyrosa.com/camino-de-santiago-allerano Ray and Rosa shared some photos on Facebook from Alex of Bodeneya who walked this Variant recently and they looked special, there is frustratingly so many Caminos which look very beautiful but I probably never have the time to do them all.thats even before going back to the ones I have done previously which are worth a 2nd go, which the San Salvador is definitely one.

 

[VNwalking]

Hi @VNwalking if you are going upto Oviedo from Bonar then you have this Variant of the San Salvador to consider as well https://www.rayyrosa.com/camino-de-santiago-allerano

Oh! Thanks. I will definitely consider it.
The only downside that I can see is missing Santa Cristina de Lena. But I have found a way across from Moreda, about 12kms up and the down again. Or one could backtrack from Ujo.

Edit. This looks superb. A very old route, with authentic camino lineage. Two possible routes:

Información del Camino de Santiago Allerano | RayyRosa.com

Mapa y track del Camino Allerano. Información completa de éste Camino de Santiago con descripción de las distancias, descarga del track y tu posición.

www-rayyrosa-com.translate.goog

 

[VNwalking]

This looks superb. A very old route, with authentic camino lineage.

Fascinating:

El autentico "Tesoro" de la iglesia allerana de San Miguel en Conforcos (Aller-Asturias)

elblogdeacebedo.blogspot.com

And another, a bit of an enigma:

San Vicente de Serrapio, la alquimia en piedra | Lugares con Historia

Nuestra cita viajera se cita hoy en un punto situado en el valle medio del río Aller, un lugar muy bello que, además de tener restos romanos, tiene un pequeño y maravilloso templo lleno de incógnitas. De hecho, sería difícil encontrar en Asturias un monumento con más enigmas que San Vicente de...

www.lugaresconhistoria.com

The church of San Vicente de Serrapio was, originally, a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter, which was later converted into a Christian, pre-Romanesque temple, which was remodeled in the Romanesque period and later had several additions.

 

[Stivandrer]

If you want to get really loco, add on Llançà to Montserrat. That is a glorious route through Girona, Vic, and some drop dead gorgeous countryside.

I very much hope to walk the Viejo from Pamplona to Aguilar someday, and IMO, the Olvidado + Invierno combination is a match made in heaven!

I was thinking on the theme of going from Cathedral to Cathedral.......
but you are right modifications are endless...

 

[Albertagirl]

It looks like I may be able to fly to Spain from Canada without stops in other countries. That is what I thought last year, but Air Canada cancelled my flight to Barcelona after I had booked and paid for it and offered options which required a huge amount of advance planning to respond to covid regulations. This year, I may not book my flights until the latest bout of covid settles down, if it does. I suspect that where and whether I walk will be decided by how the pandemic is behaving and where I choose to fly through to avoid a repeat of last year's complications. Calgary to Edmonton to Montreal to Barcelona looks like a strange routing. But the total time to fly the distance with two changes looks reasonable, and I can save a massive amount of stress by avoiding transfers in Europe. Barcelona seems a suitable location to follow an internal route through Spain to the backdoor to San Juan de la Pena, where I should like to begin my next camino. Or I might choose to fly from Canada to Bilbao and pick up the Olvidado there. When I have looked at the distances involved in walking the various routes will be the best time to decide on one and begin serious planning.

 

[C clearly]

It looks like I may be able to fly to Spain from Canada without stops in other countries.

Would you be traveling too late in the autumn to take advantage of direct Toronto-Madrid flights, at least on the trip over?

 

[Albertagirl]

All of the Calgary to Eastern Canada to Spain flights which I have been looking at go through Montreal, although some also have other possible stops: eg. Edmonton and Vancouver. Returning to Calgary, if I am in Spain in the autumn, I have pretty much decided to take the train from Santiago, or from wherever I am volunteering as a hospitalera in Spain, back to Barcelona to pick up a Montreal/Calgary flight. But I am not really settled in this, as there are so many unknowns at this point in time. For one thing, I have been considering doing my camino in the Spring: April to June, instead of in the fall. At present, like most of us, I am a captive of Covid, with no control over what might happen, except that whatever happens is likely to make international travel more challenging, if it is possible at all. But I have decided to begin my planning by trying to find a way to fly direct from Canada to Spain and back, and to choose a landing point in Spain where the beginning of my planned camino is easily accessible from wherever I fly to. Otherwise, I see myself wasting my walking time getting to the start and not fully focused on my camino. I really want to have a sense of a continuous walk for my next camino.

