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Couldn't help but notice the conclusion of your post: "Buen camino a todas", as is AS, and not the generic OS ;0) If you were walking the Primitivo you would be the ideal walking companion for this 40ish, well "rounded", curly and red haired, moving with the velocity and grace of a Geisha (or so I have been told) ;0)So if anyone else is zipping along a path between Gijon and Santiago and between 7th and 23rd April, and encounters an elderly Scot, grey hair, gasping for breath, and moving with the velocity and grace of an arthritic tortoise, it will be me.
Buen Camino a todas
Alex
I seem to recall you said something similar in 2013 and you managed to stay two days ahead more or less from Irun to Ribadasella, meaning I was unable to claim that beer we talked about!if anyone... encounters an elderly Scot, grey hair, gasping for breath, and moving with the velocity and grace of an arthritic tortoise, it will be me.
Hi Alex, I wouldn't describe the paths as isolated before Miraz, but the 25km to Sobrado afterwards is quiet, though mainly on country lanes/roads. The way I did it with the group I was with was:Thanks for the reassurance, Tom,
Can I ask you about the stage(s) around Miraz? Some of the guides appear to state that there are 40 km or so of moderately isolated pathways and very few options for accommodation/rest. Is this in fact the case and does it all make for a tough day on the camino?
Kind regards
Alex
Alex
wow - 1998! It must have been a very different experience compared to now. I imagine it would have been a lot harder then, with far fewer places to stay, patchy way-marking and fewer fellow pilgrims to share the challenges with?
Since a poor start on the VdlP in 2010 (which all turned out well in the end) I've found it easier to enjoy the time before I start. I put that down to having learnt more Spanish words and phrases, having a better idea about what to take and what to leave behind; and, to finding my own rhythm to walking and stopping, gradually discarding old anxieties about the weather and finding places to eat and sleep. Probably at some point things will go seriously awry, but I don't really mind as the camino always seems to iron itself out eventually, in some way or other... famous last words!
cheers, tom
Hi Alex, I wouldn't describe the paths as isolated before Miraz, but the 25km to Sobrado afterwards is quiet, though mainly on country lanes/roads. The way I did it with the group I was with was:
- there was no room in the little albergue in Ribadeo, so we walked 7km up to Vilela which has a decent sized albergue and provides good meals
- next day 28k to Mondonedo passing two albergues around Gondan (the second newer one, about 2km further along) and one in Lourenza. Mondonedo, nice. & modern albergue.
- next day about 34km to Vilalba (up long valley from Mondonedo on the rd, passing what looks like ruins of civil war lookout at the top). .
Thanks for the reassurance, Tom,
Can I ask you about the stage(s) around Miraz? Some of the guides appear to state that there are 40 km or so of moderately isolated pathways and very few options for accommodation/rest. Is this in fact the case and does it all make for a tough day on the camino?
Kind regards
Alex
Hey Alex
thanks for the updates, very interesting and good to hear you've got the measure of it.. I wonder if you took the route over the hills after Soto de Luina? - I've heard that detour is hard but worth it....
Does being herbal make it the healthy alternative? so more is better then...I spent a late afternoon drinking Herbal Orujo
Does being herbal make it the healthy alternative? so more is better then...
Hi Alex - wow, Miraz was quiet, but good that you were able to stay there. I hope you are braced to meet the increased head count of the Frances.
Casi.
The "Right Type" of Pilgrim ?
A concluding thought as I made it to Santiago late yesterday afternoon and I am now having a rest day.
The question is the nature of the pilgrimage and of pilgrims.....I don´t have this figured out clearly in my mind, hence I putting this down on paper.
During the walk from Ribadeo, there was a group of elderly French folk. They used a minibus, drove to a particular spot on the camino, walked for 20 km, then were collected in the bus and taken to a hotel for the night. They did walk every day, they didn´t complete a single stage of the walk, and they made sure to have their credencials stamped every day.
Between Arzua and here, I came across two British folk (pilgrims? tourists?) who had been driven from place to place along the Camino Frances to "see the sights", then had walked in slow stages from Sarria to Santiago. As with the French group, they were met by a bus and whisked off to a suitable hotel each night. Yesterday, they had walked 10 km, from Santa Irene to Lavacolla, where the tour organisers had prepared a barbeque for them.
So the question is: how should I regard these folk? They didn´t have my experience and were not so stupid as to walk an entire camino, stay in albergues, or rely on one´s own wits to get through each day.
But my pilgrimage could equally well be described as being as self-indulgent as the other forms. I could have come to Santiago by plane, I could have stayed in luxury hotels, I could '-I suppose ' have arranged to have my meals prepared for me three times a day. Do I have any right to judge anyone else´s decisions?
As you can guess, I am not feel particularly charitable this morning.
However, I am in Santiago, I have completed what I set out to do back in 2012. I have achieved the task I wanted to achieve. and I do feel clearer and more joyful and blessed for having the time, money, health and support to make this trek.
I think I will try and avoid judging others.......at least for today and at least on this matter.
Alex
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