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It is not true. The trail is a mix. Most of the roads next to the path are lightly traveled.Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you
Hi, as Falcon said. Wish you a Buen Camino, Peter.Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you
Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you
That is the alternate route. The standard route covers that distance on the crest of the hills.The first bit to Trabelo is beside a highway, but there is a concrete safety barrier
There is old Roman road under many of those paved roads! First animals, then Romans, then horses, then cars. In many places the yellow arrows take you off the parallel path a bit further away from the road; sometimes land ownership gets in the way of such diversions. It is not realistic to expect any pilgrimage of such length that goes through cities to be a walk in the forest (especially when there is no forest as around Leon). Tendonitis can affect one's perception of the surroundings.I have walked into and out of all the big cities, and I have taken transportation into and out of all the big cities. The beauty around me is more a matter of my attitude than the visuals around me. For example, leaving Leon one can get a cafe con leche at regular intervals. Leaving Belorado in the trees, not so much...
I reiterate my recommendation that a pilgrim skip parts as a response to what he needs that day, not by a plan. I was walking into Leon one Holy Week, and the parades were assembling for the processions in capirotes. What a shame it would have been to have been on a bus!
This is a good post. I am about to buy my shoes but now I am rethinking. I will be (God willing) travelling in late spring and summer or in late summer and fall so I am thinking that the boots thing is definitely out..but so are, perhaps the hiking shoes? Anyone else have anything to add to this ...maybe there is a thread about shoes...gonna go take a look...Falcon,
I am an old school backpacker. I too was worried about the road walking. The Camino is not wilderness. But it really is wonderful, and I'm so glad I strayed outside my normal paths to experience it.
As stated above, most of the road walking is on quite roads, and I would say that a majority of the walking is actually on gravel roads. Some of it was even on old Roman roads (rough walking, but in pretty good shape given that it is 2000 years old). Dirt paths are rare. This makes a difference for footwear. I would have two pairs: hiking sandals (I had Keens) for the gravel roads and occasional dirt paths, and running shoes designed for running on concrete and asphalt (the harder surfaces just destroyed by feet. Hiking boots were too hot for a summer Camino.
I bussed into Leon (from Mules) to avoid the walk on that highway so I cannot compare, but the walk after Villafrance de Bierzo (sic?) was I thought particularly bad. The first bit to Trabelo is beside a highway, but there is a concrete safety barrier, so it is not unsafe, just hot, noisy, and unpleasant. There is a much nicer high route, but very few pilgrims took it the day we were there (just my wife and I were on the high route that day; if you go, take extra water). Then, around Trabelo, the barrier disappears and big trucks whiz by a couple of meters from you. I found that frighteningly dangerous and that section from Trabelo to Las Herrerrias (sic?) again for love or money. Instead I'd take a taxi.
So there are some bad parts and it is not the Appalachian Trial or the Pacific Crest Trail. But it is well worth seeing, for the community of walkers (your "Camino Family") if for nothing else. The diversity of people walking is truly special, and you begin to appreciate how old the Camino, and just how many feet have trod it across the ages.
Buen Camino,
Jo Jo
Buen Camino, Elaine! I begin my first Camino on May 1 as well. Perhaps our paths will cross.Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you
This is a good post. I am about to buy my shoes but now I am rethinking. I will be (God willing) travelling in late spring and summer or in late summer and fall so I am thinking that the boots thing is definitely out..but so are, perhaps the hiking shoes? Anyone else have anything to add to this ...maybe there is a thread about shoes...gonna go take a look...
ha....yeah, there's a few of those on hereThis is a good post. I am about to buy my shoes but now I am rethinking. I will be (God willing) travelling in late spring and summer or in late summer and fall so I am thinking that the boots thing is definitely out..but so are, perhaps the hiking shoes? Anyone else have anything to add to this ...maybe there is a thread about shoes...gonna go take a look...
Hi, I am walking the Camino Frances for the first time starting May 1 - i have read that one mainly walks along the side of roads with regular traffic. Is this really true? It is not what i had assumed (or hoped for) and if this is true i need to think about a different route i guess.
thank you
The camino path is usually away from major roads but thats not the case near the major cities. Entering and leaving Leon is the worst section for proximity to traffic.
Falcon,
As stated above, most of the road walking is on quite roads, and I would say that a majority of the walking is actually on gravel roads. Dirt paths are rare.
This makes a difference for footwear.
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