 

[Albertagirl]

I am seriously tempted to book flights to and from Spain for next autumn. I have found flights with Air Canada from Calgary to Toronto to Barcelona, and return, for a very reasonable price, leaving on Sept. 8 and returning on November 29. But I have not gotten far enough on my planning of my pilgrimage to know how practical this would be. Nor can I even guess what the pandemic situation may be next fall. In addition, this is almost the identical route and dates that I booked this past fall and that Air Canada almost immediately replaced with inconvenient routes, which required changes within Europe, with additional testing and requirements due to covid. Nonetheless, I may book it if it still seems good tomorrow (after sleeping on it). My future years for long pilgrim walks are likely to be few and if I decide on a different route I can get just about anywhere in Spain from Barcelona within a couple of days. At present, I am considering beginning my 2022 walk on the back route to San Juan de la Pena, about which I know very little, except that it is from the south into the Aragones. Barcelona seems like as good a landing place as any from which to find my way there. Any comments from those familiar with this route would be welcome. And any advice on my planned walk on the Aragones to Pamplona to the Viejo to the Olvidado to Santiago. How far would that be? It looks like I shall be off again somewhere in the fall. Wish me well.

 

[C clearly]

I am seriously tempted to book flights to and from Spain for next autumn. I have found flights with Air Canada from Calgary to Toronto to Barcelona, and return, for a very reasonable price

I think it makes more sense to wait at least 6 months, even if you end up paying a few hundred dollars more. Too much can change. I am hoping to go in late April, but I don't expect to book my flight until probably the start of March.

 

[VNwalking]

And any advice on my planned walk on the Aragones to Pamplona to the Viejo to the Olvidado to Santiago. How far would that be?

That you can figure out for yourself from the Viejo and Olvidado planning threads here.

Would you be walking from Barcelona? There's a planning thread to the Aragones from Montserrat, too. But just saying - accommodation there and on parts of the Viejo sounds thin on the ground. You may need to consider that in your planning.

I agree with @C clearly about the booking. The present uncertainty means whatever you book now may change, and you do know how much fun it is to deal with that.

 

[Albertagirl]

I am returning to this thread because my plans have developed considerably since I posted here, and it looks as if I shall have to make some changes in my preferred route in order to find my way to Santiago from Le Puy, which is where I shall be starting this fall's camino walk. I have purchased my air ticket to Lyon. I had been trying to plan a diversion from the Podiensis in Navarrenx to Oloron Ste Marie, continuing on the Aragones to the Viejo at Pamplona, then the Olvidado and probably the Invierno at Ponferrada. I have read twice Sheffield James' narrative of his experiences on the Viejo. I am not confident that I can walk this route at present. Instead, I am considering completing the Le Puy at SJpdP, taking the train (or bus) to Bilbao, then walking the Olvidado to Ponferrada and a second walk on the Invierno to Santiago. This would have some advantages: staying on well-marked, fairly popular routes and finishing both the Podiensis and Olvidado in their entirety, avoiding the challenges of the Viejo, and staying off the busy Frances, except briefly at SJpdP and Ponferrada. However, I feel reluctant to take a train in the middle of my pilgrimage. And I would miss enjoying another walk on the Aragones. It has occurred to me that next year I could walk the Camino d'Arles, possibly from Toulouse, to the Aragones, and take whatever route onward to Santiago.
I would appreciate any comments on my developing plans.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Hi Albertagirl
probably nothing you haven't considered already but... the GR10 path is nice, from St Jean to the coast at Hendaye. I haven't done it for years but remember excellent walking Gites along that section (which may or may not be open, depending how late in the Fall you get there). Then pick up the Norte to Bilbao - or possibly zig-zag back inland on the Vasco and pick up the Olvidado at Vitoria Gasteiz if it is better resourced from there onwards..

