• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

The Meseta -to walk or bus!

Time of past OR future Camino
cycled from Pamplona Sep 2015;Frances, walked from St Jean May/June 2017. Plans to walk Porto 2020
Hola, well I am now in Leon and for me there is only one answer; walk, especially in Spring. I took 8 days from Burgos which is about the Brierley average. Although if you break away from his suggestions you may end up with a few long days. The weather was ok apart absolutely freezing rain on the day from Rabe de las Calzadas to Hontanas. As some will know I have cycled most of the eastern Meseta, Sahagun in September and the change in Spring is almost unbelievable it is so green! The wheat and rice crops were about 500/750mm high and looking great.

One thing to note, if you are lucky enough to stay with the sisters at Santa Maria in Carrion de Los Condes be sure to bring a copy of the words to your favourite hymns or a song or two. The sisters sing with & for you at 6.00 pm/18.00 each evening.
I will post photos, later. :)
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Curious what the mesito will be like early July, temp wise?
Is it really an 8 day trek through it
 
@catperson, the Meseta is the heart of the Camino. Before I walked I was under the impression that this stretch would be boring and featureless - it is neither. It is a high plain first of all just after the climb from the villages outside Burgos and then you pass a series of places, some with many kilometres between stopping points and others not so. I walked in spring, it was glorious with birdsong and blossom. You will need a good hat and sun protector and all the usual precautions for walking in intense sunlight, but who knows, it might rain when you are there not to be missed in my opinion but thn I like long stretches of quietude when I walk. Buen Camino!
 
Curious what the mesito will be like early July, temp wise?
Is it really an 8 day trek through it
To top off what Seb replied if you are not use to temps over 29c (85F) then on top of the hat, sunblock factor 50+, carry around two (2.0) litres of water. Also consider the following; start early 6.00 am at the latest & whilst the purists might condemn it think about bag transfers if you have a 25+ km day planned. Also be prepared to stop every hour, in any shade you find; shoes or boots off and if wearing two socks (thick over thin) off with the outer one. Even for 10-15 mins this stop will save you & your feet.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
Off the topic.


I don't mean to be rude, just curious. If everybody writes meseta, why do you type mesito? It's like people typing alburgue instead of albergue.☺

(Excuse moi in advance)
I walked one day with a guy who kept talking about the "Masada" and he wasn't talking about Israel. :p

Maybe catperson's autocorrect was acting up. :)
 
Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
I loved the wide open spaces of the Meseta too. It should be noted, I think, that it doesn't end in Leon but in Astorga.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
I loved the wide open spaces of the Meseta too. It should be noted, I think, that it doesn't end in Leon but in Astorga.

I regard it as ending in Hospital de Orbigo, at the bridge because the straight road ends (if you go via Villares and Santibanez) there and the scenery becomes more varied.

The Meseta is great and complements the rest of the Camino well. Fast walking pace if you like, adobe buildings, distant mountains never getting closer, some really great villages to spend the night...

Temperature in summer? Very varied. Sometimes it can be really chilly and in single figures in the mornings, sometimes very hot by the middle of the day. If you are used to hot weather though, it's never too uncomfortable.
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
When my camino cough became bronchitis, I went to a clinic in Leon and was given antibiotics. I stayed in Leon for 2 days and then bused the next 2 days to allow my lungs to recover and to regain my strength. Although I know that it was the right decision, I still feel that a small chunk of my journey is missing.
 
Even though my worst day of the Camino (blisters, no room at the albergue, searing heat) was on the Meseta I woudn't want to have missed it for the world. Living in London where you hardly ever get to experience it, the wide open spaces and big sky just intoxicated me.
 
I loved the wide open spaces of the Meseta too. It should be noted, I think, that it doesn't end in Leon but in Astorga.
Hola John, you may be right, but I stopped at the top of the Alto del Portillo, about 7 or 8 km east of Leon. The view from here looking back east appears to be the end. Cheers
 
Join the Camino Cleanup in May from Ponferrada to Sarria. Registration closes Mar 22.
The Meseta is my favorite portion of the Frances. It is FLAT, smooth, quiet, and beautiful, especially in the Spring. Just remember to tote extra potable water from Carrion de los Condes and you will be fine.

