1 | Camino Sanabrés During Semana Santa

Castilla y Leon | Granja de Moreruela to Tabara, 27.5 km
Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVAiPQLcqYe2vvFYvPUz_sQLfNiD5zRkg

The journey starts here (Subscribe): http://bit.ly/2GmX1h3
Enjoy the perks (Memberships): https://bit.ly/34CuY8l

Vlogging & Gear List (Affiliate links): https://amzn.to/3IBvd7S
Music Library: https://artlist.io/referral/97954/Efren

1 hour One on One Consultation: https://calendar.app.google/Tma25tiFH5sehpg29
Trail Angels and Trail Magic: https://bit.ly/Trailmagic
Efren’s Merch Store: https://teespring.com/stores/efren-gonzalez
Via de la Plata Gps Files: https://bit.ly/m/Walk_with_Efren_GPS

Instagram Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/C481Lm0rWX4/?igsh=MXZuZGJ5c2FpM2Z3dg==

Accommodation: Albergue Municipal

Daily Costs Breakdown:
€04.00 Breakfast
€05.00 Snacks
€14.00 Lunch
€13.79 Market
€20.00 Albergue Municipal
—————————
€56.79 Total

*** As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that if you click on an Amazon link on this website and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I have personally used and believe are of value to my subscribers. Thank you for supporting the channel.

Filmed March 25, 2024. All rights reserved.
#CaminodeSantiago #viadelaPlata #CaminoSanabres

