I am considering walking a good chunk of the camino next spring (Leon to Santiago) - that is until I read a very negative review which likened the walk to be like walking in the middle of a freeway - namely most of it is on paved roads and traffic noise is almost constant the entire way! Can someone who has walked the camino tell me of their experiences - both positive and negative?
Teddie.
There are dedicated forums to the Caminos, you will find them with a Google.
There are also guidebooks dedicated to the Camino de Santiago.
If you use Instagram do a search for el camino de Santiago. You'll see lots of pics that will give you a better idea of what to expect.
Our regular poster Ms. Jo walked the Camino; her report is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/walking-the-camino-to-santiago-de-compestela
Not sure where you read that very incorrect review about the Camino, because it certainly is not true.
Please message me if you have questions about the Camino. I'm not the only one on this forum who has walked it though.
There are many FB pages and Camino forums to visit to get up to date information about it.
... and please, stop saying "camino".... use the proper name "Camino de Santiago". This habit of shortening Spanish names many of you have is rather absurd because most of the time you end up making no sense to any local. Camino is simply a generic word meaning 'path' or 'pathway' that on its own means nothing as there are literally dozens of well known popular "caminos", some being very old pilgrimage pathways while others simply natural 'roads' used by our ancestors for hundreds of years to travel between important cities/towns. Other well known "caminos" would be for example: Camino de Ronda in Costa Brava or Camino (or Caminito) del Rey in Malaga.
Here a sample: http://www.mapama.gob.es/es/desarrollo-rural/temas/caminos-naturales/caminos-naturales/default.aspx
Grumpy mode off, :)))
Then why do all the Spaniards passing by you on the sidewalks, in the stores, in the hospital, or driving by say "Buen Camino"?
The most popular route is the Camino Frances, but many people are walking the Camino Ingles, Camino Norte, etc.
Then why do all the Spaniards passing by you on the sidewalks, in the stores, in the hospital, or driving by say "Buen Camino"?
Perhaps it's the same reason you might greet someone with "good morning" and not "good Thursday morning."
Walking parts of the Camino de Santiago was a wonderful experience and one that I will always treasure; I've ONLY good things to say about the trip and the terrific people that we met along the way. With only two weeks to spend on the Camino, my amigo and I were able to arrange a "customized" itinerary that gave us three different segments (3 days, 3 days and 4 days) to experience the Camino. For example, we chose the mountains (Ponferrada to Sarria) and then made our way onto Santiago de Compostela by car, and, then continued a 4 day walk on the scenic coastal Camino to Finesterre and Muxia. BTW – enlisting the services of Garry Budin (Spanish Adventures) was large part of our success. Please feel free to PM for additional info. Buen Camino.
