- Time of past OR future Camino
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There is a guide written by the Generalitat covering this Camino, not yet translated into English, but you can see it in Castellano here: http://www.camidesantjaume.cat/descargas/guia_port_selva-jonquera-montserrat_ESP.pdf
If nothing else, the maps and the symbols of places to eat and sleep will be immediately understandable
@peregrina2000I have written a couple of posts that might help with the question of how the route got there in the first place. I personally would highly recommend the ”fake” route, just because of how it maximizes the romanesque and gets you to both Vic and Girona, two cities that are very much worth visiting.
And the confusion about getting to Montserrat (where the more traditional Camí Català begins) may have to do with your seeing discussions from people who walked from Barcelona. If you start up on the coast, you will not walk to Barcelona, but will reach Montserrat via Manresa (of Camino Ignaciano fame).
And not to jump the gun (but my participation will be sporadic for the next few days), but I think that the best way to start this trip is with a pre-walking visit up to San Pere. Sure, that means two ascents, but otherwise, it will make for a very inconvenient day walking from either Llançà or Port de la Selva. @Doughnut’s suggestion of walking from Llançà to Port de la Selva and then to San Pere is interesting, because it would get you to the monastery at a much better time for visiting (as opposed to starting in either place and going directly to the monastery), but then there is the issue of where you will sleep. With all our onlie google experts, though, I’m hopeful that something can be found that would not require going all the way to Figueres. So, what I did was take the train from Barcelona to Llançà early in the morning, drop my stuff off at the pensión (which is about 200 m from the start of the trail up to the monastery) and then go up that day for a monastery visit. I then went back down an alternative way, and wound up walking along the beach. Next day, leave from pensión, walk by San Pere in early morning, and continue on to Figueres.
One possibility is to end up in Vilajugia, where my Googlemaps shows two CRs right next to each other. Here's the direct route (not via PdlS). It's 18.7kms. Via PdlS it's about 2 km farther. For those able to do a longer stage it's 14 more kms or so to Figueres.@Doughnut’s suggestion of walking from Llançà to Port de la Selva and then to San Pere is interesting, because it would get you to the monastery at a much better time for visiting (as opposed to starting in either place and going directly to the monastery), but then there is the issue of where you will sleep
The 30 kms from Llançà can be broken into two 15 km stages, because there is a pensión in Villajuiga: Hostal Xavi** Carretera Roses, 17 Tel. 972 530 003
It is easy to travel from Barcelona Airport to Sants. Simply catch the RENFE train from Barcelona Airport and get off at Estació de Sants (Sants Estació also known as Barcelona Sants station) the journey is around 20 minutes.
Excellent start but I think that I would prefer that we back up a little.Here we go! I've made an executive decision to add the bit on the Aragonés at the end, just because.
Does anyone have recent wikiloc tracks? I found yours Laurie, but that was a while ago
I've never been to Barcelona
I have to admit to a LOT of confusion about the first part of this route and am not clear at all about the route to Montserrat, because there seem to be several variants. So before we set off, I could use some help with where the heck we're headed.
Gracias!
Ha! You know, I am sure that I was following someone else’s tracks. I recorded mine, though, and posted them on wikiloc. But it is true that I only look at my GPS in one of two instances — if I am at an intersection, or when I’ve gone for a long long time without an arrow.@peregrina2000, Laurie, knows her stuff but, forgive me Laurie, she gets lost. At least her Wikiloc tracks for the Catalan shows a bit of wandering.
Fine with me! Laurie's busy right now anyway, so doing that will give her a chance to participate.Excellent start but I think that I would prefer that we back up a little.
Sure!I also have never been to Barcelona and so if we are going to bypass it while walking then I would like to spend a couple of days exploring Barcelona before we catch the train to Llanca please
His tracks for the start of the Viejo are good too. Thanks for the info, Rick.Often it was one by Rocjumper and he never let me down. Actually he has all stages from Monserrat to the Aragonese combined into one track and downloading this one will save you a lot of
This is what I do, with OSMand - which I like a whole lot. It works quite well.If you have a membership on Wikiloc you can download tracks that then be followed by other apps such as Maps.me or OSMand.
