Religious/Spiritual ceremonies along Leon-SdC

[katie@camino]

Hi all,

After hearing me rave about the Camino, my 71 year-old Catholic parents are taking the plunge! I'm really excited for them. They've not done a lot of long-distance walking (although they do walk about 5km every morning) and don't speak any other languages, so are a bit apprehensive - subsequently, I've decided to support them by joining them (I'm so generous right? ).

We will be walking from Leon to Santiago, starting mid-April, and hopefully arriving in Santiago around 8th May, with the aim of walking about 15km/day. I want them to experience the best of the Camino so I have some queries...

1 - My parents are Catholic - are there any pilgrims' masses or other religious/spiritual ceremonies, (such as those in Granon and Hospital de San Nicholas) between Leon and Santiago?
(We will make sure we stop in Rabanal)

2 - Can you recommend any wonderful albergues that also have a private room option?

3 - Which wonderful albergues offer a communal meal?

Any other advice for a daughter walking with older parents is much appreciated!! Or any advice I can pass on to my parents!

Buen Camino

 

[MickMac]

Hi all,

After hearing me rave about the Camino, my 71 year-old Catholic parents are taking the plunge! I'm really excited for them. They've not done a lot of long-distance walking (although they do walk about 5km every morning) and don't speak any other languages, so are a bit apprehensive - subsequently, I've decided to support them by joining them (I'm so generous right? ).

We will be walking from Leon to Santiago, starting mid-April, and hopefully arriving in Santiago around 8th May, with the aim of walking about 15km/day. I want them to experience the best of the Camino so I have some queries...

1 - My parents are Catholic - are there any pilgrims' masses or other religious/spiritual ceremonies, (such as those in Granon and Hospital de San Nicholas) between Leon and Santiago?
(We will make sure we stop in Rabanal)

2 - Can you recommend any wonderful albergues that also have a private room option?

3 - Which wonderful albergues offer a communal meal?

Any other advice for a daughter walking with older parents is much appreciated!! Or any advice I can pass on to my parents!

Buen Camino

If your are starting from Leon and can afford it try out

Hotel Real Colegiata San Isidoro Leon on Camino.
Directly connected to magnificent chapel and monastery free tour in morning. Converted cells .

 

[Anamiri]

And dont miss the monks chanting at Rabanal

 

[VNwalking]

Yes...absolutely to Rabinal!

Many private albergues have options for single rooms - the one that sticks in the mind on this stretch is Albergue San Antonio de Padua in Villar de Mazariffe. And there are lots of CRs and pensions. Were I walking this way wiht parents, I'd be wanting to check out some CRs: the Stone Boat in Rabinal, and Flores del Camino in Castrillo de Polvazares - both these places are run by wonderful people with huge pilgrim hearts, as demonstrated in this thread.

 

[SabsP]

May I recommend the albergue in Villares de Orbigo from Christine?
There are private rooms. And the donativo dinner is the best meal I had on any Camino.

http://alberguevillaresdeorbigo.es/en/

 

[dfox]

There were Mass for pilgrims at 7:00 pm in most of the "larger" towns I visited last April. There was blessing the pilgrims at the end of the Mass. Some albergues posted Mass information.

Some folks prayed rosary while walking.

Some did Novena to Saint James the Apostle.
https://www.csj.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/StJamesNovena.pdf

 

[nycwalking]

The pilgrims mass in Roncesvalles is a must.

Parochial albergue in Grañon has wonderful communal meal then prayer meeting afterwards.

Take path to Samos. After evening mass ask monks if you can join their private vespers. Nice.

Lastly, attend mass as often as you can. Hospitaleros can direct you about where and when. Find a side-by-side English/Spanish mass to follow along.

Enjoy.

 

[Mark McCarthy]

Mass in Astoria with the Redemptorist was very special.

 

[oursonpolaire]

www.gronze.com, while in castellano, is relatively easy to use. At the bottom of the page for each stage, it will list available accommodations and let you know which albergues have private rooms.
Most village churches along the Camino have a mass at 7 or 8 pm. Usually parishioners arrive about 20-30 minutes earlier to say the rosary together. Villagers always and usually their priests are very happy to welcome pilgrims. The monks at Rabanal also hold vespers each evening in the church opposite their residence.
Walking with any parent takes a lot of patience, but you will find much support from other pilgrims and from villagers as you go along. There are different opinions on shipping packs ahead, and some albergues will not receive them (in which case, they get dropped off at the nearest bar), but I have found the Post Office service (www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/luggage-transfer) to be excellent, and others have found Jacotrans (www.jacotrans.es/en/) very satisfactory. Older skeletons (I have one myself!) can find carrying backpacks a trial.
Good luck! I think your parents will always remember this.

