Sleeping bag and other questions

[BeaC]

Hi there. I am finally leaving for the Camino on April 27th. I had my trip all arranged last year for September 28th but broke and sprained my ankle five days before departure. I am hopefully healed enough to do part of the Camino now.
I am planning on starting from Ponferrado. I have two to three weeks. Don't know how far I will be able to walk per day yet.

To get from Madrid (My plane arrives at 8:15 in the morning) to Ponferrado. I found only a couple of trains which arrive either late at night or at 4:00 in the morning. Are there any other ways to arrive during the day?

I don't want to carry much and already bought me a silk sleeping bag liner. Will I be able to find blankets in the Albergues? I do have a couple of 1KG bags but rather not carry them.

As I am a vegetarian and am planning to fix some of my own meals. Do I need to carry cooking utensils, or are they available in the kitchens? I was going to bring my titanium mug. Would that be enough?

Is smoking allowed in the Albergues? I rather stay in smokefree places (at least in the dorms)as my asthma acts up from it, which is not good for walking.

Thanks for any help you can give me
Bea

 

[renegadepilgrim]

If you get in at 4a, then I guess you could start walking and finish early. The other option would be to get in late and get a pension and get a fresh start the next day.

Take a sleeping bag. I walked last April/May and nearly froze my arse off in some places, not to mention it snowed and rained quite a bit. If you were going in the summer then you could get away with a sleep sack liner.

There are kitchens in many albergues, but once you get into Galicia, they have these amazing kitchens and NOTHING to cook with! If you are serious about cooking your own meals, it might be worth it to bring a titanium cook set, though depending on how strict of a vegetarian you are, there are options at the bars and restaurants. I walked with a couple from NZ that were vegetarians and they did just fine when we went out to eat at night.

Smoking is not allowed in albergues, so you don't have to worry about that. I cannot speak to hotels, etc. Didn't stay in any.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Bus service:
Departure schedules (27/04/2011): Madrid - Ponferrada
station of origin station of destination
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 00:30 05:15 26,42 normal
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 07:30 11:45 43,08 supra+
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 09:30 14:00 26,42 normal
BARAJAS T4 PONFERRADA 09:35 15:45 26,42 normal
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 10:30 15:45 26,42 normal
BARAJAS T4 PONFERRADA 13:45 18:45 35,89 supra economy
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 14:30 18:45 35,89 supra economy
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 15:30 20:15 26,42 normal
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 16:30 20:45 43,08 supra+
BARAJAS T4 PONFERRADA 16:45 22:30 26,42 normal
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 17:30 22:30 26,42 normal
MADR-E.SUR PONFERRADA 21:00 01:15next day 43,08 supra+
BARAJAS T4 PONFERRADA 23:59 05:15next day 26,42 normal

 

[BeaC]

Great, I will take a bus. I was wondering if there were any but didn't know when.
I will already have lost one night coming from the US west coast and was not looking forward to another lost night.
Thanks for #1 reply. I guess I have to take a sleeping bag.

Thanks Bea

 

[Anna-Marie]

Hi Bea,

I'm a vegetarian and ate out intermittently on the Camino. If you're worried about what your meal is cooked in (likely animal fat), eating out is probably not a good idea, but if you're more of a don't-ask vegetarian like me, egg-based meals are pretty widely available, and there's occasionally something like spaghetti without meat or some sort of lentil dish.

There's actually a vegetarian refuge run by Germans just before O Cebreiro, though I didn't stay there. The refuge right before that one, in Ruitelan, where I did stay, had a wonderful vegetarian dinner.

Buen Camino!
Anna-Marie

 

[BeaC]

Thanks Anna-Marie
I do eat eggs and cheese and sometimes fish. I just try to stay away from meat like pork,beef and chicken etc. Probably would get sick, if I ate it now.
I think I will just take a mug and spoon along and eat whatever I can find.

I am really trying to keep my pack as light as possible.
I will try to find those places you mentioned.

I really appreciate your answer.
Thanks Bea

 

[BHfmSanDiego]

The German alburgue just before O Cebreiro is in La Faba, I stayed there, one of my favorite alburugues, though La Faba itself was cold. There is a small church next to the alburgue and the mass is held in the evening. The Padre had a passage read in about 4 or 5 languages, had everyone stand in a circle and embrace each other, but what was most interesting was he asked for some volunteers and he washed their feet. I don't remember the alburgue being vegetarian and there wasn't a group meal that I recall, I pooled a few euros with some fellow pilgrims and we bought items to cook in the small tienda in the village.

The alburgue does supply blankets because it is cold in this region. I carried a fleece sleeping bag liner and got along well with it, but I also walked from May 22 to June 23.

Like renegade mentioned in Galicia the alburgues for some reason don't have kitchen items, but prior to that it was never a problem, though like you a lot of people desire to cook so the kitchen can get a bit crowded at times.

Smoking, though it is not allowed inside the alburgues smoking is very common along the Camino and people (both pilgrims and locals) do smoke outside in the general area. From my understanding Spain recently enacted smoking laws for inside buildings, it would be interesting to see how that is coming along since it is part of the culture.

 

[viajero]

I walked in March 2008. A friend met me in Ponferrada and brought only a silk sleeping bag liner. She had no problems as all of the albergues have blankets. I have read many posts on this site about people being cold in April and May. I"m wondering if albergues put away the blankets after winter ends because in March blankets were always available. We also found albergue kitchens to have enough supplies to cook...again this was March, so there are not as many pilgrims. I wouldn't want to carry cooking equipment. I also recommend the albergue in Ruitelan where we had a wonderful vegetarian dinner. The Manolo restaurant in Santiago also does a nice vegetarian meal (it isn't on the menu but they will make it).

 

[BeaC]

Thanks everyone for replying. I think I will try some Albergues directly to see if there are blankets available in May.

Thanks Bea