He went through Huesca, the southern option.
Oh, well...
I understood that you quite liked the NNE version via Manresa??Without doubt, the better choice.
Sorry, what I meant is that once you get to Montserrat (starting in Llançá), taking the variant through Huesca rather than through Lleida/Lérida is, IMO, the no-brainer better choice. Just my opinion though.I understood that you quite liked the NNE version via Manresa??
Yes this is a possibility but I have since looked at a relief map of the area and the climb up from El Port de la Selva is VERY steep whereas the route that @peregrina2000 took from Llanca does not look anywhere near as steep so perhaps we need a variant here if there are any slow walkers in the pack.Not jumping the gun at all, Laurie. We need to figure out where we're going before we start!
One possibility is to end up in Vilajugia, where my Googlemaps shows two CRs right next to each other. Here's the direct route (not via PdlS). It's 18.7kms. Via PdlS it's about 2 km farther. For those able to do a longer stage it's 14 more kms or so to Figueres.
View attachment 104111
Edit to add this. :
I actually have two maps I'm trying to maintain, and I'm not sure which one you are using.It might also be useful to ask @David Tallan if his route for this Camino is from the Dutch source or if it is from someone like Laurie's Wikiloc. It definitely looks like it is an individual's track as there are places where the track wanders around a little until it finds the route and where there are deviations for pizza and nice views
I downloaded the Dutch one you shared, @Doughnut NZ , and am using that now. It has the whole route, which is more convenient for planning than a day by day track.I actually have two maps I'm trying to maintain, and I'm not sure which one you are using.
So I agree with you, Laurie. After reading your thread, and a few others...it is a no-brainer. Definitely.once you get to Montserrat (starting in Llançá), taking the variant through Huesca rather than through Lleida/Lérida is, IMO, the no-brainer better choice
We're tagging along, but as my plan would be to come down from France, I'm still studying the maps to join you at some appropriate point.I will post a first stage tomorrow if everyone's here.
as my plan would be to come down from France, I'm still studying the maps to join you at some appropriate point.
Oh, that view was about two years ago, I don't remember. I do remember downloading your daily tracks and others too and viewing up to three tracks at the the same time over the same basemap. Your tracks were generally longer over the identical start and end points. At least one was way off.Rick, do you remember where some of the “best” examples of wandering/getting lost would be? Because, the funny thing is, I only have one memory of getting lost, and that was in the forest in the hills before I took the off-camino descent to Santa María d’Oló.
Just for an overview, here are our stages and the kms:
. . .
Day 8 -- Huesca (17) (we decided that since it was such a short day we would get lost and add on about 4-5 kms)
Thanks, Rick, for the Barcelona tips!
Anyone have others before we take the train to Llançá?
This looks like the best time to add how I got from Barceloneta to Monserrat.Thanks, Rick, for the Barcelona tips!
Anyone have others before we take the train to Llançá?
Yes but I have spent all my time wandering around checking out cheap places to stay and so I have missed all the real highlights and the fabulous food that I am hoping someone else can point out for me.Sorry for the silence, I was reading threads!
Some of which I had read when people were walking, but now the places mean a bit more.
@Doughnut NZ are you still in Barcelona?
That 10AM opening is a real drag if you want to cover any distance at all, so if you want to go all the way to Figueres, then do as Laurie did and visit the day before, fresh off the train from Barcelona:From Tuesday to Sunday, including public holidays.
Closed on Mondays except public holidays, 25 and 26 December and 1 and 6 January.
- From 1 October to 31 May: from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
- From 1 June to 30 September: from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
You need a ticket, 4 or 6 Euros, depending on age or student status.I dropped my pack and quickly headed out to find the Camino, which is well marked and leaves from the tourist office. [...] From there it was about a 6 1/2 km walk up to San Pere de Rodes, an amazing romanesque monastery that is perched high up in the hills and with a great view over the Mediterranean. I knew that this was a place where I wanted to spend some time, so the best way to do that was to visit it before I actually started walking. I am SO glad I did this, because visiting San Pere as part of a 30 km walk to Figueres would not have been fun
its decline may have had a beginning, or at least a precedent, in the great black plague of 1345 , when we know that 24 monks from the nearby monastery died.
