Via de la Plata in October

[caminante]

Greetings all!

After walking the Via Portugues from Porto in August 2010 (HOT!) I am planning to walk from Zamora to Santiago via the Sanabres in October 2011. I was wondering -

1) If you have walked at that time, were there other people or you were alone the entire time? One of the best parts of the Camino Portugues was the fellowship of the other peregrinos, and i'm surprised to hear of people who see five people in five weeks!

2) What was the weather like, especially in Galicia in the hills?

3) Is there anyone else planning to go at this time?

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from those who have gone before, or who may be on the road at the same time!

 

[Walker75]

I walked the Via Portuguese in early September 2009 and I also found it (HOT!).

As for your other questions the only one I can answer with any certainty is number 3. I am starting from Seville on September 12, so will in the northern part of the route in October.

Most of everything else I know about the Via de la Plata I acquired from various websites and a guide book. I am expexcting to see far fewer people than I did on the Via Portuguese or the Camino Frances (which I also walked in 2009), and I gather that by the time I get to Zamora and beyond the weather will be very cool at times and often rainy.

 

[Debinq]

hola Caminante
I walked from Sanabria to SdC starting 9 Oct 06 Yes, rain, rain drenching rain more or less very frequently, every day during my last week! (to 23 Oct)
Very few fellow pelegrinos... a few nights solitary in albergue, or a couple of Sp, Fr or Ger and one night an Oz couple on bikes who were doing the La P in reverse direction! Have heard there are quite a few more ppl during last two years, more ppl opting for the La P as an alternative to the very (too?) busy C Frances

happy trails and buen camino
Peter

 

[+@^^]

having started in Sevilla in mid Sept
i moved through Zamora on 7 Oct 2010 the albergue was like rush-hour (12 bikes + 6 walkers, which was the most peregrinos id seen in all the time since Sevilla)
on my way to SdC which i reached on 30 Oct
.
2 days before Zamora, I dumped the last of my "extra" kit - wooly fleecy etc - they seemed unnecessary
from there to Ourense, it was pretty solitary - usually 2, 3, 5 other pilgrims. At ourense it picked up to about 10
in total of the 42 days i walked, i only had about 2 days of gentle soft mist-rain, and 2 days when the heavens opened and it bucketed down, exectly where i was standing
.
as i moved into Galicia, the temps started dropping
and i wished i hadn't dumped my extra warm stuff. I started using a sleeping bag + a thermal liner + albergue blanket as well as sleeping fully clothed
my notes from Requejo de Sanabria (750kay mark) read: "restuarant has a fireplace and i aint leaving. there are pics on the walls of bears and wolves in the snow". It felt it could snow at any moment - low heavy black clouds, no wind
.
one day later at Lubian (778 kays) i wrote: " great food at Casa Irene, sitting on her deck in the sun overlooking the valley. its been one of the prettiest walks so far - forest lanes, trees, shade, streams, moss and in sunlight (esp after yesterdays cold)"
.
so, be prepared for some cold and wet
and expect reasonable solitude

 

[mmm042]

I walked from Ourense to Santiago in October 2009 and lucked out with beautiful weather -- sunshine every day with temps getting up into the 70s. The mornings were dark and cool, though. I think the sun didn't really come up until 8-ish if I remember correctly. I stayed in Santiago for a week after, and it rained every day. But it was a light, misty rain, so it wouldn't have been too bad if I'd still been on the Camino. During the four days I ran from Ourense, I saw 3 people. The albergues were empty.

I'm walking from Salamanca to Santiago starting Sept. 20 and ending Oct. 9. Just got my ticket yesterday! I haven't checked the weather, but I'm thinking it'll be warm during the day for sure. I'm expecting to see a few more people than in 2009, based on the increasing popularity of all the Caminos and the VDLP, but I don't think there will be that many.

Look for me -- I'll be the solo woman taking a zillion pictures and lots of notes for my app!

Melanie

 

[Deleted member 3000]

After the Via Vezelay last October, my brother headed for Sevilla for the Via de la Plata. It rained almost continuously, mostly in November. As a result, he swore off caminos, a resolution that he will break in December.

 

[caminante]

Thanks everyone! I'll make sure to bring slightly warmer clothes just in case.
Planning to leave Zamora Oct. 7 or 8, arriving in Santiago around the 21.

If you're reading this and might be on the Camino at that time, let me know!

 

[haloranch]

I walked the Via de la Plata in the fall of 2008. Left Sevilla on October 6 when the temperature was about 30C. Had several huge thunderstorms with local flooding over the next 2 weeks. By the time I got to Salamanca the low temperature was below freezing. I walked into a strong headwind in below freezing temperatures for about 5 days. These were the coldest temperatures for that time of the year that they had had in central Spain in 40 years. The TV reports indicating that it was snowing in the passes into Galicia and that peregrinos were walking in 15 cm of snow. They refreed to it as the "Camino Blanco de Santiago". The accumulated snow had disappeared by the time that I went over the passes but it was still cold enough to be snowing. Over the last 9 days to SDC it rained every day. I was happy to get to SDC on November 9.
I saw and walked with a few pilgrims over the first 3 weeks but over the last 17 days I only met 3 other pilgrims. Since I was usually the only resident at the albergues I had my choice of bed and all the hot water I could want.

 

[grilly]

Reading all the posts here, and going through last years' posts, about the heat in Southern Spain, I do wonder how we will find Sevilla in early September when we start la VDLP for Santiago... I remember walking in France in 34 degrees heat... So I'm very curious now about what we will find in a month...
It's exciting nonetheless...
I must say that the range of information here is fabulous. Thank you!

 

[Walker75]

Hola, Caminante,
I'm leaving from Seville on September 12, and if I follow the itinerary in the guide book I am using it will take 23 days to reach Zamora. That would be October 5, but I might take a rest day in Merida and/or Salamanca. So, yes, barring sickness and injury I will probably arrive in Zamora around the 7th.

 

[barbaraN]

I've just joined this forum because I'm going to do the last bit of teh Via de la Plata (from Ourense) at the end of Sept.
Please can somebody tell me how to find out where the refugios are. I have spent HOURS trawling through about 10 pages of websites (googling "via de la plata") and I can't find one that gives a list of accommodation. There are 6 of us going and we were told refugios are few and far between so we are on the point of getting an organiser to do it for us - very expensive. It looks from reading stuff on here that we don't need to worry about refugios being full.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - you don't need an "organiser" imho - look here http://www.mundicamino.com/ and other sites such as http://www.godesalco.com Ourense is a popular starting point - just walk...you WILL find accommodation as listed in the guides.

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Hi Barbara,
Try http://www.caminodesantiago.consumer.es
It will give you all the routes and all the stages (etapas) and all the albergues and reviews of the albergues by people who have stayed there.

Buen Camino,
Lydia