Most of the fuentes in between, for more than 30 km, are fouled from farming pesticides and fertilizers. The signs merely state "non potable." Either way, you need to carry extra water in this stretch.

I hope this helps.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
I was speaking with the hospitalero at the largish municipal albergue in Castrojeriz today. He said the albergue tends to be completo these days and because of the temps it can be completely empty of pilgrims by 6am the following morning.
 
The Meseta is wonderful, just different, an amazing experience
 
I guess I have to differ. It's not that I don't like the Meseta, but it's my least favorite of the sections. I love Carrion de los Condes, and several other places along the Meseta, but I just can't say that walking those long, straight, flat, featureless sections is better than the SJPdP to Burgos section or from Hospital de Orbigo to Santiago.

Feel free to vehemently disagree. ;):cool:
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I thought because of what I had read it would be boring and should be missed. Instead I found it ,as many others have said here, to be just the most wonderful walking experience and I am so glad I didn't miss it. But like any part of any camino the experience is a very subjective one and that's why you really won't know until you do it (or not, and then you really won't ever know!)
 
I was speaking with the hospitalero at the largish municipal albergue in Castrojeriz today. He said the albergue tends to be completo these days and because of the temps it can be completely empty of pilgrims by 6am the following morning.
A little further on the camino has trees planted for miles and miles - someday - perhaps 20 years from now?, we may all walk the Meseta on this shady path? Perhaps we should have tree planting volunteer trips like the clean-ups that Rebekah Scott Organizes?
When I slept in the old San Bol Albergue in 2003 ......that was the Knock out Meseta punch ......... Viva , Viva!!
And then San Anton , so blessed to be a Hospitalero in 2016 .......and the Peaceable Kingdom , The architecture of S
Sahagun .............. ohhhyyyyyy?
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
I walked the Mesata once.
From Fromista to Leon it rained every day; hard rain driven by a westerly wind.
I couldn't see through my glasses so the majesty of the Mesata was lost on me.
It was September, the wheat had been harvested and some days the stalks combined with the clay and stuck to my boots weighing each foot down with a kilo or more of cack causing me to stop ever few hundred metres to clean them. At the end of the day I was plastered to the knee caps.
On the three CFs since then I've caught the bus and or train from Fromista to Leon and haven't regretted it a bit.
Others, however, have loved the Mesata and wouldn't have missed it for the world.
As laineylainey says, you won't know until you try it but you DO have the option!
Either way, enjoy your Camino.
 
To answer the question of whether the meseta is an 8 day trek - it is about 200 km, so it is however long it takes you to walk that distance.

My feet really do not like a lot of flat walking, so walking the Meseta was not easy for me. The first few days were ok, but after that my feet rebelled. I eventually bused ahead to Leon and skipped 2-3 days of walking, then took a rest day in Leon to take care of my feet. I liked a lot of the towns on the Meseta, but the feeling through the middle of walking all day and never seeming to get anywhere was tough. Plus, my feet just ached, which definitely colored my experience.
 

Most read last week in this forum

Hi Caminantes, My wife and I are leaving for Madrid from Brisbane - AU on May 4th to walk the Frances. We are flying with Qatar. I am a bit worried that if I check in my backpacks, they have a...
Hi all, Im walking my first Camino in April (CF) and was wondering if it would be likely for me to encounter leeches? I know for most people leeches are not a big deal but they are in plague...
In past years, when we walked from Samos to Sarria, there was simply a yellow arrow that went off to the right of the highway, up a hill, past a pig farm then a sharp left turn at a small church...
Are you also interested to know the reasons why other fellow pilgrims choose to walk El Camino? Please participate in the poll!
Several local websites have reported a small earthquake this afternoon with an epicentre in the Sarria area. Apparently felt quite strongly locally but with little likelihood of property damage...
Hello!! I am a retired Spanish gentleman living in Madrid. My name is Jose and I would like to do the Camino de Santiago again!!! But this time I would like to walk and improve my English Level...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top