Despite the fact that it was razed by privateers in 1330, Santa Creu, between the 12th and 14th centuries, lived through a time of prosperity and had 250 inhabitants. All this was possible thanks, on the one hand, to the prosperity of the crops and, on the other, by the influx of pilgrims who went to the monastery. The people of the town were basically dedicated to the cultivation of vineyards and olive groves, to the artisan production derived from the needs of the monastery and to the trade of all these products.
Thank you @SabineP! That's jumping ahead a bit so we can talk about it later, please: next post, coming up...I do not know if it is ok to post something already about Peralada?
The only disappointment is the cloister, with very few capitals remaining. You can see some in Barcelona at the museum, and maybe a few in Figueres, if I remember correctlySant Pere de Rodes is a Romanesque jewel and looks like an astonishing place.
I have comments about Peralada and Villabertrán, but VN says that would be jumping the gun so I will hold off till I get the green light.
There are two in that same area. It might take some bush bashing, from the sound of it.At one point I took a couple hundred meter detour to see a dolmen, beating my way through the overgrowth. When I got there, I realized the only difference between the dolmen and the huge rocks I was carefully navigating was that the dolmen was in a vertical position.
And that looks like a decent day for slow walkers.Lots to keep us busy up here. Hence for me the 20km day.
And I'm curious: the way you took to go back down to the coast that first day? Was that the way through La Vall de Santa Creu,or another way?
Google here seems to work better than Google there.. But I can’t find it on google anymore, and since its name is “Pensión Llançà” it is hard to search for since I just get all the pensiones in Llançà.
Google here seems to work better than Google there.
This is a 34 minute walk from Ítaca Hostel or 40 minutes from Hostal LIWI. Both in the Barcelona accommodation list and recommended.The museum!!!! Why did I not mention it as a must-see stop for anyone who loves Romanesque? The government made the controversial decision to strip the paintings from many of the small romanesque churches in Catalunya (Boí and Tahull are two I remember). But they are now displayed brilliantly in the museum in separate well lighted apses. It is really something.
Medieval Romanesque Art
The collection of Romanesque Art, 11th to 13th centuries, is made up of an exceptional set of mural paintings and a rich collection of panel paintings, the biggest and oldest in Europe. The outstanding metalwork is also noteworthy, as well as the sculptures in wood and stone, in which it is...www.museunacional.cat
Llançà Pension RatesGoogle here seems to work better than Google there.
I will walk the shorter day, don't fancy 35k first day.Day 1. Llançá-Figueres via Santa Creu de Rodes (35.5km).
With possible shorter stages: Ending at either
Vilajugia (20.8km) or Peralada (28.8km)
Part 1. Llanca-Sant Pere vicinty and overview
The overview:
View attachment 104364View attachment 104365
I am using the Dutch track mentioned above, but here is a link to Laurie's track:
Cami St. Jaume -- Llanca to Figueres
Cami St. Jaume -- Llanca to Figueres Hiking trail in Setcases, Catalunya (España). Download its GPS track and follow the route on a map. Record your own itinerary from the Wikiloc app, upload the trail and share it with the community.www.wikiloc.com
Some of us can easily cover this kind of distance in a day, while others prefer shorter stages.
So I'm putting the whole thing up, and we can discuss all the parts of the route at leisure and to our hearts content. Today we can focus on the very first part, taking up the rest and accommodation details in the next post in a few days.
Personally, I would probably opt for Llançá-Vilajugia-Fugueres in two days for two reasons. First, it's Day One (drumroll), and I see no sense shocking the system too much. There's a not insignificant hill to climb right off the bat, which is no small consideration. Second, there's a whole bunch of very interesting stuff up on that hill and I would hate to just walk on by without taking the time to poke around.
Sant Pere and vicinity
Here is as close up of the way up to Sant Pere:
View attachment 104368
I've routed us first through La Vall de Santa Creu, the closest village to Sant Pere de Rodes. There is a more direct route to the village from Llanca, but it is much more up and down - the route that goes along the coast and then up only goes up once!.
