Fedor said:
- I am afraid that the french route is too crowded/popular and thus less authentic.
The
Camino Frances is undoubtedly (much!) more crowded than other routes, but why is that 'less authentic'? The other routes are like the Frances used to be 15-20 years ago.
Fedor said:
- I hope that the weather might be less hot up north, closer to the coast.
that's true, but it's also much wetter
Fedor said:
- I also want to see as much natural beauty as possible (especially mountains!), and it has occurred to me that perhaps the north is better for that.
well, if you're looking for mountain scenery, don't go to Santiago! Try Montserrat or one of the Alpine shrines, such as Einsiedeln, Mariazell or Varallo. Perhaps the Pilgerweg over the Monte Moro Pass at 2868m - a mountain route by anybody's standards. With a couple of exceptions, such as the route over the Port de Venasque, none of the pilgrim routes to Santiago are particularly mountainous, as pilgrims largely use(d) main roads, which more or less by definition take low-level routes. There is a range of mountains all along the N coast of Spain, but the coastal route is largely to the north of that.
Fedor said:
- The northern route has substantially fewer refuges, which means that I will either have to plan my way extremely well, or sleep outside.
there are lots of hotels, though these can be filled by holidaymakers, especially in the summer months. Spanish hotels remain quite cheap, though of course on a long trip the cost soon mounts up.
Fedor said:
- Because the northern route is less popular, there is an even greater need to speak spanish there -- which I do not.
true, but then there's nothing to stop you from learning it ;-) And if you really want to amaze the locals, learn some Galician
Fedor said:
Which rotue would you recommend?
I think it depends on your objectives:
- to get to Santiago? Fly, or catch a train - much quicker and easier than walking.
- to get a compostela? Start in Ourense - just over the 100km and a much more interesting city than Sarria
- to meet fellow pilgrims? Go on the
Camino Frances - you could easily walk one of the other routes and not meet a single pilgrim, especially outside the summer months
- to meet the locals? Any route; even on the
Camino Frances, I've found, despite the many thousands of pilgrims going past their door every year, people are still surprisingly open to having a chat or helping out
- to have a good walk? Well, anywhere really
- to see particular historic monuments? Find a route going past them or, if there isn't one, make your own route (se hace el camino al andar)
It's your pilgrimage - you decide what it consists of.