 

[Holly Mitchem]

If you or your parents are on Facebook, there is a FB group called Catholics on Camino pilgrimage. May be a good source for you all. Buen Camino!

 

[JMac56]

You have chosen a wonderful section of the Camino Frances and will hopefully see all the beauty of Spring in this area. Of course a visit to Rabanal del Camino is a must, however I very much enjoy attending Mass, or other Services, wherever possible. Might I suggest that your parents not worry too much about the language issue and just experience the Mass said in Spanish. I'm sure they will be able to follow along with the familiar cues. Then, when you reach SdC they will love the morning English Mass in the Catedral all the more. Buen Camino.

 

[Saint Mike II]

The pilgrims mass in Roncesvalles is a must.

Parochial albergue in Grañon has wonderful communal meal then prayer meeting afterwards.

Take path to Samos. After evening mass ask monks if you can join their private vespers. Nice.

Lastly, attend mass as often as you can. Hospitaleros can direct you about where and when. Find a side-by-side English/Spanish mass to follow along.

Enjoy.

Please read post before commenting. This group are starting in Leon (400 km to the west)!

 

[nycwalking]

Please read post before commenting. This group are starting in Leon (400 km to the west)!

I did.

And, still tangled reply.

 

[Deleted member 39850]

Hi all,

After hearing me rave about the Camino, my 71 year-old Catholic parents are taking the plunge! I'm really excited for them. They've not done a lot of long-distance walking (although they do walk about 5km every morning) and don't speak any other languages, so are a bit apprehensive - subsequently, I've decided to support them by joining them (I'm so generous right? ).

We will be walking from Leon to Santiago, starting mid-April, and hopefully arriving in Santiago around 8th May, with the aim of walking about 15km/day. I want them to experience the best of the Camino so I have some queries...

1 - My parents are Catholic - are there any pilgrims' masses or other religious/spiritual ceremonies, (such as those in Granon and Hospital de San Nicholas) between Leon and Santiago?
(We will make sure we stop in Rabanal)

2 - Can you recommend any wonderful albergues that also have a private room option?

3 - Which wonderful albergues offer a communal meal?

Any other advice for a daughter walking with older parents is much appreciated!! Or any advice I can pass on to my parents!

Buen Camino

Specific answers I can think of:

@arturo garcia has a charming albergue in Hospital de Orbigo that has a separate room aside from the main dormitory that your parents could book.

There is a new albergue at Bercianos that just opened this year and it has private rooms with en-suites as well as larger dorms with bunks. It's really spacious, and clean, and has great facilities.

And there is a very nice albergue in the first town past Sarria -- the village starts with a "B" -- it might be Barbadello, but I'm away from my camino stuff, on the road for 2 weeks so I'm not sure. They have smaller rooms with en suite bathrooms and my husband and I were able to have one of those rooms to ourself in early September. There's a pool there and an excellent restaurant on site.

And although we did not attend because the timing was "off", there is a pilgrim's mass at Lavacolla, before Santiago and that was appealing. Frankly, it's *camino* in a largely Catholic region. I'm pretty sure every town with an active church will have regular masses and opportunities for confession.

Buen Camino

 

[Albertagirl]

Hi all,

After hearing me rave about the Camino, my 71 year-old Catholic parents are taking the plunge! I'm really excited for them. They've not done a lot of long-distance walking (although they do walk about 5km every morning) and don't speak any other languages, so are a bit apprehensive - subsequently, I've decided to support them by joining them (I'm so generous right? ).

We will be walking from Leon to Santiago, starting mid-April, and hopefully arriving in Santiago around 8th May, with the aim of walking about 15km/day. I want them to experience the best of the Camino so I have some queries...

1 - My parents are Catholic - are there any pilgrims' masses or other religious/spiritual ceremonies, (such as those in Granon and Hospital de San Nicholas) between Leon and Santiago?
(We will make sure we stop in Rabanal)

2 - Can you recommend any wonderful albergues that also have a private room option?

3 - Which wonderful albergues offer a communal meal?