So, the interesting stuff:
First La Vall de Santa Creu~
The present church is relatively modern, XVI century or XVII century.
There used to be a closer village up on the mountain (more about that anon) but it was depopulated, and people from there came down here.
So after the village there's a pretty steep climb, and OSM stubbornly routes me via a long switchback right before the monastery, even though there looks to be a much shorter footpath.
It may be blocked by a monastery wall but that's not clear from the map - anyone who's been there know?
Sant Pere de Rodes is a Romanesque jewel and looks like an astonishing place.
View attachment 104372
Opening times per the last website:
That 10AM opening is a real drag if you want to cover any distance at all, so if you want to go all the way to Figueres, then do as Laurie did and visit the day before, fresh off the train from Barcelona:
You need a ticket, 4 or 6 Euros, depending on age or student status.
If you have spring in your step, a detour from the camino goes up to the castle above the monastery; it took @alansykes 15 minutes to get there.
Leaving the monastery on the camino, about a km away we encounter first the church of Santa Helena, and then the remains of the village of Santa Creu de Rodes
Pandemics do change things - it is long abandoned:
View attachment 104367
The church dates from the IX century, and is the only building in the village that is still standing. It musst have been a bustling place up here at one point with the village and the monastery inextricably linked.
From https://www.arbar.cat/es/historia-de-rodes/historia-de-sant-pere-y-santa-creu-de-rodes/ :
From even earlier times, there is a (fallen) menhir up there as well, quite close to the village, that was discovered in 2008. It's about 100m SSE of the ruined village, and there is a path that will take you there.
Menhir de Santa Helena - Alt Empordà
Nº 573, Abril 2016. UTM(ETRS89): 5...dolmensmenhirs.blogspot.com
A little farther along the camino, quite close to the road are two other sites, the Dolmen La Pallera, and the Paradolmen de la Pallera/Roca Galera:
Lots to keep us busy up here. Hence for me the 20km day.
I haven't looked but assume that bringing a snack and plenty of water is essential - the next village along is 10km away. Feedback from those in the know?
To be continued!
I am also starting a list of things to do in Barcelona and places to eat, very raw at the moment but I will add to it. See https://maps.app.goo.gl/9AUjBJTHB78B5MRp9The only disappointment is the cloister, with very few capitals remaining. You can see some in Barcelona at the museum, and maybe a few in Figueres, if I remember correctly
AH, the museum!!!! Why did I not mention it as a must-see stop for anyone who loves Romanesque? The government made the controversial decision to strip the paintings from many of the small romanesque churches in Catalunya (Boí and Tahull are two I remember). But they are now displayed brilliantly in the museum in separate well lighted apses. It is really something. (And I remember getting in free with my university ID, free for educators!).
Medieval Romanesque Art
The collection of Romanesque Art, 11th to 13th centuries, is made up of an exceptional set of mural paintings and a rich collection of panel paintings, the biggest and oldest in Europe. The outstanding metalwork is also noteworthy, as well as the sculptures in wood and stone, in which it is...www.museunacional.cat
A few more comments on the stage to Figueres:
I saw a sign for a dolmen and took a very overgrown path… (from my 2015 blog, I hope it doesn’t show too much ignorance on my part).
At one point I took a couple hundred meter detour to see a dolmen, beating my way through the overgrowth. When I got there, I realized the only difference between the dolmen and the huge rocks I was carefully navigating was that the dolmen was in a vertical position.
I have comments about Peralada and Villabertrán, but VN says that would be jumping the gun so I will hold off till I get the green light.
AH, the museum!!!! Why did I not mention it as a must-see stop for anyone who loves Romanesque? The government made the controversial decision to strip the paintings from many of the small romanesque churches in Catalunya (Boí and Tahull are two I remember). But they are now displayed brilliantly in the museum
That's super, thanks, @Doughnut NZ .I am also starting a list of things to do in Barcelona and places to eat, very raw at the moment but I will add to it. See https://maps.app.goo.gl/9AUjBJTHB78B5MRp9
According to @peregrina2000 the way is well-marked, but with rocky sections.Then there is quite a change in vegetation as you go over the summit ridge.