Good morning, guys. It is day one on the Camino 
Sanabrés. Yes, I have been walking since I started in Sevilla on the Via de la Plata for 23 stages 
with two rest days. And once I got here to this town, to Granja de Moreruela, I decided to 
go via the Ourense route instead of Astorga. It is super cold right now. It’s like 38° 
Fahrenheit, which is way, way too cold, and it’s going to be windy. It is also Semana Santa. It 
is Monday, April 25th, 2024, and I’m here in this Casa Rural that I decided to stay in last night 
just to celebrate the end of the Via de la Plata. I’m heading to Tábara. Here’s the 
sign, going that way. Yes, sir, I’m not going to Astorga. Today is going to 
be a 26–27 kilometer day. I had dinner last night with my pilgrim friends at the only 
bar in town. They stayed at the municipal albergue. Today I’m staying at the municipal in 
Tábara as well, a Donativo place that has like 22 beds, a communal dinner, breakfast 
included. Oh, it’s going to be great. It’s cold, yes it is. It is 39 degrees 
Fahrenheit, which is 5 degrees Celsius, and we have a rainy week ahead. Today is 
going to be fine. Today is just going to be windy as it has been on days past, but 
we’re going to get rain and we’re going to get snow as well. So it’s going 
to be a totally different Camino. I’ve always wanted to do a winter Camino, I just 
didn’t expect it to happen now. Today is April 25th, 2024. We’re in the middle of Semana Santa, 
and we’re going to be baptized by the rains. There’s no escaping it. I’ve had how many days? 
Like two, three days in the Via de la Plata at the beginning in Extremadura, which was nice. Yeah, 
it looks like I’m going to enter Galicia in style. Of course, Galicia and the water, the rains, 
are unavoidable. You’re going to get it there. By the way, guys, if you’re new to my channel, 
my name is Efren Gonzalez. I’m a travel adventure vlogger and Camino guide. I’ve done many, many, 
many, many, many Caminos here in Spain. Actually, the Via de la Plata was the only long-distance one 
that I hadn’t done. I’ve done the Francés multiple times in different modes of transportation, 
del Norte, Inglés, the Portuguese on the coast, in the center, San Salvador, Primitivo… I mean, 
the list goes on and on, and it keeps growing. Just said goodbye to one of the pilgrims at 
the bar. He’s going to Astorga. Everybody else is going via Ourense, 14 days with a rest day in 
Ourense, and I’m looking forward to it. You know, I thought it was going to be colder today. 
I had to wake up later than usual. I like to have breakfast at 7 am and head out, but the bar 
opened at 8 am. What are you going to do? And the next town is 18 kilometers away. So I needed my 
café con leche before I started today’s stage. Is it going to be flat? I think so. But we’re 
going to see mountains in the days ahead. You know, I’ve been seeing these trees with the 
white flowers more often in the last few days, and I’m just beginning to question whether 
this is like an omen of the snow that’s to come. These white trees in the middle of 
this green landscape, this lush landscape. Walking the Via de la Plata in the springtime 
has just been incredible. Muddy for sure, and a little bit of rain at the beginning, 
but overall it’s just the best time to do it. I cannot imagine, look at my hair, I 
cannot imagine being out here in the summertime with such little shade 
or places to stop along the way. So if you’re thinking about doing the Via 
de la Plata, maybe this Camino as well, do it in the shoulder season, which will be the 
high season here. And that is March through May, and then I guess September through November, 
but then you’ll get the rainy season at the end. You know, you have to play with it. You 
have to adjust. You have to make your plans. We got cactuses here. We got a dirt path 
to follow today. It’s going to be a good day. And I cannot believe that I’m only 14 
days away from Santiago, which, by the way, if you’re starting on today’s video, 
it’s not the end of my trip. No, sir, not by a long shot. I started in Sevilla, and 
my plan is to go all the way to Rome. Yes, I’m going to Santiago first, then I’m 
doing the Camino Francés in reverse. I have to go home, sadly, because I can only be 
here for three months at a time due to the visa, and then I’ll come back in the wintertime, or 
who knows? I was talking to an Italian pilgrim, and he told me, “Don’t be in Tuscany in November,” 
which is the target date for me to reach Rome. He says it’s going to be rainy, it’s going 
to be cold, it’s better if you’re there in May. So I don’t know. I have to plan it once I get 
back home. Should I do it at the end of the year, or should I do it next spring? We’ll see. We 
got time. We got time. That’s all I have time. It’s not so cold today. I guess it’s the wind. 
Yesterday it was extremely windy, and that brings the temperature down even more. I don’t have 
the gear for 0° C. It’s 32 Fahrenheit. It’s crazy. When I’m walking, I’m fine. I got all my 
layers on. I got my shirt, I got a fleece jacket, and my puffy jacket. And I have a poncho for 
the rain or the snow, and I have an umbrella as well. Plus, I got my hat with a face cover that 
gives me a little bit of protection from the wind. It’s so nice to see the patches 
of woods make a return to the landscape. I’ve been walking since 
Zamora, what is it, four days now, in those just ever-expanding wheat fields as 
far as the eyes can see. The horizon disappears, you know, it merges with the sky. But these 
woods, man, they bring back memories of, you know, Andalucía and Extremadura, which 
were the highlights of the trip, I must say. I can also see mountains coming up, 
and that’s where I’m heading. I’m climbing. I’m climbing. I think the highest 
point is a little bit over 1,000 meters. We’re going to hang up there for a 
little bit, come down to Ourense, go back up again. It’s going to be a stair master 
for sure. But this is nice. Yes, I love it when the Camino is always throwing a new curveball 
at you and changing the landscape every week. Can you imagine the meseta on the Francés looking 
like this? Oh, I think it used to at one point. What an incredible morning, and the 
weatherman was wrong. It’s not windy, not at all. It’s just perfect temperatures 
to be out here walking. And my god, the landscape has changed. Look at this rocky 
area. It opened up into an incredible view with the river Esla down below. And then, after 
walking just a little section there on the road, we got to cross over the bridge and 
made it here to this split on the road. And just like in life on the Camino, we have 
options. We can make a right turn and just follow the road, which would be the easy route. 
Or better yet, we can make a left turn and then go into the wilderness, follow the river, go up 
through this rough terrain but with incredible views. And there’s also the ruins of a castle up 
ahead that I don’t want to miss. So which way do you think I will go? That is an obvious one. Let’s 
