Route marking - Sax to Caudete / Caudete to Montealegre del Castillo

[Duncan Idaho]

Hello All,

Firstly to Bad Pilgrim and Alan and some of the others, thank you so much for posting information on the Sureste.

I have a week or so spare in mid-Sep so have booked a flight to Alicante to walk from there to Albacete. Looking at the routes there is choice of route from Sax to either Caudete or Yecla. I see Yecla's accommodation is limited.

Alan - (or anyone) what was the state of the route marking in general and to Caudete and then on to Montealegre del Castillo in particular ?

I prefer the odd yellow arrow here and there but I dont mind making it up as I go along if I have too.

Duncan

 

[CliffBarnes]

Hello All,

Firstly to Bad Pilgrim and Alan and some of the others, thank you so much for posting information on the Sureste.

I have a week or so spare in mid-Sep so have booked a flight to Alicante to walk from there to Albacete. Looking at the routes there is choice of route from Saz to either Caudete or Yecla. I see Yecla's accommodation is limited.

Alan - (or anyone) what was the state of the route marking in general and to Caudete and then on to Montealegre del Castillo in particular ?

I prefer the odd yellow arrow here and there but I dont mind making it up as I go along if I have too.

Duncan

I walked this way last January. The marking is very good overall. The only place that you had to keep your eyes peeled was when leaving Elda, but just follow directions to the hospital and you'll be fine.
From Sax to Villena is straightforward . The Camino splits here. If you choose to go to Caudete , walk out past the bullring , cross a roundabout and turn left about one km at a couple of commercial units.
Caudete is a nice town and the Albergue is cool.
I'd no problems with the markings to Montealegre . The hospitalario will give you directions on how to leave town in the morning. There can be long stretches without an arrow at times but keep walking and they show up when you need them.

 

[alansykes]

Hello All,


Alan - (or anyone) what was the state of the route marking in general and to Caudete and then on to Montealegre del Castillo in particular ?

I prefer the odd yellow arrow here and there but I dont mind making it up as I go along if I have too.

Duncan

As Cliffbarnes says, the signage to is pretty good if, unlike me, you don't get lost in Elda - where the person in the turismo flatly denied that the town was on a camino - "¿camino de Santiago acquí? - no". I headed on to Almansa after Caudete, so don't know about the route through Murcia. Almansa to Albacete was a great section.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Thanks chaps, can't wait togo. Roll on September.

Duncan

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hello All,

Firstly to Bad Pilgrim and Alan and some of the others, thank you so much for posting information on the Sureste.

I have a week or so spare in mid-Sep so have booked a flight to Alicante to walk from there to Albacete. Looking at the routes there is choice of route from Saz to either Caudete or Yecla. I see Yecla's accommodation is limited.

Alan - (or anyone) what was the state of the route marking in general and to Caudete and then on to Montealegre del Castillo in particular ?

I prefer the odd yellow arrow here and there but I dont mind making it up as I go along if I have too.

Duncan

Hi Duncan,

I agree with Alan that leaving Elda can be tricky: there was a spot, that I think I mentioned in my journal, where I had absolutely no idea where to go. But as Alan said: look/ask for the hospital and you'll be alright. But I even had problems when entering Elda. It's a bit tricky explaining it but just take it easy once you're there...

I wouldn't say that accomodation is limitied in Yecla, it's just that there are hotels and not albergues. It's a large town so I wonder if there are some hostels/pensiones as well. I haven't looked it up. And leaving Yecla was veeery strange as I passed many intersections without arrows. Although I didn't get lost, thanks to my compass so there wasn't any problem. But as I hear that the albergue in Caudete is good, I suppose most pilgrims will skip Yecla and go through Caudete instead and I totally understand that.

Do you plan on staying in Orito the 1st day? I hear on the Forum that people push on to Novelda where another good albergue awaits, but I just liked Orito very much and I wouldn't change it for anything...

Just some thoughts...

Ciao

/Bad Pilgrim

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Hi BP

Well this is the plan - I have 6 days walking so will push it a bit. Have got the backpack down to about 5kg which means I can carry 3-4 litres water comfortably if needed.
Haven't decided whether it will be Yecla or Caudete. I think the latter.

1 Alicante to Novelda 31.4
2 Novelda to Sax 20.0
3 Sax to Caudete 35.7
4 Caudete to Montealegre del Castillo 29.2
5 Montealegre del Castillo to Pétrola 23.5
6 Pétrola to Albacete 35.8

I will push on to Novelda on the first day, I have a hotel booked via booking.com but I will confirm again with Paco that albergue is open a few days before and cancel the hotel. That all being said if the going is too tough or there is somewhere I like the plan may change.

Temps look like high 20s / low 30s so early starts in order. Bought a compass watch at the start of year for the Norte (although did need it that much - ocean on the right and all that!).

Duncan

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hi BP

Well this is the plan - I have 6 days walking so will push it a bit. Have got the backpack down to about 5kg which means I can carry 3-4 litres water comfortably if needed.
Haven't decided whether it will be Yecla or Caudete. I think the latter.

1 Alicante to Novelda 31.4
2 Novelda to Sax 20.0
3 Sax to Caudete 35.7
4 Caudete to Montealegre del Castillo 29.2
5 Montealegre del Castillo to Pétrola 23.5
6 Pétrola to Albacete 35.8

I will push on to Novelda on the first day, I have a hotel booked via booking.com but I will confirm again with Paco that albergue is open a few days before and cancel the hotel. That all being said if the going is too tough or there is somewhere I like the plan may change.

Temps look like high 20s / low 30s so early starts in order. Bought a compass watch at the start of year for the Norte (although did need it that much - ocean on the right and all that!).

Duncan

Hi,

Okay, just take notice: Pétrola has got no shower facilities. But in September the piscina may still be open - lucky you!

I started in late June so I think you're off for a better experience in mid-September. I think days with excessive heat will be limited.

Compass is a good thing, I would never leave without one! Have you ordered the guidebook or will you rely on info on the web?

Will you go straight to Albacete or pass through Chinchilla?

I'm really jealous, this is one of my favourite routes!

See ya

Bad Pilgrim

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Well i think i will just make do so with the info on the internet, not sure about Chinchilla. If i hve time I will try nd pick up a guide book in Alicante but I arrive at 11.00pm and want leave early...

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Well i think i will just make do so with the info on the internet, not sure about Chinchilla. If i hve time I will try nd pick up a guide book in Alicante but I arrive at 11.00pm and want leave early...

Okay,

I liked the guidebook though. I ordered it from Alicante before I went. It had all the info I needed. Of course, internet is less heavy.

Have you found a nice place to stay in Alicante? I did som "promotion" for Pensión Versailles earlier, but I'd like to know if there are alternatives, if I was to do this again (I liked Versailles very much but it was a bit expensive).

Take care

BP