With a nice place to eat, even for us vegetarians:I recommend a visit , probably in the late afteroon to Peralada. In normal years a bus excursion for those staying in Barcelona so if you time the visit well you have the town to yourself.
To some it might be too well kept but nevertheless a nice small town.
Shortly before Figueres, Dalí Central, the Camino passes the small town/large village of Vilabertrán.
The trail has been pretty much flat for the last 10 or more km since coming out of the hills near Vilajuiga.
At first sight Vilabertrán doesn't look especially exciting: another former agricultural village now acting as a dormitory for workers in Girona and Figueres. It's only when you get inside the colegiata of Santa María that you realise quite how special the complex is. Here is a virtually intact, virtually undamaged Romanesque monastery mostly dating from the 12th century. Gloriously simple unspoiled church, monks' dormitory, cellars, refectory, cloisters, bell tower, chapter house, abbot's palace, prior's vegetable garden, everything. Other than a very modest gothic chapel for the local vicounts (complete with astonishing solid silver 14th century crozier 6 foot tall) nothing has been messed about.
Nothing individually is all that exceptional, but the combination is a series of delights that gives far more famous places a run for their money. Perhaps its relative modesty is what saved it? - several otherwise glorious Romanesque cloisters I'd enjoyed in the previous week had had their best pieces removed to the Bronx, but nobody bothered with what was here.
Laurie stayed in Hostal Sanmar, I'll let her say more from first-hand experience.Figueres: Hostal Figueres tel + 34 630 68 05 75 (hostelworld.com)
Figures alberge €25
The large Gothic church there was heavily bombed during the civil war by the nationalists, and then rebuilt afterwards using the slave labour of the prisoners of war.
there is the art museum Museu de l’Empordà. Cheap admission especially if you show your Dalí musuem admission ticket which gets you in free.
Provided they have dineros. A lot of those places were not cheep, to say it mildly.I had no idea there were so many accommodation options, VN. That will make it easy for those who want to visit San Pere on a walking day.
Bwahahahaha!I did try to record today's walk but the GPS told me I had walked 9,317 miles, so I am clearly not getting the hang of things.
Wikipedia has this wonderfully quirky bit of information:We miss a 15th century castle ruin on the way down from the Cathedral, Castell Quermanco.
I wonder at the juxtaposition of rhino and wife.Salvador Dalí, had a deep affection for the castle and was very familiar with it as it is positioned on the road nearly halfway between his home town of Figueres and his coastal home in Cadaqués. He had several ideas for the castle including creating a natural pipe organ in the castle which would have been "played" by the tramuntana wind that constantly blows in the area. Another was to house a rhinoceros in the basement purely for tourists to come and view, and the other was to acquire the ruins of the castle and make them in the residence of his wife, Gala.
You can't forget what you never knew about.Let's not forget
I’ve always had a hard time describing it, but my daughter suggested that “it’s in the middle between flan and creme bruleé.” Does that ring true to you?Let's not forget
Okay, this sounds like something not to be missed but does anyone have a favourite place to get it, along the way?You can't forget what you never knew about.
But now that I do...I won't!
It looks totally delicious, Rick, thank you!
Who needs the first two courses if this is dessert?
Yes, that's my question too.Okay, this sounds like something not to be missed but does anyone have a favourite place to get it, along the way
Plenty in Barcelona and I have added them to the Barcelona list but the first that I can find on this part of the Camino is in Girona! Help!Yes, that's my question too.
And we've been walking and bashing through the bushes. But eating not so much. Any recommendations, besides pizza Nobli in Vilajuiga that you mentioned, @Doughnut NZ , and Restaurant El Centre in Peralada that @SabineP turned me onto. @alansykes, any suggestions?
Okay, this sounds like something not to be missed but does anyone have a favourite place to get it, along the way?
If you are talking about where to get a good crema catalana, I can tell you that any decent place in Catalunya will have it! It’s just as common as flan in the rest of Spain. Lots of “holes in the wall” make their own, so you should just ask for it wherever you eat, and you will surely have some that are spectacular.Yes, that's my question too.
