Camino de Santiago?
 

I'm planning a non-religious pilgrimage walking from Granada to Santiago de Campostela over a year, or so. I'll be blogging my journey as often as possible. Don't have a planned route from Granada and will be diverting to visit many friends along the way. I have specific questions about the Camino pilgrims route from the French border.

Anyone here living along the route who can answer questions? Anyone walked it?

Importantly, I need to know where the internet cafes and locutorios are along the Camino. This is more important to me than knowing where safe beds are as I'll be partly reliant on web access for income.

All other advice and info' would be greatly appreciated also.

Thanks.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

Every time we answer a question about the Camino we refer them to this web site. http://www.caminolinks.co.uk/4595.html
there lots of links to forums specifically about the routes....Good luck with your plans.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

Good luck to you mate.Its a hell of a walk.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

Thanks for that. Very useful.



betris I'm planning to take it very slowly and I'm not staying rigid to any rules for a ticket to heaven, or anything. Just want a year enjoying something I've always wanted to do. With recession looming/hitting now seems the appropriate time to do it.

I've been practicing with 20KM hikes, but my plan is to just do village to village, or bar to bar ;) at a very, very steady pace and sell sketches online and on my way as I go.

Living with absolutely eff all money is actually a very rewarding experience. You appreciate life on a completely different level.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

do your home work as in some places it would be like walking across dartmore then the yorkshire dales.why dont you try and get some publicity and do a bit for charity as well then there would be people who would keep an eye out for you just in case you come unstuck.plus the free beer and food when you see any civilisation.so good luck hope all goes well.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

Headed ;)

Ta!

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

Just been on the website, sounds a fantastic journey, good luck LP, let us know how you get on

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

My brother cycled it 3 years ago... He did the route from Madrid... will see if I can get hold of him for any info... he is like the elusive pimpernel at the moment... all around Spain. He also cycled from Lancashire to La Coruna - so he travelled through France and northern Spain.
I was in Santiago just 9 days ago, standing outside the Cathederal.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

but did he cycle using the roads or did he actualy use the old pilgrim route.as there were proberly no roads in the old days days,just tracks up dale and down dale and over the mountains.with little places a pilgrim could drink some wine and eat some bread

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

We were in Santiago earlier in the year and when driving out to Lugo I was amazed at the number of people that were walking ... weather was terrible, wet and windy. That was March iirc

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

But the OP is coming from Grenada so they will have some nice weather and maybe if it is the wrong time of year very hot (Andalusia)or extremely cold (Madrid).
We have had less rain inland than some of you down south this year. The other day on TVE we noticed that Ourense was the hottest place in Spain bar Savilla! This happens quite often. So it is not as bad as some folks make out up here in the north.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

It seems to be becoming very popular even though the church remains in decline. I'm certainly not the first to have the idea of blogging the trip. I was inspired after reading Tim Moore's 'Travels With My Donkey' - a fun read with good historical notes for anyone interested in Northern Spain. I've wanted to walk the route since reading the book and I have to move house soon, but I'm not entirely sure where I want to move to (some beautiful woman has confused me ;)). Just seems the right time to do it.

I think the idea of opting out of modern life for a few months and living on a very tight budget appeals to more people during tough economic times. I'll miss the magic and never ending sunshine of Granada, but I'm pretty sure I'll return this way. There's a huge people magnet hidden somewhere in this city. Once you've lived here it's very difficult to escape.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

I agree!!
We spent time in A Coruna and Pontevedra.... A coruna temp didn`t pass 22 degrees and little rain (for a change, thankfully). Then we went to to a little town in Pontevedra for a week.. temp varied between 26 and 31 degrees.. rained twice, with a massive thunder and lightning storm and bouncing rain.. but it was during the night but we were in bed and awoke to clear skies and glorious sunshine. We were there for 3 weeks in August. Absolutely fabulous. Lush and green. Galicia is a very, very beautiful Province. The english Lake District `cannot touch it` in my opinion.... and when you get to the little coastal fishing villages you wouldn`t know that you weren`t in the Italian Riviera! Full of spanish/portugese tourists as well - nice.
The people living with 30+ degrees temps can keep their very uncomfortable weather (they moan about it enough!) and their lobster-red British tourists and Union Jack towels! :rofl:

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

OK - all change.

I've decided to do the route from Sevilla instead going through Extremadura. Apparently it follows an old Roman Road and is known as Via Plata (nothing to do with silver, it's a corruption of an Arabic word meaning broad flat thing, or something).

Anyway, any information about internet cafes in towns and villages en route (and mobile phone reception) would be gratefully appreciated particularly from Merida northwards. It's very much a direct trek north from there before turning west towards Santiago. Pretty sure anyone living near the path will be aware of the way. I hadn't a clue until I met someone last night who told me about it.

From Santiago I'll be following the French route 'backwards' going against the flow of pilgrims :rofl: before heading towards Barcelona.

Re: Camino de Santiago?
 

Bumping this before I unplug the broadband modem just to let people know my blogspot (some might be interested). I'll be exploring many hidden corners of Spain during the next Two years as well as better known cities. Interviewing people, recording musical happenings, photographically documenting places, finding out as much interest in each area as I can. In time, the blog site will include video, music and photography as well as sketches and paintings.

Very much a survival plan (financially, physically and mentally!) rather than a profit making excercise. Hopefully it will eventually become an interesting resource for anyone wishing to explore Spain and the many pilgrimage routes.

I set-off on Monday. No idea when I'll be able to access the net to upload large files, but I'll be blogging regularly (cash allowing) from my mobile.

http://www.thelostphotographer.blogspot.com

A shameless plug, but, like I say, it may actually develop into something worth reading!