Starting end march/april

[ria]

Hi,
I booked a flight to Madrid for the 28th of March and will travel by bus to Granada to start the Mozarabe from there to Merida. Thanks to the wonderful posts of Bjorgts and Wombat/Kevin I know already a bit what to expect. But, now i've booked the trip I started worrying a bit.
One of my main worries is the first 3 days, because i read the waymarking is not that good. I am taking a german Conrad Stein book with descriptions of the route and some info I found on the internet. Do you - experienced mozarabe pilgrims - think that will be sufficient? Or will I need maps too? Do people in the area know about the camino and will they know directions?
Did anyone of you walk in April? Because another thing that keeps my head busy is what the weather will be like. Do I need a lot of warm stuff in April? I walked the Plata in September and the Levante in July, so I know all about high temperatures in the South, but not about more chilly weather. I am quite an obsessed ultra light backpacker, so I don't want to carry a lot extra that is not necessary, but also don't want to be cold. Will a fleece jacket combined with a thin rainjacket be sufficient together with a long sleeved shirt? Or shall I bring my down jacket?
And then: loneliness. I experienced that on the Levante last year, and I know I can handle that. In fact I prefer to walk alone. But: it would be nice to see another peregrino every now & then before Merida. Does anyone know how many there are on average in April?
Next thing: dogs. I start worrying about dogs every new camino. Did you see a lot of them on the way?
And: good suggestions for a good&cheap place to stay in Granada? I might want to stay there for 2 days.
Any other dangers/inconveniences I should start worrying about?
Despite all of this: I am also looking forward to returning to beautiful cheerful Spain again...
ria

 

[mmm042]

Hi Ria.

I haven't walked the Mozarabe (yet!), but have done the VDLP. Here are some comments I can make.

* I've walked in early March starting in Merida and heading north, to a cooler area, so you should be fine on the more southerly Mozarabe with a fleece jacket and rain jacket. A down jacket is definitely not needed. (Of course there could always be a freak cold spell, but I was fine with lighter wear in early March.)

* I always worry a bit about dogs, too. Another pilgrim recommended a "dog dazer" found here: http://www.dogdazer.co.uk/. I might try it the next time I go.

Hope you have a great trip!

Melanie

 

[bjorgts]

I will try to give some answers. We walked in April 2010 and October 2011. We have been walking different caminos since 2003 - always in April. What I have learned about that month in Spain is that you can get really all sorts of weather, from frozen earth and snow in the ear (not only up north) to 30gC. So you do not know what the weather will be like. We walked Granada - Cordoba 09.04-16.04, and were lucky; nice and sunny weather until the last day. But we saw a lot of bad marks from the flooding rain that had been before we arrived, and the last day on our way into Cordoba with rain and wind, was cold. The temperature can be low during the night and in the morning and quite high in the middle of the day.
This said, I would say that you do not need your down jacket. If the weather is really cold, buy one more layer instead. You will walk through many small towns where you can bye most of what you need.
Do not worry about the way marking. The problem with marking is especially on one point between Moclin and Alcala la Real. In your Conrad Stein book you find this on page 52. If you go to there internet address, you can find updates from people who have walked, and there you will find accurate descriptions of the point where you leave the main road (N 432). If you are worried about getting lost here, just stay on N 432 until you meet the camino after some kilometres.
The Conrad Stein guide is good. With some more information you will manage. We had the guide and some Spanish information. We managed well without maps.
Loneliness: When we walked last October, we did not see one single walker, but walking in April, I think you will meet other walkers. As you see we walked later in April and did not meet many, but there were some almost every night. When we walked in October now, people were eager to tell us that there were many walkers now (many from their point of view!), and that most of the walkers are there in spring. This is parallel to the situation on Via de la Plata, so I think you will meet others.
Yes, there are dogs, but we had no bad experiences. As you can se in the guide, the author seems to be a bit afraid of dogs, and one of his (good) advice is to keep away from the dogs that look after sheep, and not come between the dog and his sheep.
Have a nice walk!
Bjorg

 

[solong]

Dear Ria:
I walked out of Granada Mar 13 2010. I did not have the benefit of Conrad Stein's guide. I used Alison Raju's pilgrim guide. I had difficulty finding way marks before I reached Baena . That might be because I had not developed proper trail finding skills. I think Spring 2010 may have been unusually wet because I could not ford some streams & had to backtrack to a roadway on 2 or 3 occasions. I had a Michelin map of Andalucia that I found useful. Later, in Salamnca, a lady from Alice Springs, Australia reminded me that there is a difference between being off track and lost. Spanish people were always very helpful. So many people to thank when I reached Santiago! On several mornings there was ground frost but it warmed up later in the day. I found 3 layers, as you described, adequate. I did not meet other pilgrims until I reached Companario. I did not have any problem with dogs. " talk softly and carry a big stick." I stayed at the Hotel Nevada in Granada and found it OK but can't remember the cost. Buen Camino, Solong

