Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

[lckgj]

Just booked flights for my 18 year old son and I to walk the Camino Ingles end August!

The planning is quite challenging compared to the caminos Ingles and Fisterra - no reassuring John Brierley guide to hold your hand every day.

I have the CSJ guide and have made notes from the existing postings on this site which have been very helpful. I plan to do different stages from Johnny and others as will do the short walk on our day of arrival in Ferrol to Neda, then to Mino the following day then longer day to Bruma.

Part of my reason for choosing these etapas is that I am keen for my son to have the 'albergue experience' as it will give him a good taster of what to expect should he choose to do other routes in the future.

I would be interested to hear some details of what the albergues in Neda and Mino are like as I dont think anyone who has posted here has actually stayed in them. Even reports from 'passers by' would be helpful. How many spaces do they have, what facilities etc.

Also in Siguiero where there is only one hotel is there a possibility that it will be full and is the only option at that point to walk/bus it to Santiago?

May thanks

Laura

Any new info on this route greatly appreciated!

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi Laura

I'm walking the Ingles again at the beginning of July and I'll report to you after that!

J

[lckgj]

Thanks Johnnie, I was kind of hoping if I dropped a few hints you might offer to help me out!

I look forward to hearing how you get on. Are you planning to do the same stages as last time? Is there a particular reason why you have chosen to walk this route again?

Will also be interested to hear how you find the July heat. I went by bus to A Coruna (great place to spend a couple of days) and my impression was of wooded and fairly shaded walking terrain. It also seemed quite flat but I already know from reading the CSJ guide that I have got that wrong...

You are fast becoming the forum Camino Ingles specialist!

Buen Camino Ingles

Laura

[Rebekah Scott]

you´re right, Laura. Johnny Walker is The Man!

I walked the Ingles in May. I didn´t stay at the albergue in Neda because I arrived there too early...it doesn´t open until 4 p.m. Others have said you have to go into town and hunt down the hospitalero to open it up for you.

The albergue is prettily situated with a view over the water, but it is a bit isolated from the rest of the sprawling town. Maybe that is why it was covered in graffiti and glass was broken, etc. It looked rather newly made, but abandoned, too. You and your daughter together should be fine, but as a woman traveling alone I know I would not stay there by myself.

I didn´t see the albergue in Mino. It´s 1 km. off the trail. Having seen the towns and accommodations I have to agree that staying in Puentedueme and Betanzos are the better alternatives...the towns are lovely and much more interesting, and the etapas are more reasonable.

Buen Camino!
Rebekah

[lckgj]

Thanks for that Rebekah.
You have got me wondering now if I should alter my plans and go your route instead. I thought that my son would enjoy the camaraderie of the albergues but if we are the only ones there then that kind of defeats the object...
Plenty of time to consider the alternatives and hopefully a little more information may be forthcoming before we set at the end August.
Appreciate your help!
Laura

[JohnnieWalker]

Laura

I think Rebekah is giving you really good advice - whilst I will scout out the two Albergues for you these stages never make any sense to me - although clearly it is an option to spend some time in Ferrol and leave late. I hear that the hospitalera in Neda is really helpful but as yet I have not met her. I agree totally with Rebekah about Puentedueme and Betanzos - both are lovely. Puentedueme looks out on to the water - it is very picturesque. Every one was friendly - seafood abounds. Betanzos is very interesting and I wished I could have spent more time exploring.

For the "albergue experience" if there are any other pilgrims an option might be to go from Ferrol to Mino.

Hospital de Bruma has an excellent albergue and a very helpful hospitalera and husband. It has good cooking facilities but if you are cooking you may wish to carry some lightweight food as there are no shops or bars- the other option is to walk the additional few k's to Meson do Vento either to eat or sleep - there are places on both sides of the road with restaurant and rooms.

Have a look at the mundicamino site for maps and elevations. http://www.mundicamino.com

Both the A Coruna amd Ferrol arms have got their own challenges - it all adds to the sense of accomplishment

[laurie]

We followed the Camino Ingles in 2004 and found the albergue at Neda just as neglected as it is now reported to be. The location is lovely but we could not find a telephone to summon the guardians and, as it was getting late, stayed at the hotel instead.
We found our way to the albergue at Mino almost by accident. Approaching the town, after passing Banobre and the Ponte Baxoi, we crossed the small meadow instead of leaving it on the left and found a track leading among reeds and under a lofty motorway viaduct. This brought us to a road where, to our surprise, there was a sign indicating the albergue which is reached by a bridge across the railway line. Some walkers already there had telephoned the authorities for access.
A mobile telephone would be useful for summoning the keyholders for all three albergues on this route.

[Peter Robins]

Re Sigueiro, I would think the hotel is unlikely to be full - the question is more whether you want to stop there As stated in other threads, there is supposed to be the possibility to stop in the sports hall, but I've never heard of anyone actually doing so - perhaps it's one of those where they only open up for prebooked groups. You are never far from the road on the Camino Ingles, and there's a frequent bus service Corunna-Santiago, so you could bus back to Ordes. There are several hotels along that stretch: as Johnnie says, at Meson do Vento, at Leira, there are several in Ordes itself (Louro is the CSJ-recommended one (I've stopped there, nice family-run place with nice friendly prices )), and at O Empalme 6km and Los Carballos 5km before Sigueiro.
Go to http://www.turgalicia.es/caratulas/cara ... oxa&menu=4 and search for hotels/'boarding-houses' (i.e. hostals) in Ordes/Oroso municipalities. You will notice the one in Sigueiro isn't listed!