VN,Hmmm. Perhaps waddling along this camino might not be so good for the waistline.
Any other food recommendations?
Anyone who is a Dali afficionado will be in seventh heaven here.Peg and I went to Dalí's museum in Figueras in 2015 and loved it enough to go again with a friend in 2019. In 2019 we had a rental car and so we also drove out to visit Dalí's home.
How awesome this is! Thanks for sharing.I am also starting a list of things to do in Barcelona and places to eat, very raw at the moment but I will add to it. See https://maps.app.goo.gl/9AUjBJTHB78B5MRp9
Today´s stage was unremarkable, but almost all off road, very well routed to avoid the asphalt. I remember one town with an open bar, but I took my stops out in the fields where the air was clear and the views very mid-western -- huge open spaces with lots of cultivated fields. There were fountains to fill the bottle in Postos so no need to carry a lot of water on this stage. There were many beautifully restored homes in the little towns on this stage -- the affluence of Catalunya is quite stark in contrast to some of the other regions I've walked through.
Pensión Flavia (972-560-014). Single room with bath, 30 €.Once in Báscara, the Pensión Flavia (972-560-014) is the only game in town. Single room with bath, 30 €. There was a hotel here in town years ago, but it is closed. There are a couple of cafés in addition to the one in the pensión, so since I had a lot of free time, I decided to give other owners a bit of business. The town has a few interesting old vestiges, but it is not exactly booming. There is a small supermarket with decent selection. I had an 8€ plato combinado in the pensión's restaurant.
Figueres to Girona is mostly pleasant undulating country walks, mostly off tarmac, often in woods. Like some others here, I stayed in the Fluvià in Bàscara. I also had a very welcome dip in the riu Fluvià - there is a river beach at the edge of town, under the almost interminable bridge you have to cross to get there.
I added 10 km by taking the wrong path out of the village of Pontos. I am not the first who made this mistake. When you approach the center of this tiny village and hit the t-intersection, don’t just blindly turn right following yellow dashes. Look left and you will see a camino arrow. That is your camino.
They're in walking order for me, too.Would someone please take a look at the link from my phone and tell me if they are also in walking order for you?
However you cut it suits slow walkersThe distance is uncertain: what my map calculates is different from other estimates, by about 2km (less) but it is a relatively short day however you cut it.
Yes. All OK.Would someone please take a look at the link from my phone and tell me if they are also in walking order for you?
Please hold those thoughts, @Doughnut NZ , while we let everyone catch up! (And I'm actually walking these distances at home. Pant, pant...)Leaping ahead to tomorrow .......
Wow. It looks great"A dark and dilapidated place, small and with old-fashioned services but exquisite local cuisine and very fair prices"
Yes and yes. Want to try both!f you want bread (baked goods) and possibly coffee then this highly rated bakery, very cheap.
Forn de Pa L ´Empordà
Avinguda de l'Alt S/N, 17483 Bàscara
Also, even higher rated bakery
Fornpastisseria Salart / Salart Forn de Pa
Carrer del Pla, 4, 17483 Bàscara
There may be more ways to skin a cat than staying in Bascara.Slower walkers and explorers like me will want to break this day into smaller bits but I am not sure where to do that. Any ideas?
Your suggestion of Hostal Can Marret seems to be in the same general area (it doesn't show on my map, but that's the same town as Mas Alba). I bet it's much much less expensive than these two options.Found a possible place to break this long day! It is only just a little over 8klms from Bascarra and it is off the Camino but that means 8 less klms the next day.
Any other options?
Dalí's home and garden in Cadaqués. Out of the way and you may not get the house tour without a reservation made a few days in advance. That can be done online. We went in early October without a reservation and did get the tickets for the garden tour but of course the house will not fit so many people. In the garden though we met a couple that we chatted with at the Boston airport that decided to skip the house tour and gave Peg and our travelling companion friend their tickets for later in the afternoon (I took a walk in the area). We loved the garden; you can see pictures of it online. Peg says that the house wasn't particularly Dalíesque and more like a typical upper class Spanish house but if you are going so far anyway you may as well see it.Just to add one thing about Figueres, before we move on:
I found this in Laurie's thread:
Anyone who is a Dali afficionado will be in seventh heaven here.