 

[VNwalking]

The first 2 days of the Viejo from Pamplona is not remote. Pick up the Via de Bayona/Vasco from there to Burgos.
From Burgos to Ponferrada, there are options.

One way to largely evade the throng on the Frances from Burgos is to walk in the afternoon to Rabe (at that time of day the Francés is deserted). Then mostly intermediate places to Leon (eg, San Anton-San Nicolas-Vilalcazar-Moratinos-Calzadilla de los Hermanillos-Mansilla de las Mulas-Leon). From Leon to the last part of the Olvidado to Ponferrada, then the Invierno.

Or stay on the Francés but avoid big chunks of it altogether:

You could also consider three longer 'alternatives':
•The Via Aquitania from Tardajos to Carrión de los Condes (I'd love to walk this!)
•The Camino del Manzanal from Astorga.

There are numerous ways to cross the mountain range knows as Montes de Leon in the east/west direction. All of them (see image below) are Ways to Santiago taken by medieval pilgrims and by later pilgrims.

The Manzanal pass is 1230 m high, compared to the Foncebadon/Cruz de Ferro pass which is 1500 m high. Lower is often better. A major Roman road (Via Nova) went over the Manzanal pass. It has always been and still is today a major traffic artery.

The author of a popular guidebook, perhaps the Brierley of his time for German and Flemish speaking pilgrims, wrote in 1495: If you follow my advice you turn right and you will have no mountains to climb. You will leave all these mountains to your left. I advise you to mistrust Rabanal. And if you follow my recommended route you w

 

[peregrina2000]

This would have some advantages: staying on well-marked, fairly popular routes and finishing both the Podiensis and Olvidado in their entirety,

First the good news. You already know this, since you’ve walked it, but for others — With regard to ”well-marked,“ the Invierno is probably the best-marked route of any I have walked. Millions of euros have been spent on mojones and other markings. It may become “fairly popular” in the future, and I do think that the numbers are starting to rise, but on my last Invierno in 2019 I met one peregrino in the Rodeiro pensión Carpinteiras, and that was it. Did you have a different experience? There are no remote stretches, except for maybe the walk up to Monte Faro on a weekday, but you are always close to a road. I can think of no stretch of this route that takes you more than a km or two from “civilization.” The Invierno is ripe for “massification,” IMO because it is not strenuous or remote, has beautiful scenery, an increasing number of albergues, and can be done in stages under 25 km. You don’t need an ounce of “intrepidness” to walk the Invierno, just a good dose of self-reliance and love of walking alone. The forum guide is really all you need to have a successful Invierno walk.

But I have never heard anyone refer to the Olvidado with either of those descriptions. The marking is still rough in places. If you read a few of the older threads, you will get lots of examples of that. A few that come to mind — on the way out of Velilla del Río Carrión, into Buiza, out of Pola de Gordón, into Cistierna. IMO, a GPS is essential. There are marking efforts underway, but standardization and universal buy-in from all the governments, villages, and people along the way takes time. I think there is a trickle of peregrinos, but there are six or seven stages I would describe as remote, at least by camino standards. No villages, no people, no pilgrims, for kms. No vehicle access. It is true, though, that for a couple of those stages you can take an alternative on-the-road option. These are not technical mountain climbing stages, just some pretty hefty ascents and descents, but they are remote. I have never met another peregrino on the Olvidado. The closest I’ve gotten is to hear that someone is a day or two ahead of me. Some of the most spectacular scenery of any camino, to be sure, and I know you have lots of mountain experience, AG, but you shouldn’t think that you are likely to see others as you walk.