Any other advice for a daughter walking with older parents is much appreciated!! Or any advice I can pass on to my parents!

Buen Camino

To begin their camino in Leon, your parents might like to stay at the Hospederia Monastica Pax, Plaza Grano 11, which is the hotel attached to and associated with the Benedictine albergue in Leon. I stayed in the albergue and enjoyed a meal in the Hospederia dining room on my last pilgrimage through Leon. I was also able to attend a feast day mass with the sisters in their chapel, which is open for pilgrims to join their worship. Wherever you choose to stay, remember that Easter Sunday will be on April 21, so if you are beginning your camino in the middle of April bookings will have to be made well in advance. Buen camino.

 

[Saint Mike II]

I did.

And, still tangled reply.

forgiven!!

 

[Daxzentzu]

It’s wonderful that your parents are moved to follow the way

The Camino will provide

 

[katie@camino]

Thankyou @MickMac - unfortunately looks like it's booked out already!

@VNwalking will definitely check those CRs out - i agree, GREAT idea!

@SabineP - have now marked that albergue in my guide, looks wonderful!

Thanks @Mark McCarthy, i didn't go to Mass in Astorga last time, so will check it out

@oursonpolaire "I think your parents will always remember this." This is such a beautiful sentiment, i think so too - it will a very special experience for us all. And yes, my parents are definitely keen to take the load off their older skeletons!

@Holly Mitchem didn't realise this, thankyou, have now joined the group

Thankyou @JMac56 i have only walked in summer so am looking forward to the different springtime vista! And hopefully the weather will be kind - am a little worried about how cold it might be

@Morgan Holmes thanks have marked those albergues and masses in my guide - keen for Arturo's albergue!

@Albertagirl thanks for the heads up re: Easter and booking in early - do a lot of folks time their walk to fit in with Easter? Is this mainly from Sarria onward or does it affevt the whole CF?

Thanks @Daxzentzu - it usually really does, hey!

 

[Albertagirl]

@Albertagirl thanks for the heads up re: Easter and booking in early - do a lot of folks time their walk to fit in with Easter? Is this mainly from Sarria onward or does it affevt the whole CF?

katie@camino
I am passing on this information from other forum members, and from my general knowledge of the importance of Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter) in Spain. Many people take advantage of the holidays at that time to go home to spend time with family, or to take vacations. I don't know specifics about how many go on camino, so my concern was around competition for accommodation with locals on holidays from work. But I have never walked in spring, so you would have to get that information from someone who has done so.

 

[Kathar1na]

@katie@camino, as @Albertagirl indicates, as far as accommodation during the Semana Santa is concerned, there will be a strong demand for rooms in major towns like Burgos and Leon, and it's not because of the number of pilgrims in town but because of the high number of other visitors. Prices will also be higher than usual. You can see from the website of the Hotel Real Colegiata San Isidoro in Leon that they seem to be full during 14-21 April 2019 and prices are already higher for the two days preceding this period.



I'm not familiar with the program for the Semana Santa in Leon but if it's similar to the one in Burgos then I would probably want to arrive before Good Friday (19 April 2019).

Edited to add: The website of the Hospederia Monastica Pax in Leon also shows how prices go up during the Semana Santa: instead of starting at 60-70 €, the price for a room starts at 160 € on the Thu, Fri and Sat before Easter.

 

[JMac56]

Hi Katie,
As is often mentioned on this forum with regard to cooler weather, layering is the key. I suggest you also carry some lightweight gloves. They come in handy early morning, and when walking in freezing rain. Your parents might also find it beneficial to try wearing compression tights under their hiking pants. I find they make a world of difference. Buen Camino.

 

[katie@camino]

May I recommend the albergue in Villares de Orbigo from Christine?
There are private rooms. And the donativo dinner is the best meal I had on any Camino.

http://alberguevillaresdeorbigo.es/en/

I have been in contact with Christine and booked in for my parents and me, thanks for the recommendation

 

[tomishy]

Hi Katie,
As is often mentioned on this forum with regard to cooler weather, layering is the key. I suggest you also carry some lightweight gloves. They come in handy early morning, and when walking in freezing rain. Your parents might also find it beneficial to try wearing compression tights under their hiking pants. I find they make a world of difference. Buen Camino.

hi
I am wondering about compression tights. we are walking April 29 through till june..do you think they help with warmth and leg problems?
cheers
michelle