Well, I finally pushed the button on my next Camino. Flights are booked.
It seems like a long way off still, but I know the time will fly, and there will be a flurry of activity the closer my departure date looms.
There is so much to do, not just in term of personal preparation, but making sure that family and business have everything ‘covered’ whilst Rob ‘goes walkabout’.
I can’t believe it will be almost 5 years since my feet have trodden those ancient paths.
I miss it so much, and yet I still have that newbie nervousness and anticipation.
Will I make it?
What if this?
What if that?
But I know once I have the first few kilometres behind me, I’ll settle into a familiar rhythm and mindset………
This Camino will be very different from my previous three, that were all on the Camino Frances.
It’s much longer.
It’s much more remote.
The services are limited so most days, I’ll need to carry a days’ worth of food and water (extra weight)
And I expect it to be lonely.
I’m actually looking forward to the remoteness and solitude.
In a strange way I embrace it. Walking at my own pace, taking my time, soaking up my surroundings, and thinking……..lots of thinking…..
But I expect to find some of the evenings lonely. It’s nice at the end of a hard day to share a meal with a fellow Pilgrim, and I realise that might not always be possible on this route.
It will be an interesting challenge to see how and if I overcome it.
This Camino has been on hold for 2 years for a variety of reasons, and so I’ve had plenty of time for research and planning.
Way too much time!
I feel I know the route quite well now, at least enough to know the areas that might pose a challenge.
But I’m realistic enough to know, that a plan usually changes within days………
I might feel up to walking longer distances, or need shorter stages, and a multitude of other things will cause that plan to change.
It will change ……
But at this stage the plan is.
Fly into Madrid and take a fast train to Sevilla.
Take a rest day in Sevilla.
Then start off with 5-6 ‘sub 20 km’ days to ease into it.
I’ve then managed to work out a rough plan that should keep my stages at my ‘comfort’ level, with only 5 or 6 exceeding 25 kms.
I’ll head North and when I reach Granja, take the Northern option to Astorga, rather than head West on the Sanabres.
So, I’ll join the Camino Frances for a few days, which means I get to pass the Cruz de Ferro again.
Then at Ponferrada I head ‘into the hills’ on the Camino Invierno to Santiago.
After a short rest in Santiago, it’s on to Finisterre and Muxia.
So, in effect I’ll ‘tick off’ 3 Caminos on this trip.
The Via de la Plata.
The Camino Invierno, and
The Camino Finisterre
At least that’s the plan.
I’d be a fool to think that ‘someone up there’ won’t have other plans for me 😊
See you on the trail.
Robo
My 2023 Route. VdlP, Invierno, Fisterra. Muxia. About 1200 kms by the end
Good evening, Rob. That’s Xicu Belga from Barcelona. I wish you the best for the Camino you’re about to undertake. Sensational.
I’m going to start my first Camino, Camino Francés, during the second half of April. It’s a long journey into the unknown, no matter how many videos I watch on YouTube or pages I read on the Internet. My plan is walking the camino in 70 stages, as I’m already retired.
I’ll become a Camino addict, I guess, and I’m sure I will walk it again in 2024.
I’m living in Barcelona but I was born and raised in L’Escala, on the Costa Brava; no words to describe the beauty of everything. My native language is Catalan, but soon I learned the co-official language: Spanish. I started to learn English when I was 15. It’s a beautiful, essential language for infinite purposes.
My wish is walking the Camino Catalán in a near future, starting in Port de la Selva (Costa Brava), then Figueres (Dalí Museum), Montserrat (awesome monastery and abbey), and all the way till we join the Camino del Ebro, which will take us to Logroño.
That’s a long coast-to-coast journey and it might take two months at least to accomplish it. But I don’t want to walk it alone. Think of it, Rob. That would be amazing.
Have a very buen Camino.
Sounds like an amazing journey ‘coast to coast’ Xicu.
Wait till you walk your first Camino.
You might find walking alone is the best way 😊
Hello, Rob – my wife and I have become quite addicted to your Camino site and so we thank you for the wealth of information. We are planning our first Camino for the September/October time frame this year (2023).
In our 70’s with some medical issues (knees, hips primarily), we will most probably stay in hotels and utilize backpack transfer for a bit of the way.
A major question for us is the meseta. The distances between stops are a concern, particularly because of the scarcity of hotels toward the central part of the route.
We know you have stayed in hotels at times. How did you manage the meseta?
Thank you – and we wish you the best on your new adventure!
I love the Meseta. My wife and I stay in private accommodation and don’t walk long days.
She needs to stay under 20 kms.
Have a look at the Gronze website and you will see there are lots of accommodation options.
Don’t miss the Meseta! It’s one of the best parts.
The Meseta really starts just past Burgos and ends in Astorga.
It’s glorious!
You’ll see on the Gronze website there are loads of accommodation options and you don’t need to walk long stages.
https://www.gronze.com/camino-frances
Hi Rob
I’m 48 now and for my 50’s I want to do part of Via dela Plata (unfortunately I can’t afford 40 days vacation). So, it would be a pleasure to know more about your plans. I saw a few videos in YouTube and can confirm that your lessons are great, but sometimes we don’t see what is in our face… I walk form Pamplona to Santiago in 2006 and did the Primitivo Way in 2015.
Buen Camino
Hi Jorge,
I’ll be posting a regular blog here when I walk the VdlP.
It will be a slow Camino, averaging 20 kms/day, and going via Astorga, Ponferrada and the Invierno.
Hi Rob! I’ve watched your videos on YouTube for many months soaking in all of your great advice. In a few weeks I will begin my walk on the camino Mozarabe in Almeria to Via de la Plata, and Sanabres to Santiago. My final destination will be be Muxia to Finesterre. I may run into you somewhere in Spain. Then and now I’ll say Buen Camino!!
Thanks for watching my videos Shirley! I wish you the best of luck and Buen Camino!