Camino 2020 - Finishing up the Via de la Plata.

VDLP 2009

I've been walking the Via de la Plata in stages. 

2009 - no water!

In 2009, Joe and I walked for 8 days on the Via de la Plata. Against more experienced pilgrims' advice, we walked in the hot summer. We were shocked to find fountains dry and as Rebekah of Moratinos warned, the heat "falling like a curtain at 2 pm."  At one point, we were helped by some fireman, who brought us drinking water.  It was just too difficult of a trek for us that year in that heat. We left the route in Fuente de Cantos and jumped up to the Camino Frances for the rest of our time.

Via de la Plata 2013 SPRING!

In 2013, I returned to the Via de la Plata to walk alone.  I walked in mid-May - a much saner decision.  It was an incredibly beautiful walk! The wildflowers were stunning and there were few pilgrims on the trail. I got to spend a few hours at the Thermal Baths in Aljucin. They had a special price for pilgrims.  Wonderful!

That year, I got as far as Cáceres before having to jump up to Pamplona to pick up my walking group. That year, I found it difficult to find lodging at a certain point, because railroad workers were filling up the albergues. 

Next spring, Joe and I have decided we will complete the route in March/April 2020. I was lucky enough to get round trip tickets from LAX to Madrid for only $450.  We will fly into Madrid, take a bus or train to Zafra, and begin walking there, re-walking sections I have walked but Joe has missed. We will walk from March 4 until April 14, spending the last few days in Segovia for Semana Santa!

Albergue de San Francisco, Zafra

The VDLP cuts off toward Santiago above Zamora.  However, we will take the route to Astorga instead of to Santiago. It's easier to catch a bus or train back to Madrid from Astorga in the time we have.

We plan on spending most of Semana Santa in Segovia. We have seen Semana Santa in Seville, Granada, and other parts of southern Spain. We have also seen it in Madrid. It will be exciting to spend it in beautiful Segovia!

Our tentative schedule looks like this, including kilometers between villages.  (pardon the spacing, I copied this from my Excel file):


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5-Mar	Thu	Arrive Madrid
		Train or Bus to Zafra
7-Mar	Sat	Villafranca de los Barros	20
8-Mar	Sun	Taxi to Almendralejo, Walk to Torremejia	14
9-Mar	Mon	Merida	16.5
10-Mar	Tue	Merida
11-Mar	Wed	Aljucin	17
		Thermal Baths
12-Mar	Thu	Alcuescar	22
13-Mar	Fri	Aldea de Cano	15.4
14-Mar	Sat	Caceres	23
15-Mar	Sun	Caceres
16-Mar	Mon	Cacer de Caceres	11.4
17-Mar	Tue	Embalsa 664.26.27.42	23
18-Mar	Wed	Grimaldo	20
19-Mar	Thu	San Gil	21
20-Mar	Fri	Carcabosa	14
21-Mar	Sat	Caparra / Jarilla	20
22-Mar	Sun	Aldenueva del Camino	19.5
23-Mar	Mon	Calzada de Béjar	26
24-Mar	Tue	Fuenterroble	21
25-Mar	Wed	San Pedro de Rosados	28.6
26-Mar	Thu	Salamanca	25
27-Mar	Fri
28-Mar	Sat	Urb. El Chinneral	22.6
29-Mar	Sun	El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino	15
30-Mar	Mon	Villanueva de  Campeon	13.5
31-Mar	Tue	Zamora	19
1-Apr	Wed	Fontanillas de Castro	25
2-Apr	Thur	Granja de Moreruela	12.5
3-Apr	Fri	Benavente	25.5
4-Apr	Sat	Alija del Infantado	22
5-Apr	Sun	La Baneza	20.5
6-Apr	Mon	Villares de Orbiga or Astorga	24.5
7-Apr	Tue	Astorga
8-Apr	Wed	Segovia
9-Apr	Thur	Segovia
10-Apr	Fri	Segovia
11-Apr	Sat	Segovia
12-Apr	Sun	Madrid
13-Apr	Mon	Madrid
14-Apr		FLY HOME

I'm excited!
I bought a new pack yesterday. No pack transport that I know of on the VDLP, so I'll be carrying as little weight as I can manage. 

Stay tuned to see my packing list.

Buen Camino,
Annie
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Completing the Via de la Plata

Several years ago, Joe and I began walking the Via de la Plata. Against advice from seasoned pilgrims, we chose to walk in summer.  Big mistake!  For those who haven't read about it, the trip blog begins here:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/11/8-days-on-via-de-la-plata-day-one.html

We got as far as Fuente de Cantos and decided to toss in the towel.
We then jumped up onto the Camino Frances.
I left my blue and yellow "Walking the Via de la Plata" guidebook at the albergue in Leon and have always regretted it. If you happen to find it (my name is inside) I'd pay to get it back!

In 2013, I picked up where I had left off, in Zafra, and walked a few more stages.

This time I finished at Caceres before having to go meet up with my walking group in Pamplona:

Here is that blog thread:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2013/05/zafra-finally.html

Now, Joe and I are talking about finishing up this route. 

We looked at airfare and found tickets

round trip from LAX to Madrid for just over $400.

I just couldn't pass that up!

Since Joe hasn't walked the stages from Zafra, 

I will walk those sections again with him.

We hope to finish up in Astorga,

then travel to Segovia

where we have reservations for Holy Week.

At the bottom is our tentative schedule.

I've made all the necessary reservations,

and now my only concern is getting my foot and my Morton's Neuroma

to a point where it won't bother me too much to walk.

I've ordered special inserts for my new New Balance shoes.

I'm doing water aerobics and stretching each day,

and am lifting free weights 3 times a week.

