Patrick1755
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- May 2017
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As you walk to O'Cebreiro you will come across signs for taking a horse up the mountain. On the other hand, if you want to do mountains you can take an alternate trail to Trabadelo from Villafranca that gets you off the highway, the Ruta Pradela. It is steep and takes you longer but it has good views and cames you off a stretch of highway. Take plenty of water though as there is none along it and you will need more with the climb.If the climb, or horse ride
Villafranca del Bierzo is where I left off last fall. An Irish friend of mine and I will be flying into Santiago and taking a train or bus to the Ponferrada in May 2017. That will give us an extra day before we head up the mountain into O'Cebreiro. For what its worth and from what I understand it's not any tougher that if you were doing the first leg from St. Jean to Roncevalles.
There is a profile map of the French Way at http://www.wikicamino.org/wen/images/c/c5/Wikicamino_frances.pngI'd call the hike up to O'Cebreiro and past La Faba and Laguna de Castilla much steeper than the walk over the Pyrenees.
Hello Daniel, Wife and I will be leaving Villafranca Del Bierza May 24 (reservation there for May 23rd). perhaps we will see you. EdVillafranca del Bierzo is where I left off last fall. An Irish friend of mine and I will be flying into Santiago and taking a train or bus to the Ponferrada in May 2017. That will give us an extra day before we head up the mountain into O'Cebreiro. For what its worth and from what I understand it's not any tougher that if you were doing the first leg from St. Jean to Roncevalles.
To avoid the steep climb to O Cebreiro you might consider
walking the bike route. From Ruitelan follow the CV 125/1 to Laguna de Castilla . Leaving Laguna after a welcome coffee at the bar/albergue there is a marked junction with the bike and walking paths. Continue on the left for the walking path or straight to follow the bike route. Both arrive at O Cebreiro.
We will be walking May 2-14th so will miss you all. Buen Camino to you both!Hello Daniel, Wife and I will be leaving Villafranca Del Bierza May 24 (reservation there for May 23rd). perhaps we will see you. Ed
Villafranca is a beautiful town. You don't have to go all the way to O'Cebreiro on the first day (I agree with the previous comment, that would be difficult). I would suggest a first stage to Ruitelan and a second day to Fonfria. Both towns have wonderful albergues and both days would be about 13 miles.
I don't recall seeing a sporting goods store, but it's a fairly good size town so I'm sure one of the shops has poles you can purchase. I found a random shop that had poles along the Camino when I least expected it. They were 9 euros a pole, far less than the $99 REI poles from the US.Thanks for these helpful suggestions. My friend and I will also be starting in Villafranca in May. Can someone tell me if there is a sporting goods store in Villafranca where we can buy hiking poles. I suspect there is, but want to be sure. We don't want to risk delaying our start due to lost luggage, so we plan to carry our packs onto the plane from USA and would not be allowed to include our poles. Thanks in advance.
I don't think there is. You may want to try Madrid, Leon, Astorga or Ponferrada on the way. Leon is big and may likely have a shop. Astorga does have a sporting goods store good for pilgrims but I don't recall seeing poles there. Maybe from the international departure terminal at Madrid you can pickup up some poles for free that were confiscated.Can someone tell me if there is a sporting goods store in Villafranca where we can buy hiking poles. I suspect there is, but want to be sure.
I don't recall seeing a sporting goods store, but it's a fairly good size town so I'm sure one of the shops has poles you can purchase. I found a random shop that had poles along the Camino when I least expected it. They were 9 euros a pole, far less than the $99 REI poles from the US.
I am doing same in 3 days. Flight into Madrid early in the morning, rent a car and drive to Ponferrada (@ 4 hours) taxi or bus to Villafranca del Bierzo (@ half hour) then walk until trobadelo.Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to start the Camino at Villafranca. My father and I have around 8-10 days to walk the Camino. We were also thinking about taking a bus to Muxia after we get to Santiago de Compostella. This will be are first time walking the Camino so we were having difficulty figuring out where to start. Is Villafranca easy to get to from Madrid?
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you
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