LIVE from the Camino The meseta, it's beautiful!

[Urban Trekker]

 

[Waka]

I thought that too last year, although a lot of people jump that section, for me it was a wonderful experience. Enjoy the rest of your journey.

 

[KinkyOne]

I'm so lucky to be able to walk Burgos-Leon stretch this year again between Via de Bayona and Salvador. I just love the Meseta and contemplative feeling it gives me.

Ultreia!

 

[Annette london]

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Yes, you are right, it is beautiful and the photos are wonderful.its our favourite section. The poppies in June turn the fields red and the big daisies lining the roads are magical. The fields of wheat swaying in the distance is the one thing I remember from our first CF (as well as the heat and the thirst and the sore feet that first time)!!! So I wonder why we keep going back?? Silly question!

 

[Castilian]

Most of the meseta isn't crossed by any camino de Santiago what I think is great news for the meseta lovers among you that only know the part(s) crossed by (some of) the camino(s) de Santiago because that means you have yet tons of places to discover in the meseta. Time to make a non-camino trip to discover them?

 

[PeteD]

I'm just back from cycling the Camino in early April and have to agree that the meseta was one of my favourite sections because of the tranquility and the beauty of the plains. Lots of time for contemplation. Missing that already!

 

[C clearly]

Most of the meseta isn't crossed by any camino de Santiago what I think is great news for the meseta lovers among you that only know the part(s) crossed by (some of) the camino(s) de Santiago because that means you have yet tons of places to discover in the meseta. Time to make a non-camino trip to discover them?

Interesting idea. Do you have any particular suggestions, or should I just get out a map and start wandering?

 

[Castilian]

Do you have any particular suggestions

Being myself a Mesetarian Castilian, I think the strange would be if I didn't have any suggestion. Of course, I do have suggestions. In fact, I probably have too many suggestions as to start talking on this thread about the wonders and merits of all of them... Send me a PM if you are interested and give me an idea of what are you mainly looking for to help me to narrow down the options.

or should I just get out a map and start wandering?

It's a matter of preferences. Do you prefer to get out a map and wander or do you prefer to design a trip based on the ideas about the area you plan to visit that sounded more appealing to you?

 

[BrienC]

An excerpt: " I describe the Camino Francés as a good movie: There is an excitement in the beginning, with the presentation of the story and the building of the characters (the Pyrenees and foothills); there is the middle (vast wheat fields, small villages, and church steeples); and then there is the flourish of activity leading to the climax (Galicia and Santiago de Compostela)."

That said, I thought the meseta was stunningly beautiful, even in the heat of mid-July.

Buen Camino!

 

[Pelegrin]

An excerpt: " I describe the Camino Francés as a good movie: There is an excitement in the beginning, with the presentation of the story and the building of the characters (the Pyrenees and foothills); there is the middle (vast wheat fields, small villages, and church steeples); and then there is the flourish of activity leading to the climax (Galicia and Santiago de Compostela)."

That said, I thought the meseta was stunningly beautiful, even in the heat of mid-July.

Buen Camino!

I completely agree and I think that unfortunately this important factor of the C. Francés is not well described on the movies (The Way, etc.).

 

[BrienC]

I completely agree and I think that unfortunately this important factor of the C. Francés is not well described on the movies (The Way, etc.).

It must be very difficult to convey all the layers of a story in a two-hour video. I suppose that is why I prefer the written story.

 

[C clearly]

Send me a PM if you are interested and give me an idea of what are you mainly looking for to help me to narrow down the options.

Thanks for the offer. You are right that the question was too broad for a quick answer! I won't be going again in 2016, but will keep this thought in mind for 2017, and will do a bit of research first. I can happily spend the rest of 2016 doing that.

 

[C clearly]

It must be very difficult to convey all the layers of a story in a two-hour video. I suppose that is why I prefer the written story.

In fact, the written story has severe limitations too, which is why so many of us like to spend months experiencing it with our feet and all senses!

 

[janecaroline]

Most of the meseta isn't crossed by any camino de Santiago what I think is great news for the meseta lovers among you that only know the part(s) crossed by (some of) the camino(s) de Santiago because that means you have yet tons of places to discover in the meseta. Time to make a non-camino trip to discover them?

Camino de Madrid....

 

[BrienC]

In fact, the written story has severe limitations too, which is why so many of us like to spend months experiencing it with our feet and all senses!

Fair point. Since experiencing the Camino last summer, I have experienced it every day. Quick scenes flash in my mind's eye. I remember people's smiles, their kind words or actions. I remember bits of rough trail, busy roadways, Roman paths, and vistas. I ruminate on a well turned Spanish phrase or a mess I made of one, I remember the sun shining through stained glass in one church or another, and I reflect on the meaning of all those experiences and on these random flashbacks.

This is not a new thing for me. I regularly remember segments of trekking in the Andes, the Himalayas, the Sierras, remember a group of friends sharing a beachside umbrella and particularly good margarita. I remember rude border agents and running through an airport to make a flight.

I sit at home some days pondering or converse with others, recollecting one tale after another.

That is why I travel, why I walk, run, cycle. And why, most importantly to me, I spend so much time out there exploring, making memories.

 

[Castilian]

Camino de Madrid....

...crosses just a small part of the meseta. There's much more meseta than the part crossed by any Camino de Santiago. Even if you walk all the caminos de Santiago that cross part of the meseta, there's still much more meseta to discover... That's the point I was trying to make.

Camino de Madrid is a great camino to enjoy the meseta though, if that's what you meant.

 

[C clearly]

I spend so much time out there exploring, making memories.

And the beauty of walking is that you can spend the time pondering the memories as you make more.

 

[janecaroline]

...crosses just a small part of the meseta. There's much more meseta than the part crossed by any Camino de Santiago. Even if you walk all the caminos de Santiago that cross part of the meseta, there's still much more meseta to discover... That's the point I was trying to make.

Camino de Madrid is a great camino to enjoy the meseta though, if that's what you meant.

Yes it is exactly what I meant

 

[CathyJ]

I finished last week and absolutely loved the Meseta. A very special part of the whole journey

 

[ranthr]

On my way from Le Puy to Santiago in 2009 I got a new opinion of the meseta than on earlier caminos. After walking ups and downs through France for some weeks it was like heaven to get to the meseta, walking straight ahead without watching where you put your feet, thinking of everything else than the path in front. Really enjoyed the camino then.