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A walker's guide to the southern pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela. This Camino Mozarabe de Santiago, or Via de la Plata as it is also known, starts in either Seville (1000km) or Granada (1175km) and leads north and northwest along paths and old tracks through Extremadura, Castillle and Galicia. The route is suitable for mountain bikes. It is the only original guide to this route in English, and complements the two new Cicerone guides covering the Way of St James from Le Puy to Santiago by the same author. As well as giving directions for walking the route, with notes for cyclists, the book also provides information on places to visit along the way, the history of the pilgrimage and the availability of practical facilities such as shops, bars, restaurants and accommodation. There is a list of suggestions for further reading and a glossary of geographical and other useful terms. It also contains a series of sketch maps covering the entire route to aid the user in planning his or her journey.
INTRODUCTION History and background Legend The Via de la Plata today Topography, economy and language Planning your journey Before you go Equipment There and back Being there Other practical information Using this guide THE ROUTE Seville to Merida Granada to Merida Merida to Zamora Zamora to Astorga Route via Puebla de Sanabria and Ourense (Camino sanabres) Ourense to Santiago APPENDICES A. Santiago to Finisterre/Muxia B. Summary of Santiago and pilgrim references C. Suggestions for further reading D. Useful addresses E. Glossary F. Index of principal place names G. Index of maps
Alison Raju is a former teacher of French, German and Spanish to adults and the author of four pilgrim guides for walkers published by Cicerone Press: Way of St. James: Le Puy to the Pyrenees, (2nd edition 2003) Way of St. James: Pyrenees-Santiago-Finisterre (3rd edition 2003), Via de la Plata: Seville/Granada-Santiago (2nd edition 2005) and the Pilgrim Road to Nidaros (Oslo-Trondheim, 2001.) A walker's guide to the Via Francigena, the classic pilgrim road from Canterbury to Rome, is in preparation. A chance viewing of a television programme in the early 1970's lead to Alison's interest in the Pilgrim Road to Santiago, at that time barely known in Britain. A walker most of her life she had the opportunity to walk the 1000 mile camino from Le Puy-en-Velay to Santiago all in one go in 1990, a time which coincided, fortuitously, with Cicerone Press seeking an author to write an original guide in English to the Spanish section of the route. Since then Alison has walked and explored many of the pilgrim roads through Europe (France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal) as well as those she has written about. Her other interests include music and she plays the French horn.
