Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

[ivar]

"'Overbooking' en el Camino" is the headline in todays El Correo Gallego. The picture says it all.

This was the refuge in O Pino (20km from Santiago) yesterday (August 19th 2007). The refuge has 120 beds, 200 were in line when they opened.

Read more here

[marktqm]

Pity the poor hospitaleros!

[Andy Faint]

Looks well busy!

Will it be that busy in 3-4 weeks time ?? I don't really want crowds when I go

If my back heals up (don't ask!) I am intending to do my first "mini camino" from Triacastela area in Sept

I want some solitude and time for reflection and meditation - maybe I should consider the camino portugues??

I fly into Santiago - what is a good starting point for the camino portugues to give approx 6 or 7 days walking into SdC and to be able to collect a credencial at the start, I think XM mentioned Tui or Ponte de Lima but I do not know the distances

thanks & Buen camino to all

Andy

[bpondugula]

Hallo

This is no fun. Thats why we avoided the busy time so that we could enjoy ourself and not run or wait in line for shelter .

Andy, in 4-5 weeks, it must be a little less busy. The final part of teh camino frances is always busy . So be prepared for some traffic

Kind Regards
Bharat

[Ulysse]

I want some solitude and time for reflection and meditation - maybe I should consider the camino portugues??

If that is the case I would suggest you walk between Burgos and Leon in September. The last part between Sarria and Santiago is really busy, although you should not have problems with accomodation.

Burgos and Leon, being major cities on the Camino, can easily be reached by bus or train.

[2ndLife]

I am new to the idea of walking the Camino- Maybe in a couple of years. Reading all of the posts. I am wondering when the Camino is least busy but still not terribly bad, weather-wise?

[Martin0642]

It seems that august this year has been a real bumper month. A major problem is large groups booking things in advance. We saw a few organised walking holiday groups, whose kit was carried ahead and who had pre-booked 15-20 places in private albergues. Same goes for scout groups of which there were also several.

Maybe it's time to organise the albergue thing as a licenced venture? ie: If you call your business an albergue then it's first come first served, otherwise you're a hostal or B&B or hotel.... Just a thought. I dont begrudge these groups their walk but seeing a group of laughing wanderers saunter fresh in to an albergue whilst the people who'd just done 30km with packs on looked forward to a night under the stars..being eaten by mosquitoes and unable to wash their clothes - seemed deeply unfair. We were very lucky but partly because we went off the camino more than once to go to casa rural's. Not everyone will have the budget for that. O'Cebreiro was fully booked and teeming with people without places to stay when we got there at 6pm and there were fleets of taxi's taking people somewhere more accomodating.

It seems to me maybe june would be better? Whats the weather like then? Especially in changeable Galicia?

[Javier Martin]

Hi, Andy.

If you have problems with your back, may be it's a good idea the Camino Portugues. You have albergues each 13 km, not crowded, where you can arrive late and you will find a bed to rest. In the Camino Frances it's difficult to find a bed arriving in the afternoon.

If you understand spanish or portuguese, remember than you can download the whole guide of the Camino Portugues in http://www.amigosdelcamino.com completely free.

By the other side, it's curious this photo with too many problems to get a bed in O Pino, where the Camino it's been destroyed to build a industrial Polygon.

Andy, have a very good Camino.

Javier Martin
Madrid, Spain.