- Time of past OR future Camino
- Ingles, F+M, Salvador, Norte, V.Serr., Fr.Leopoldo
Via Serrana in December 2022
Hello everyone, I am safely back from the Via Serrana and to sum up everything I experienced in one word: It was challenging. Not so much because of the terrain, but because of the really bad weather and limited daylight hours in winter. And because of some mean dogs at the outskirts of Ronda.
I started at December 9th, did the JW guide's 10 day itinerary and followed in the footsteps of veteran forum member Jungleboy, who hiked the trail two weeks prior to my La Linea start.
Right at the start and on 6 of my 10 stages I had rain in varying amounts. Rain, wind, haze and thunderstorms got so bad that I had to stop after 4 stages. I took the train to Ronda and waited there for better weather, which luckily arrived a few days later. So I could at least walk the last stages in the sun. Luckily the temperatures were mostly between 17 and 19 degrees and only dropped to 10 degrees during my break in Ronda. So I didn't get sick, even though my feet, shoes, and socks were wet almost every evening.
I learned a lot about resilience and flexibility. I needed both to complete the Via Serrana under these circumstances. I will hopefully find time in January to write a daily journal. Finally, I really enjoyed this adventure because the experience was very different from my first two Caminos. I felt that experiencing these challenges - feeling like Indiana Jones at times - contributed to a great winter camino.
Thanks to the contributing members here, jungleboy and geraldkelly in particular. I followed their advice for the last day and took the same historical route to Seville via Alcalá de Guadaíra and the canal. At 41 km my longest camino stage ever.
One of the obstacles I encountered, right on the first day at 5pm just a few kms from San Martín del Tesorillo:
Merry Christmas to everyone!
Hello everyone, I am safely back from the Via Serrana and to sum up everything I experienced in one word: It was challenging. Not so much because of the terrain, but because of the really bad weather and limited daylight hours in winter. And because of some mean dogs at the outskirts of Ronda.
I started at December 9th, did the JW guide's 10 day itinerary and followed in the footsteps of veteran forum member Jungleboy, who hiked the trail two weeks prior to my La Linea start.
Right at the start and on 6 of my 10 stages I had rain in varying amounts. Rain, wind, haze and thunderstorms got so bad that I had to stop after 4 stages. I took the train to Ronda and waited there for better weather, which luckily arrived a few days later. So I could at least walk the last stages in the sun. Luckily the temperatures were mostly between 17 and 19 degrees and only dropped to 10 degrees during my break in Ronda. So I didn't get sick, even though my feet, shoes, and socks were wet almost every evening.
I learned a lot about resilience and flexibility. I needed both to complete the Via Serrana under these circumstances. I will hopefully find time in January to write a daily journal. Finally, I really enjoyed this adventure because the experience was very different from my first two Caminos. I felt that experiencing these challenges - feeling like Indiana Jones at times - contributed to a great winter camino.
Thanks to the contributing members here, jungleboy and geraldkelly in particular. I followed their advice for the last day and took the same historical route to Seville via Alcalá de Guadaíra and the canal. At 41 km my longest camino stage ever.
One of the obstacles I encountered, right on the first day at 5pm just a few kms from San Martín del Tesorillo:
Merry Christmas to everyone!