go right, I mean left. Left, of course. Left. Needless to say, this is not the type of 
terrain you want to find yourself on a rainy, cold day. All these rocks are probably going 
to be slippery, with water gushing down. No, sir, this is only for a day like today. 
Let’s enjoy this walk following the river. Not much of a castle left. Now, 
yesterday that was a castle, but we got great views here of the meseta 
on one side of the river and the mountainous terrain on the right. So that might be the 
divider between the meseta and when we start climbing. I don’t know. I don’t know what’s up 
ahead, but that’s what I’m feeling right now. It was a nice little climb up here to the top 
of this rocky hill, and I think it was a wake-up call for what’s coming up ahead. There’s no 
support on this stage until the next town, which is like 18 kilometers, and that’s where I 
plan to have either my mid-morning snack or lunch. What time is it? 10:30 am. I’m definitely 
taking my time because this I haven’t seen this in a while. I think the last time that we 
did anything of a climb, that you may call it, was to El Alto de la Peña, and that was 
like two stages ago. Was it two stages? Yes, two stages before Salamanca. And we’re 
back in the mountain. That’s how it goes. That’s what’s cool about it. Every time it 
changes, it’s like a breath of fresh air. We got a couple of muddy sections on the trail, but nothing that my Gore-Tex boots 
cannot handle. Oh yeah, the mask is on. Oh my god, what a beautiful section 
with all these patches of woods, and then the landscape opened up once again. 
We can see now clearly the mountains that we had to tackle with the windmills at the 
top. We have a straight shot right now, 3 kilometers to the next town 
where I’m planning to have lunch. It is noon already, so I should be getting there 
just before 1:00 pm, maybe 12:30 pm, and then 6 kilometers to Tábara where I will be staying. 
Everything looks so close and yet so far away. All right, the sun is out, blue skies, 
and windy. You know, from the looks of it, you wouldn’t think that tomorrow is going to 
be a rainy day, but it might be. Who knows? So far, I’ve had the weather on 
my side, but at the same time, I’m kind of looking forward to walking in 
the snow. Be careful what you wish for, of course. All right, let’s go for 
it. Three kilometers. Let’s do it. And I find myself in the town of, what’s it 
called?Faramontanos de Tábara, where I just made a quick stop at the bar just to have a bite to eat. 
It was a mid-morning snack. I didn’t get to have lunch, so I just had a café con leche, a large 
one, with a slice of tortilla española and bread. And the church, the church is closed, 
of course. This town, at the entrance, has those little caves that you see on the Camino 
Francés when you are leaving León, those wine cellars or abandoned wine cellars that people 
use as storage. And it brought back memories. Is the church open? Come on. 
It’s Semana Santa, man. No, it’s not. Six kilometers to go, and the 
sun is out. Yes, let’s go for it. Oh, there’s the yellow arrow. I almost went the 
wrong way. Getting windy. It’s getting windy. I forgot to mention two crucial things 
to the storyline. The first one is, just before getting to town, I saw a stone 
marker with a yellow arrow the first one along the way and the distance: 348 kilometers 
to Santiago. Oh, we’re inching away. Yes, we are. And the second thing was, at the bar 
I switched shoes. Yes, I do that every day ever since these shoes got torn apart. I 
have a big gash on the side of my right foot, and I bought a new pair in Salamanca. You 
know, on every stage, halfway through it, I always switch them just to let my feet rest. I’m getting used to the Salomon shoes that I 
bought there, and I think I’m almost there. Finally, after like five days of breaking them 
in, in the morning when I put them on, they feel just fine. No issues so far. No blisters, no 
hot spots, no problems with my Achilles or, you know, the bottom of my foot. Everything 
is working out perfectly, which is fine. So then it was time to celebrate 
with an ice cream. That’s right, I enjoyed an ice cream on my way out 
of town. And now I’m past the 75% of the way. Five kilometers to Tábara. Almost 
there. It’s 1:00 pm now. Let’s get to that municipal albergue. I’ve heard it’s 
one of the good ones on this Camino. Well, made it to this incredible albergue just 
a little bit shy of 3:00 in the afternoon after stopping at the main café—or the only café that 
was open—by the main square and having lunch. So I went for a burger with a beer and fries. And 
then, as soon as I made it here, I settled in. We have a room with like seven beds, and I 
got a corner one, of course. Took a shower, did laundry, and as I hung it up on the line 
to dry, it started drizzling. And I guess the rains are here, and it’s going to be like 
this for the next week or so. What can I say? There’s a sign that says, “No battery 
charging for the e-bikes.” It has started. I kind of got the feeling when I did the Camino 
on an e-bike in 2022, but the more people do it, the more friction there is with all the 
other pilgrims and with the infrastructure. Rain, man. I’m not looking forward to this, and 
it’s super cold. We’re going to have a communal dinner here at 8:00 pm, and breakfast 
is at 7:00 am. It’s a waiting game now. Can you guys believe that it 
rained in the afternoon? Yes, it did. I had to take all my clothes, 
bring them inside. I saw that they had the heater, so I set it up so that it would 
dry them, and then the heater triggered the breaker. So I had to bring it back out here and 
put it on the line until like half an hour ago. I decided to go really quickly to the 
supermarket and buy some supplies for tomorrow, mostly to add to the breakfast and maybe as a 
snack. And then we just had a communal dinner here that was just incredible. They explained 
to us what’s going to take place tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be the coldest day. I 
think it’s going to be like 32° Fahrenheit, or 0° Celsius, or even colder than that. There’s 
a 30% chance of rain starting around 3:00 in the afternoon. And tomorrow I’m thinking 
about continuing on an extra 11 kilometers, so that will make the day a 34 or 
35 km one, so that on Wednesday, when it’s really going to rain, I 
only have to do like a 25 km climb. It’s going to be an interesting few days, 
especially with Semana Santa. It’s going to, you know, throw the whole plan out the window. 
I was just warned that on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, most places are going to be closed, 
and we’re like out in the middle of nowhere, so food is going to become 
an issue. That’s how it goes. I want to thank, of course, 
the trail angel of the day, Robin Campbell, for your donation. Thank 
you so much. And I’m going to head back inside because it’s getting cold. See 
you guys tomorrow at 7 in the morning.