 

[ria]

Thanks for your answers, especially the one about the way marking of Bjorgts. I won't take my down jacket, might want to have that dog dazer (found it already in the netherlands, but still doubting...) and will stop worrying. And yes, being off track is different from being lost. I experienced both last year, and somehow always something happens that leads you back.
ria

 

[Perigrinator]

Hi Ria

Well you might meet me. I am also traveling from the end of March. I live in Orgiva which is two or three days walk south of Granada and the weather this year has been rather dry and is very pleasant at the moment so from a non agricultural point of view let's hope that it remains so for April. Thank you for posting your queries, the replies have been very helpful.

In fact if I can add to the questions as accommodation seems to be a bit of a problem. As I see it if one doesn't lose one's way Moclin should be about 32 kms from Granada and there is accommodation there. Alcahala La Real is 24 kms from Moclin and there seems to be a reasonably high chance of losing one's way judging from the posts. Then one would really like to find somewhere to stay between Alcaudete and Baena and between Castro del Rio and Cordoba. They built these places in the wrong locations. It looks however that one will have to do a couple of shorter days and a longer trek into Cordoba. Any other thoughts.

Perigrinator

 

[Alexandra]

Hi Peregrinator,

You expressed concern re the 40kms from Castro del Rio to Cordoba. If you go to the post from Wombat " Comino Mozarabe Sept --Oct 2011, you will see how to go via Santa Cruz, and thus walk 2 days to Cordoba. Maybe you have the energy to do it in one hit !! I will be walking in September and I will follow Wombat's trail.

Enjoy your Camino.

Sandra.

 

[ria]

Dear Perigrinator,

Nice to know that there is at least one other pilgrim on the road in that period. Are you walking from Orgiva? I spent a nice week in Orgiva a few years ago, on an olive farm. Very nice area.
And yes, let's hope that the weather will be nice from a non-agricultural point of view. Although the el tiempo website predicts clouds and rain for then. But maybe they can't be that accurate so far in advance.
Although I usually don't plan my etappes beforehand i saw this time that it is not that easy to just go: a 1st day of 17 km is nice, but a 2nd of 37 with a steep climb in it is not too attractive...
How do i recognise you? I am the woman you see walking very fast, but who takes many, many breaks, especially if there is coffee around somewhere...

ria

 

[Perigrinator]

Hi Ria

You can't miss me. I'm the other pilgrim.

Thanks Sandra, that's a good suggestion. I'll see how my aging body is managing and may cut down the Cordoba stretch.

Yes I plan to walk from Orgiva. I can't find an agreeable route so will probably end up slogging it out along the road to Bezner and the old Granada road in. It is too early to go over the mountains at Capileira. There is a route from Orgiva over the foothills to Lanjarron but it is a tough slog up and down and there is also a very beautiful (in fact I have found two) route from Lanjarron to Lecrin but again both of them require some serious ascent and descent. I am told that one can also continue on up to drop down into Niguelas but when I tried it last year in March it was still snowed in completely. If anyone has ideas about this stretch I would very much welcome them. You know, a horse and carriage or something along those lines. The Orgiva to Bezner road is particularly unpleasant as it is much travelled by drivers with a mission no to mention tour buses and water trucks and has little to no curb in places.

Thanks all. Buen andando.

Perigrinator

 

[Perigrinator]

I am in Hinojosa del Duque on the Camino Mozarabe and have so far managed to follow the route with the help of Alison Raju's book, sporadic waymarks and considerable divine intervention, except for what should have been a short walk from Cordova to Cerro Muriano. Since Ms Raju's book there has been a fair amount of new way marking. For instance there are way marks through Cordova now. However on the way out after passing the back of the bus depot and crossing the major road to get onto the old highway Ms Raju drops you down over the old bridge and then continues round and under the new highway before veering left and some complicated maneuvering to get round a new urbanization. However just after the bridge and before going under the new highway there is a gravel road veering left that is clearly way marked with the Camino yellow arrows. These are reinforced further up with more yellow arrows. I won't go into my own miserable travelogue that took me all day to get to Cerro Muriano the most constructive part of which sharing CO3408 with half of Cordova on the Thursday of Semana Santa but I can tell you that the yellow arrows seem to disappear at the next decision point. I am wondering if anyone else has come across this. Of course if I had stuck with Ms Raju's excellent notes I might have had a better day. Are these clear blazes the work of some prankster or is there another route that I missed?

 

[hel&scott]

Ah getting lost due to road layout changes, takes me back, very frustrating! Good to see you making progress regardless. We have looked at this route ourselves several times as Granada is such a lovely place... Will keep an eye on your progress.