markmcilroy
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- CF 2016
CF 2017
Le Puy 2018
CF 2022
VDLP 9/ 2023
Having done the Napoleon route in 2016 and the Valcarlos route in 2017 with no problems I thought I'd do the Valcarlos again last year but this time I got very lost. Once I got home I checked with the help of Google Earth / Street view to see exactly where I went wrong so this posting maybe of use to future pilgrims.
After sleeping outside in Valcarlos as the Albergue was closed for the month I walked in rain and light wind and followed the signs and eventually turned off the main road into the very small village of Gainekolta. There are only about 10 houses in the village and I saw 1 Camino sign on the side of a house but I didn't see the 2nd sign which was also on the side of a house but it was quite high and as it was raining my head was down and I followed the path at the end of the street which turned left and I went uphill but I should have seen the high up yellow arrow on the right and gone that way.
The path that I took was marked with white and green stripes and it eventually took me to main Camino route and it was quite nice feeling hearing voices in a distance in the fog but that was after walking maybe 3 hours of extra walking in wind, rain and low fog and I did feel a little stressed as I wasn't sure if I was going in the right direction or not, there were no other pilgrims around for the 3 hours but the occasional farmer on their tractor so I wasn't in any real danger.
So when you get towards the end of the street in Gainekolta you need to look up high for the arrow that will point to the right not the left. The picture shows the arrow on the right that I didn't see and the wrong path on the left which I took.
After sleeping outside in Valcarlos as the Albergue was closed for the month I walked in rain and light wind and followed the signs and eventually turned off the main road into the very small village of Gainekolta. There are only about 10 houses in the village and I saw 1 Camino sign on the side of a house but I didn't see the 2nd sign which was also on the side of a house but it was quite high and as it was raining my head was down and I followed the path at the end of the street which turned left and I went uphill but I should have seen the high up yellow arrow on the right and gone that way.
The path that I took was marked with white and green stripes and it eventually took me to main Camino route and it was quite nice feeling hearing voices in a distance in the fog but that was after walking maybe 3 hours of extra walking in wind, rain and low fog and I did feel a little stressed as I wasn't sure if I was going in the right direction or not, there were no other pilgrims around for the 3 hours but the occasional farmer on their tractor so I wasn't in any real danger.
So when you get towards the end of the street in Gainekolta you need to look up high for the arrow that will point to the right not the left. The picture shows the arrow on the right that I didn't see and the wrong path on the left which I took.
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