Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

[melissalareau]

Hi. I am walking the via de la plata in dec-jan and was curious if safety is an issue in the off peak season. I am unsure where i can find out this type of information. If anyone knows websites, organizations or has personal experience with this issue (particularly women's safety), I would appreciate it greatly.

[ivar]

Hi and welcome to this forum melissalareau,

I will be visiting the pilgrim’s office in Santiago later this week, and I will ask them if they have any more information regarding the safety on el camino.

I will post a message once I know more.

Ivar

[ivar]

I did stop by the pilgrim's office today, but they did not have any materials on this. They only gather statistics on how many pilgrims get the Compostela and that is pretty much the statistics that they collect. The did not know of any other information on safety-issues either.

I was told that the "Xacobeo pilgrim tourist office" in Rua do Vilar might have more information. They were close today (it is holiday here today), I will try to stop by there later this week.

Ivar

[ivar]

Hola,

I did stop by the "Xacobeo pilgrim office" today, and they do not have any information collected on Crime on el camino either. They of course talk to a lot of pilgrims on a daily basis, and I think they have a good feel for what types of complains are most common among pilgrims ending up in Santiago.

I asked what types of complains did they hear from pilgrims, and their answers were things like:
- Loose dogs
- I had to sleep on the floor in one albergue
- Some owner of some albergue did say xyz to me and I did not find it proper.

The only thing related to something criminal would be:
- I left my camera on a table, and when I came back from the bathroom it was gone.

The lady I talked to had never heard of any comment from any pilgrim related to anything physical. From earlier posts we know that this has happened, but I think the truth is that this is very seldom.

Un saludo desde Santiago,
Ivar

[Kerryman]

We were warned in SJPdP of the following this October:
"Watch out when in Pamplona. There are thugs there that grab complete backpacks and make off with them."

So we took precautions. When stopping for drinks at the Cafe Iruna, we snapped the shoulder straps of our backpacks together and onto the chairs, and we never left them unattended for a single second.
- Nothing happened to us. So the question remains: false alarm or right reaction?

Anyway, we think we have spotted junkies both in Pamplona, Logrono and Bilbao, so there certainly would be an environment for such thefts at least in the big places.

Better watch out and take care.

Claus