- Time of past OR future Camino
- 202?
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Thanks for the update. I set off next week. MelStarted my Camino from Tres Cantos this morning. If you’re using the Buen Camino app to navigate out of Tres Cantos, the map did something weird after crossing the highway. But the yellow arrows will steer you right.
Be aware if you pick up your credential at the Church of Santiago and John the Baptist, you need your passport. They let me get mine without, but it was more complicated.
Glad I walked only as far as Colmenar today, still felt some jet lag. Met up with @walkingman06, but he was headed for Manzanares. Gran Hotel Chiscon has a 40€ pilgrim rate.
Manzanares tomorrow.
Thanks, Laurie! This is good to know. Looking forward to it! We had a good Menu del Dia at lunchtime today at Bar la Muralla here in Coca where we picked up the key to the albergue. And the castle is really impressive!Benita, the albergue in Alcazaren is very nice! Bar Real was closed today, but you can pick up the key at Bar Hogar or at the city office on the square. And the food at Bar Hogar is phenomenal— lovely hosts will treat you right.
Hi LaurieBenita, the albergue in Alcazaren is very nice! Bar Real was closed today, but you can pick up the key at Bar Hogar or at the city office on the square. And the food at Bar Hogar is phenomenal— lovely hosts will treat you right.
Most probably yes! But one of our group will also stop at Cigunuelas tomorrow. We will press on to Peñaflor de Hornija however. Hope to meet you along the way!Benita, I believe you’ll pass me tomorrow along the way! Enjoy your walk.
Short day to Nava, staying at Hotel Frey Sebastian. It’s ok, but terrible food…
I’ll be at the Villeguillo albergue tomorrow. I verified the keys will be at the bar. Google had them closed Tuesdays, but the mayor said it’s Mondays they’re closed. Relief!
Hi LaurieWell done, Benita! Will you continue on to Santiago?
I’m in the Villalon albergue today, one of the best equipped and cleanest albergues I can remember anywhere (8€ plus donativo breakfast). Paco and Pilar, the hospitaleros here, open at 3:00. Lunch available in town.
Did you stay at Hospedium Vittoria Colonna? I’m booked there in September.Medina de Rioseco: After reading comments about the albergue on Gronze, I opted for a hotel. Lots of choices, restaurants, shops and bars.
Next day’s walk along the Canal de Castilla is lovely. Took my time and I’m in the small albergue in the church in Tamariz. It’s humble but provides everything you need, with warm hospitality from Ivan and Alex. Ivan will open the bar for pilgrims but is trying to stay closed during the week until maybe July (new baby). Gronze phone listing is correct, Ivan responds to WhatsApp messages.
Yes, it was fine. Good location as @BruceNZ says. Cafe and resto closed Monday. They charged me only 4€ for a good breakfast. Best of all, there’s an auto washateria just up the street!Did you stay at Hospedium Vittoria Colonna? I’m booked there in September.
Muchas Gracias, peregrina!So I arrived in Sahagun yesterday and received my completion certificate at the Santuario de La Virgen Peregrina on the way into town. Stayed at Hostal San Juan, nice place with breakfast included. Trained to Leon today for two nights before I return to Madrid and home.
Although I’m sure it will take me some time to process this Camino, I can say that I’m very happy I chose to walk the Madrid. I’m not sure it’s for newbie pilgrims, due to the relative lack of infrastructure (compared to the Frances or Portuguese, for example). If you don’t have basic Spanish to contact albergues and so on, you might find yourself stuck for a place to stay (like Añe). You might have to spend more for accommodations where there’s no Albergue; or you might spend the night in a more Spartan Albergue than you’d like.
But you can tailor stages on the Madrid to walk 20-25k/day, or 12-20 like I did. Spending time in Madrid getting over your jetlag, and then walking out of the city, is fantastic. The walk to and over the Guadarramas — Roman road and all — and spending time visiting Segovia are special memories. You might not get your cafe con leche just when you want it, but you get to spend some time in small bars and cafes with local folks and get a glimpse of life in the small pueblos. You can do some online research to learn the stories of the towns you’re passing through (tiny Tamariz has quite a history), and the sweep of Spanish (human) history: the Celts, the Visigoths, the Inquisition, Reconquista…
If you find the Meseta boring, and if you don’t like pine trees, this isn’t the Camino for you. If you want a lot of social interaction with other pilgrims, you won’t find it on the Madrid. If you’re looking for solitude, contemplation or a change in perspective, think about the Madrid. Tour the church in Wamba, and watch for the bustards around Santervas. Enough … sigh.
Buen Camino, peregrinos!
Somehow I missed a lot of this thread! In April I saw just one other person walking and saw 3 people cycling. And one pilgrim passed me walking the other direction.I’ve seen 12 pilgrims in 14 days. Five were before Fuenfria; four were today! I suspect that’s just how the Madrid is.
Medina de Rioseco: After reading comments about the albergue on Gronze, I opted for a hotel. Lots of choices, restaurants, shops and bars.
We slept in the albergue in Medina de Rioseco. The hospitalera was very nice and the albergue was nice and clean. The only things that would have improved it would have been wifi and more toilet paper. Certainly there have been worse on our Camino de Madrid.I guess this speaks to @DoughnutAZ’s thread about whether we should offer reviews on the forum. The Gronze reviews discouraged me, yet folks who have also been there report good experiences. Likewise, one poster cautioned against the albergue in Tamariz, and while I did find it the most humble place I’ve stayed, I was touched by the efforts of Ivan (who has contracted with the town to manage the bar and albergue) to help pilgrims who pass through town.
I will be a bit more careful in the future about making negative comments, especially if I lack personal experience, and even then… Will it be helpful to those who follow, or not?
Is that the one just out of town in the monastery? If so, good that it is open as it has had an on-off history of late. It´s a nice little town. We took the route along the old Canal de Castilla next morning. Very atmospheric. Hope you don´t mind me gatecrashing with a couple of photos.We slept in the albergue in Medina de Rioseco.
That was the place we stayed at Medina de Rioseco. The canal route was really pretty but I'm not sure if the views were worth the mosquitoes.Is that the one just out of town in the monastery? If so, good that it is open as it has had an on-off history of late. It´s a nice little town. We took the route along the old Canal de Castilla next morning. Very atmospheric. Hope you don´t mind me gatecrashing with a couple of photos.
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In a day or two you´ll be at Grajal de Campos. The albergue is in the converted stables of the Renaissance palace above it. If you go to the end of the albergue and up a little flight of stairs, you´ll find a door. If it is unlocked (as it was when we stayed there), you can gain unofficial, out of hours access to the palace above which at 10 o´clock at night is deliciously spooky.
The albergue in Grajal is definitely cool. I stopped there planning to stay. Checked in. Wandered around the village. But then it felt like it would be a long evening there on my own in a huge, kind of dim dormitory. So late afternoon I just packed up and walked to Sahagun, where a fab dinner was waiting! And so many peregrinos!Today we are headed to Santervás. The question is, do I go from there to Sahagún, which isn't a long stage, or make it two really short stages and stay at Grajal de Campos, which comes highly recommended.
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