___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, September 26, 2008

Traveling Tips for the Camino del Norte

In all of Spain siesta is from 2-4pm, sometimes till 5pm in smaller
towns. That means pretty much everything shuts down, like restaurants,
tourist information, shops, etc. Usually you can still find a tapas
bar open or any tourist attractions and shops too. The time is mostly
important to be aware of when you roll into a new town and need a map,
information, place too sleep, and food.

Albergues are cheap places to stay for the pilgrams. Prices can range
from donations to around 16 Euros a night. The accomodations itself
could be a monostary, private place converted with beds, youth hostel,
or pension. Some travelerls have told me that bed bugs are not uncommon,
especially on the main French trail during the high season of August
because of all the pilgrams going through.

The northern or coastal route I'm taking is more scenic, but the most
difficult trail. The albergues tend to be more sparce and pricier than
the other routes. Camping in random places saves lots of money. So far
all the albergues I've stayed at have been super clean and camping has
not been a problem, the weather has been awesome.

I've already met a bunch of fun travelers who have been traveling for
a while. Inga, a retired teacher from Germany, started her journey in
Munich back in July. She's been traveling alone, taking the toughest
route (The Alpine, denoted by red and white marks on the trail), and
speaks several languages, including Chinese. Man, talk about putting
me to shame.

So, for any females wanting to travel alone, the Camino is perfectly
safe and managable. There's one German girl who's traveling for a year
and just taking her time, stopping here and there, reading a nice book
at spots with incredible views. I mean if you've never been to Spain
or the particular towns on the Camino, then you should also factor in
some time to enjoy those special places you come across that take your
fancy.

Steve

1 comment:

Unknown said...

OMG! I know I should be focusing on the great travel advice you are giving but all I can think is...

OMG!! Steve is gonna get BED BUGS!!!!

You are not crashing on our couch when you get back until Chris has checked you thoroughly! :P

Post a Comment