VDP this July and August

[wayfaring stranger]

Hi Folks....

I am new to the forum and to the Camino in general...I would like to ask the experienced Camino walkers a few questions about the VDP....

How crowded do you think the VDP will be this July and August, being a holy year, etc?
Will it be more crowded than other years?
Is it totally nuts to think of walking this route in the summer, even if it isn't hopelessly crowded?

Many thanks for your input..

go well

WS

 

[Canuck]

WS,

From my experience of last August, walking the VDP at that time of the year is totally nuts. The heat will kill you!
No wonder I hardly met anybody. Very few ''fools'' will attempt it in such conditions.

Reconsider your timings,
Jean-Marc

 

[jl]

Hi Jean Marc - when in August did you walk it - and was it from Seville or from Granada? I am trying to work out dates for next year. Thanks, Janet

 

[lynnejohn]

Just a suggestion and possibly off-thread:

We walked the entire VDLP from Sevilla to Santiago and then Finisterre in May and June. Although we had a few pretty hot days, it was nothing like the furnace that folks have experienced in July and August.

Are you able to change your dates to spring?

lynne

 

[jl]

I'm thinking (next year) the last week in August (around 23rd) into September. And at this stage I am thinking (would like to do) Granada to Merida and then along the VDLP. Cheers, Janet

 

[Canuck]

Hi Jean Marc - when in August did you walk it - and was it from Seville or from Granada? I am trying to work out dates for next year. Thanks, Janet

Janet,

I walked from Sevilla, starting on the 22 of August, all the way to Santiago. It was so hot, I felt sick after just 10 km. Temperatures were hovering around 40-45 degrees for the first two weeks.
I just came back from the Grenada area and judging from the terrain and past climate data, it's not much different than Sevilla as far as heat is concerned.

As suggested by Lynne, this should be done in the spring. You then have nice weather all the way to SDC.

Cheers,
Jean-Marc

 

[jl]

Thanks Jean-Marc, I know it would be good to walk in the Spring, but that is not possible for me due to work commitments. I am used to the dry heat of 40 degrees - we had well over a week of it last summer, and then got a cool change to 35 degrees!. However, I know that it is not pleasant for walking - although it is probably not a great deal different to a 38 degree humid day, of which I walked many in France last year and in 2007. Of course it would start heating up mid morning, but what are the nights like and the early morning? cheers, Janet

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - this really old thread might help with this:

camino-mozarabe-and-via-de-la-plata/topic3171.html?hilit=desert#p16086

Janet in August on the Madrid route ther daytime temperatures reached 44 degrees but walking at or before dawn was lovely.