As soon as the weather permits,

I'll begin walking every day.

Right now, it's 105-112 here in the desert 

so much too hot to walk!

Gearing up means I'll have to buy a new pack.

I sold the Jade 128 last year.

I'm looking at packs between 128 and 130,

and am especially interested in the top-loading Deuter.

Unfortunately, Arcteryx no longer makes the pack

I carried for so many years.

And... I'm on a strict budget!

Using The Budget Mom's workbook.

So far I've been SHOCKED at how much cash I've been wasting!

Ok.. here's our tentative schedule.

Of course, nothing is set in stone.

We'll ride the wave . . . 

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Date	Day	Village	Km	Albergue
5-Mar	Thu	Arrive Madrid
		Train or Bus to Zafra		Hotel Plaza Grande
7-Mar	Sat	Villafranca de los Barros	20	Albergue Carmen
8-Mar	Sun	Taxi to Almendralejo, Walk to Torremejia	14	Alberge Rojo Plata
9-Mar	Mon	Merida	16.5	El Templo Suites
10-Mar	Tue	Merida
11-Mar	Wed	Aljucin	17	Albergue St. Andre
		Thermal Baths
12-Mar	Thu	Alcuescar	22	Albergue
13-Mar	Fri	Aldea de Cano	15.4	Albergue
14-Mar	Sat	Caceres	23	Apartamentos BeHoliday
15-Mar	Sun	Caceres		Albergue
16-Mar	Mon	Cacer de Caceres	11.4	Albergue
17-Mar	Tue	Embalsa 664.26.27.42	23	Embalsa Albergue
18-Mar	Wed	Grimaldo	20	Abergue
19-Mar	Thu	San Gil	21	Albergue
20-Mar	Fri	Carcabosa	14	Señor Elenas
21-Mar	Sat	Oliva de Placecia
22-Mar	Sun	Aldenueva del Camino	19.5	Albergue
23-Mar	Mon	Calzada de Béjar	26	Albergue
24-Mar	Tue	Fuenterroble	21	Albergue
25-Mar	Wed	San Pedro de Rosados	28.6	Albergue
26-Mar	Thu	Salamanca	25	Los Angeles Plaza
27-Mar	Fri
28-Mar	Sat	Urb. El Chinneral	22.6	Albergue Casa Saso
29-Mar	Sun	El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino	15	Albergue Torre de Sabra
30-Mar	Mon	Villanueva de  Campeon	13.5	Albergue Peregrino
13-Mar	Tue	Zamora	19	Albergue Peregrino
1-Apr	Wed	Fontanillas de Castro	25	Albergue
2-Apr	Thur	Granja de Moreruela	12.5	Albergue
3-Apr	Fri	Benavente	25.5	Albergue
4-Apr	Sat	Alija del Infantado	22	Albergue
5-Apr	Sun	La Baneza	20.5	Albergue
6-Apr	Mon	Villares de Orbiga or Astorga	24.5	Albergue or Hotel ???
7-Apr	Tue	Astorga
8-Apr	Wed	Segovia
9-Apr	Thur	Segovia
10-Apr	Fri	Segovia
11-Apr	Sat	Segovia
12-Apr	Sun	Madrid
13-Apr	Mon	Madrid
14-Apr		FLY HOME		`

So that's the plan, Stan!
See you on the Camino!
Love,
Annie

To Vitoria and a few more pics of Caceres

There was a demonstration in Caceres today. People here are suffering the economy as we are in the US. The Spanish are serious demonstrators !

Also, a couple if very nice sculptures.

What I saw from the bus:

I can't wait to walk these sections next year!

And finally,

after a looooooooong bus ride,

I reached Vitoria!

In May, 2014, I will walk the section 

of the VDLP

from Caceres to Salamanca.

Stay tuned...

VDLP 2013: Just a taste of Caceres

Just a taste of Caceres. Tomorrow I will take lots of photos. It is a beautiful old town!

Inside the Tower 

Spiral Staircase, looking down...

Beautiful stump work

Penitants

Cistern under the museum

VDLP 2013 - Day 8 - Caceres and Alberge Veletas

Albergue Veletas charged me 15 euros per night for a wee cell of my own. 

It's not the brightest place on the Camino 

but it is affordable, clean, and I have my own space

 and that makes me happy.

Walking out to find the tienda,

 I ran into Patsy from England and Elizabeth from Australia. 

They both are on the same Camino Santiago forum we all frequent.

They recognized me by my Macabi Skirt (which I have grown to love, by the way). 

It was like meeting old friends. 

I love that forum!

They paid 15 euro and were put into a 4-bed dorm 

which made me wonder if I had misunderstood my tariff. 

But I checked and 'todos son mismos' so all is well.

Being in old Caceres is like stepping back into a medieval town. 

A five minute walk from my Albergue and I'm lost in a time warp. 

 And to make it even better, for some reason unknown to me, 

everything (almost) is free today!

I paid a euro to see each church. 

But more on those later. 

 Here are some photos of the Albergue and of my lunch! 

 There are so many good things to eat, 

my pack keeps getting heavier and heavier! 

 Hopefully, carrying this weight will make me lighter and lighter! Lol.

The black paste is black olive pâté. 

This was 2,55 euros and it can be carried in the mochilla in cool weather. 

It's a great option for a vegetarian. 

A little goes a long way. 

It has olives, oregano, salt. 

 Pâté Aceituna Negra. Yum!

I also picked up a 3-pack of olives stuffed with sardines. 

These are tiny cans and they have pop tops. 

They are good on a sandwich. (Bocadillo)

Lastly, I needed something sweet in the mornings 

so I got these tiny packets of marmalade.

Two naranjas y una tomate and now all I need is a donkey !