There may be more ways to skin a cat than staying in Bascara.
One way to shorten the next day is to pause in the latter for refreshment and then continue on about 4.5kms (actually a wee bit less), to stay in Orriols in Hotel La Odissea de l'Emporda.
It's right on the camino. This only works if you are not short of dinero - it's four stars. In a castle. But it looks fabulous. Did you see it, Laurie?
Much more interesting as an longer option for day 2 would be a stay in an agrotourism place that makes goat cheeses, Mas Alba in Terradelles. It's off the camino a little but looks like navigation would be easy, about 2.75km past Orriols. It looks pretty cute!
Your suggestion of Hostal Can Marret seems to be in the same general area (it doesn't show on my map, but that's the same town as Mas Alba). I bet it's much much less expensive than these two options.
Farther along, about halfway to Girona, there is at least one other option that we can talk about when we get there - allowing two 16-17km days instead of a 35km whopper.
Wonderful! Since I spent more of my first 2.5 decades on a horse than off, this definitely appeals. One never forgets. (It might make walking the next day a wee bit interesting, though, given protests from long unused adductor muscles.)so if so inclined you could indulge yourself with a day's horseback riding while you are in the area.
Don’t forget @Rick of Rick and Peg — I think he is the forum member who walked most recently.I'm curious to hear from any veterans like @peregrina2000 , @alansykes , or @Sitkapilgrim - do you guys have any suggestions or comments about the various options?
Thanks Laurie!Don’t forget @Rick of Rick and Peg — I think he is the forum member who walked most recently.
Well, you may be right about that, but I assumed that his comments about the Dalí museum meant he had walked. Anyway, I don’t think anyone would think you were intentionally slighting anyone.Thanks Laurie!
My mistake. I thought they'd walked from Barcelona. Sorry for the unintentional slight, @Rick of Rick and Peg ! Any interesting tidbits gratefully accepted.
Haha. Great minds.And as I am currently playing around with @wisepilgrim’s new crowd-sourced apps to the untraveled caminos, I think this thread can lay the groundwork for a St. Jaume/Catalán app. Poor Michael, he may have unintentionally opened a bigger can of worms than he expected.
Mostly I've been waiting until Monserrat. Peg and I visited Figueres as tourists in 2015 and 2019. Our friend wanted to get out of Barcelona to see other places and from our previous visit to Figueres we figured that would suit her interests. We didn't mind returning.Don’t forget @Rick of Rick and Peg — I think he is the forum member who walked most recently
This was a lovely walk, though very little involved ascending or descending. It goes through lots of wheat fields interspersed with forests of scrub oak, aspen and cottonwood. Almost all of this stage is off road and with lots of shade.
Ermita de la Móra - Romanesque church
see https://ca.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Martí_de_la_Móra
Veinat la Mora, 2, 17464 Viladasens, Girona
A couple of hours out of Bascara if you are feeling peckish then right on the Camino is:
Restaurant Can Lladó - Highly rated and their menu of the day is E12
Carretera D’orriols, 2, 17464 Viladasens
Or if you are craving baked goods then try
Forn La Trilla - Just down the road, not sure if they also have coffee
Plaza Major, 5, 17464 Viladasens
About another 30 minutes later we pass a private art collection that is open to the public at
Museu Raset - Museu d'Art Modern
Carrer Raset, 29, 17464 Cervià de Ter
Another 30 minutes or so later we come across an 11th Century monastery that is highly rated.
Monastir Cervia De Ter see:
Carrer Priorat, 25, 17464 Cervià de Ter, GironaWeb oficial de l'Ajuntament de Cervià de Ter - A Cervià, muntanya, riu i pla.
