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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=cooneyavalis.ca href="mailto:cooneyavalis.ca">Dennis Cooney</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=deannabowlingayahoo.com
href="mailto:deannabowlingayahoo.com">athena</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 24, 2003 3:14 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: Via de la Plata</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I walked from Seville to Salamanca in October this
year and will be back in Salamanca on March 21 to finish the journey. I
found the route extremely well marked and the Spanish government is doing
extensive work on the Camino to improve it. Most noticeably, they are
placing large 2 ft. x 2 ft granite way markers everywhere there could
be a be a question on which way the Camino may go. Unfortunately,
they are being placed by government workers who do not understand that the
marker should be after the path divides, not before. But this is minor as
you can generally figure out which direction the Camino follows. The two
basics I would recommend is the Guia del Camino Mozarabe de Santiago which is
available from the Friends of the Camino in Seville, and Alison Raju's book Via
de la Plata, the Cicerone guide. The Guia has the very best maps and
Alison has the very best description and directions, especially for getting into
and out of towns. The other recommendation that I would make is while
visiting the Friends of the Camino in Seville pick up and use their
passport. As strange as this may seem, other passports or Credencials are
not accepted in some refugios. My friend from Paris had a French
Credencial and had to pay 12 Euros while I had the Spanish version and
slept for free with just a donation, if I wished.
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dennis Cooney</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Vancouver,
Canada</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>