I love the Olvidado and I am not trying to discourage anyone from walking it, but I do think preparation and having your eyes open are important.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Albertagirl]

First the good news. You already know this, since you’ve walked it, but for others — With regard to ”well-marked,“ the Invierno is probably the best-marked route of any I have walked. Millions of euros have been spent on mojones and other markings. It may become “fairly popular” in the future, and I do think that the numbers are starting to rise, but on my last Invierno in 2019 I met one peregrino in the Rodeiro pensión Carpinteiras, and that was it. Did you have a different experience? There are no remote stretches, except for maybe the walk up to Monte Faro on a weekday, but you are always close to a road. I can think of no stretch of this route that takes you more than a km or two from “civilization.” The Invierno is ripe for “massification,” IMO because it is not strenuous or remote, has beautiful scenery, an increasing number of albergues, and can be done in stages under 25 km. You don’t need an ounce of “intrepidness” to walk the Invierno, just a good dose of self-reliance and love of walking alone. The forum guide is really all you need to have a successful Invierno walk.

But I have never heard anyone refer to the Olvidado with either of those descriptions. The marking is still rough in places. If you read a few of the older threads, you will get lots of examples of that. A few that come to mind — on the way out of Velilla del Río Carrión, into Buiza, out of Pola de Gordón, into Cistierna. IMO, a GPS is essential. There are marking efforts underway, but standardization and universal buy-in from all the governments, villages, and people along the way takes time. I think there is a trickle of peregrinos, but there are six or seven stages I would describe as remote, at least by camino standards. No villages, no people, no pilgrims, for kms. No vehicle access. It is true, though, that for a couple of those stages you can take an alternative on-the-road option. These are not technical mountain climbing stages, just some pretty hefty ascents and descents, but they are remote. I have never met another peregrino on the Olvidado. The closest I’ve gotten is to hear that someone is a day or two ahead of me. Some of the most spectacular scenery of any camino, to be sure, and I know you have lots of mountain experience, AG, but you shouldn’t think that you are likely to see others as you walk.

I love the Olvidado and I am not trying to discourage anyone from walking it, but I do think preparation and having your eyes open are important.

Buen camino, Laurie

Laurie,
This will be my third attempt at planning a walk on the Olvidado. For the first, I took all my information from your thread describing the route and your walk on it. It did not take me long to decide that I could not walk as far or as fast in a day, and there were not enough accommodations available on the route for my ability to consistently walk those distances every day. My second attempt was a response to the appearance of the English language version of the new guide for the route. I was excited by that and decided that the route might now be walkable for me. I started reading it and also attempted to photocopy the new route guide. I say "attempted" because I had not yet managed to copy the guide before my printer died: too many copies at a time for a poor quality printer. In both cases, I went on to walk another route, which I also had in mind. But the Olvidado has remained in the back of my mind as a route which I want to walk. I am not concerned about meeting other walkers along the route. I met a few on the Invierno, and was content whether I met other pilgrims or not: ditto for the Levante. I have read about development on the Olvidado and can see that it depends largely on the involvement of persons who have worked hard on marking and improving the route over the last few years. I expect that I shall choose to walk road routes, where they are shorter and easier to find. My boots/feet work well enough on roads and I have no interest in getting lost on new, possibly poorly marked routes. Beyond that, I have a great deal of reading and planning to do before I can be confident that I am ready to walk the Olvidado. I have spent most of my planning time working on the route from Le Puy, where I shall begin this autumn's walk. Thank you for your comments, and I look forward to further remarks on this route. Mary Louise

 

[Albertagirl]

The marking is still rough in places. If you read a few of the older threads, you will get lots of examples of that. A few that come to mind — on the way out of Velilla del Río Carrión, into Buiza, out of Pola de Gordón, into Cistierna. IMO, a GPS is essential.

I have spent a little time (so far) looking at the route for the Olvidado. There is a track on maps.me from Bilbao to Cacabelos. It shows a fair amount of detours along the way, but I would expect that my GPS arrow would show me my current location and I would try to remain on the track, unless there were a good reason to follow a side-route. With the track, the GPS on my phone, and my Guide to the Camino Olvidado, I should be able to find my way to Cacabelos, back on the Frances to Ponferrada and then the Invierno to Santiago. I have not yet read the guide, by Jose Antonio Cunarro, thoroughly and know that changes have been made. I shall keep on looking. I prefer to avoid daily walks over 30km. so that may be a problem. But I love mountains. I am trying to get in shape to walk them.

I have just found the Olvidado on Gronze, in its usual format. It may be useful for following this route.