A Cervià, muntanya, riu i pla.www.cerviadeter.cat
After the monastery, if feeling thirsty (and peckish) then
Bar Can Franc is just off the GPS track. However, the person recording the track got a little confused after the monastery as they wanted to also visit Castell de Cervià and they took a roundabout way of getting there. It is easier to just deviate from the GPS track after the monastery and proceed straight ahead on Carrer Priorat to get to the castle rather than heading left onto Carrer Saules and towards the bar mentioned earlier
Don't worry about missing the bar though because an hour further down the road you have a truck stop with the choice of cheap and nice at
Snack Medinyà - menu of the day for E11
N-II, 54, 17482 Medinyà
or slightly more upmarket and closer to the Camino that is also well rated but menu of the day is E23
Restaurant El Caliu de Medinyà
Carretera Vella, 17482 Medinyà
After another 40 minutes walking we pass an interesting cave
El cau de les Goges
17481 Sant Julià de Ramis
Then another 15 minutes after that we come across
Can Santvicenç - a historic landmark
http://invarquit.cultura.gencat.cat/Cerca/Fitxa?index=0&consulta=&codi=21771
Only another ten minutes past that we find
Ca l'Arnau - also historic see
http://invarquit.cultura.gencat.cat/Cerca/Fitxa?index=0&consulta=&codi=21772
But in taking this route (following the GPS) we have missed
Església dels Sants Metges - a very interesting Romanesque church, see https://ca.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Església_dels_Sants_Metges_(Sant_Julià_de_Ramis)
17481 Sant Julià de Ramis
If we want to see the church then we need to back up a bit and take El Terri street, a diversion from the Camino prior to Can Santvicenç. This is best seen on the map, alongside the GPS route.
If you do want to make this detour to the church then it is possible to continue and re-join the Camino but you will need to self navigate.
We are about 90 minutes out of Girona here so it would be theoretically possible to come back to some of these stop offs after we have found somewhere to stay for the night and dropped off our packs or choose from Romanesque vs other historic stop offs.
If at this point you are thirsty or hungry then there are three places to sate yourself before we get to Girona.
I have to admit to feeling mildly voyeuristic, since I'd never stay in a place like this. Even were money not an object, their excess and pretentious exclusivity makes me feel uncomfortable. But the view from up there is free, and who knows? Maybe they would give a pilgrim discount (good luck with that...The Sant Metges Hotel is situated in a privileged position on the highest part of the Sants Metges mountain in Sant Julià de Ramis. The Hotel is part of La Fortalesa, a complex which is housed in a former military site and which dates back to the XIX th century, together with the Atempo gastronomic restaurant and the DOR Museum
[...]
A brand-new hotel with a contemporary style, situated in the highest part of La Fortalesa complex. It offers 15 elegant, fully furnished rooms, each one personalized with the name of a gemstone, providing all the services of a 5-star hotel.
This was Laurie's choice; Pensión Borras (972 22 40 08) for 24.5 €.Girona is a beautiful, lively, interesting city. It was a Sunday, and I arrived at 1 pm, so I knew I had to move quickly in order to at least see the romanesque cloister of Sant Pere de Galligents before its 2 pm closing. It was worth the rush and it was worth postponing my arrival shower, just lovely. Luckily the Cathedral, with its 11th century amazing tapestry of Creation, is open in the afternoon
I liked Girona very much indeed. A little like a smaller Barcelona, but less frenetic and multinational. The cathedral, with its soaring gothic vault, was amazing, and I loved the multi-coloured buildings making a canyon along the riu Onyar. Best of all, I thought, was the simple romanesque beauty of Sant Pere de Galligants, with its lovely small cloister complete with zoomorphic capitals, including an impressive mermaid and a very fine cat. It was allegedly founded by Charlemagne, although sadly this apparently seems unlikely.
Out in the streets, almost every surface is covered with independentista flags or slogans, or the yellow loop, and ubiquitous posters called for "llibertat presos politics". I noticed that one of the main squares has been renamed "Plaça de l'1 de Octubre 2017". The yellow loop that covers so many surfaces can be confusing as, when the paint fades, it looks just like a fading camino yellow arrow. I resisted the temptation to buy a covid mask with the independent Catalonia flag on it, as I didn't think it would help getting served in bars once (if) I reach Old Castille.
In your capable hands, @VNwalking , slow walkers have no reason to despair. And where there's a will, there's a way!This is a longish day but if you are wanting to walk shorter stages, do not despair! There are options.
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