The route is indeed shady - archetypical Galicia, in fact. Apart from the entry into Santiago, which is rather tedious.

[JohnnieWalker]

The advantage of Sigueiro is that it is on the route. I stayed overnight in the Hostal Miras last year and the food and welcome were great - they are very pilgrim friendly. The bathrooms are shared and whilst the place is generally run down the beds were clean. In fact it was as good if not better than some albergues I've seen in more remote areas. It is well placed for a short walk the next morning into Santiago.

Talking to them a few weeks ago they said that they were busy in Holy Week but generally quiet. I'd call ahead and I agree that a mobile telephone is useful on this route

But Peter is correct - the main road is never far away on this route and there are a number of options for cheaper accomodation and food.

Peter - Google maps gives a good illustration of the route and where the road is adjacent to the route - any other map sources you would recommend?

Regards

John

[Peter Robins]

Google Maps? But Google Maps doesn't show the route - that's the main problem with them, that the mapbase is pretty useless for anything other than roads. You're better off with the IGN topomaps. The online version marks the route from Bruma http://petersmaps.googlepages.com/ol_mt ... layers=B0T
though there's a curious gap at Oroso (something gone wrong with their rasterisation process there) from where the route is incorrectly shown on the main road. It also shows the route heading south from A Sionlla to the Camino Frances at Monte do Gozo - it would be interesting to know if this is actually waymarked.

The Galician Amigos site http://www.amigosdelcamino.com/ gives phone nos for the 'pabellón' at Sigueiro, and also says there's summer accommodation in Pontedeume and Betanzos.

[Rebekah Scott]

On the main road between Ordes and Siguero is a very clean, friendly, and inexpensive inn called Santa Cruz. I had a lovely room with a fabulous view and cows mooing down the valley, and one of the best Menu del Dias EVER in the asador downstairs... lamb chops roasted on a wood fire! Total for bed and dinner and breakfast? 32€.

Santa Cruz is about 7 km. north of Siguero. The walk from there to Sigu. is noisy and boring, but you can rejoin the country route once you get to Sig. The dinner alone was worth the diversion from the suggested route.

Rebekah

[hastings1066]

Dear Peter- this exchange of posts has been really helpful. At the risk of belabouring the point about my 60+ year old knees, I really doubt I can tackle the etapa Betanzos and up the hill to Hospital de Bruma in one day. Slightly furtively I was planning to have a taxi pick me up in Leira, which seemed to be a mid-point, return to Betanzos for the night and then taxi back to Leira to hike it to Hospital de Bruma the next day. But do I understand you to say that there is a hotel/places to stay in Leira? If so that would be a much more straight forward option. Grateful for your thoughts
Anne

[Peter Robins]

I think you may be confusing two different places. Leira is on the N550 about halfway between Meson do Vento and Ordes; there is a hotel there. I think you may mean Leiro, which would be roughly halfway between Betanzos and Bruma. I don't think there's any accommodation on that stretch. The only thing I can find on turgalicia is the Casa Rural at Cines http://www.larectoraldecines.com/ a former monastic building ('Mosteiro de Cis' on the map), about 3km E of the route, which looks very nice; depends on your budget. There is also a Casa Rural more or less on the Corunna branch at Beira/As Teixoeiras http://www.turgalicia.es/sit/ficha_dato ... I&premium= also 2-3km from the Ferrol route. The advantage of that type of private accommodation is, if you ask nicely and arrange with them beforehand, they may well be able to come and pick you up, and deposit you back the next morning - which would save on the taxi fare

[hastings1066]

Thanks Peter for the helpful clarification. The section Betanzos to Hospital de Bruma is going to be my biggest challenge and you have given me some more options to consider
Anne

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi

1 I stayed again at the Hostal Miras - the accommodation is decaying a bit - but clean. The food is very good. It is very unlikely to be full but just call ahead to reserve if you are concerned. 15 euros for a room, 8 euros for the Menu of the Day - and they are very friendly and helpful.

2 The weather - was good, but wet at times - one full day walking in the rain.

3 The Bar Julia some 17 k from Betanzos and just before the "big" 3k climb is also very helpful - the very day I was there someone turned back (having consumed several cervezas before the ascent!) - the Bar Julia organised a taxi for them and off they went. I think that is a viable option -simply to call a taxi and have them take you to reasonably priced accomodation and then back again the next day - it isn't going to be far away.

4 The Albergue question - hmmmm. These are two good albergues in terms of their accomodation etc ( pics below ) Neda 28 places and Mino 22. I have the contact numbers for the Hospitaleros in my notes.

I'd make two points:

1 The albergue at Neda is in a really nice position by the river - opposite the bridge with the two hoops. Several people however told me that young people congregate there in the evenings and there have been reports of loutish behaviour. I'd say this place would be fine if walking in a group but lone walkers especially females should be cautious.

The albergue in Mino is very modern - it is 1 k or 15 mins walk from the route - it faces a motorway ramp and is in front of what looks like a large school - so a little isolated but not in as vulnerable a position I'd say as the Neda albergue.

2 However as has been rehearsed on this subject before I don't underdstand the attraction of these stages from Ferrol to Neda then to Mino then to Bruma etc - Ferrol to Pontedueme to Betanzos to Bruma to Sigeiro to Santiago makes much more sense!