Is there any way to find out the number of pilgrims per month on the Camino Olvidado?

[Lirsy]

I would really like to walk this Camino. I guess not being so popular (at least today) it would be wise to walk in the peak season (which I guess will be between July and September).

Anyway, I would like to know if, even in the peak season, there are a minimum number of pilgrims. It's not too nice to arrive to an alberge and discover that you are the only pilgrim there.

As I am mainly a winter walker, it would not be the first time I am alone in the hostel ... but better when you have some company! It is so difficult and sad to prepare a queimada for a single person !!!

 

[VNwalking]

You might get in touch with the albergues themselves?
Or Ender, who has written the guide for this camino. If you want company, this one may not be your cup of tea just yet.

I know that albergues on the Olvidado are keeping records and are astonished at the increase (for instance, Fasgar albergue had more pilgrims in May than it did in all of 2018).

 

[Deleted member 73526]

On a popular Camino, like the Frances, you could estimate next year's pilgrim numbers day by day using historical data. (Sure, you'll still be off on some days, but your estimate will be roughly right more often than it's wildly wrong). On a less frequented Camino, even if you have perfect historical data, your estimate will be little better than guesswork.

Peregrina2000 recently wrote this post with an interesting factoid: Is the Olvidado for you?

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/is-the-olvidado-for-you.63250/

The factoid - "The number of pilgrims who slept in the Fasgar albergue in May 2019 was more than the number that slept in the albergue in all of 2018. True, the numbers were small, about 60 or 70, I think, but still, things are on the move."

If we assume that the numbers stay flat and you walk at a similarly busy time of year, there should be an average of 2 pilgrims per day on the route. But I guess that there are days when four people pass and days when there are none etc. Therefore, if everyone on the Camino covers the same daily distances, a pilgrim who sets off alone might walk the whole way without encountering other pilgrims, but the next pilgrims are probably only a day or two behind. So a pilgrim who has the flexibility to take rest days ought to be able to meet others.

If you want to be sure of having a walking companion, you could bring one along ...

 

[Lirsy]

If you want company, this one may not be your cup of tea just yet.

As Aristotle once said, "Virtue is the happy medium between two extremes". I don't need or want a crowded Camino. I wouldn't mind walking a whole day without seeing any other pilgrims ... but, at least once in a while, I'd like to see someone else!, Especially in the albergues.

The factoid - "The number of pilgrims who slept in the Fasgar albergue in May 2019 was more than the number that slept in the albergue in all of 2018. True, the numbers were small, about 60 or 70, I think, but still, things are on the move."

... with such a small number of pilgrims, calculating averages is really difficult. If the 60/70 number refers to the year ... it is almost impossible to calculate how many pilgrims per day in May. If the number 60/70 refers to May 2019 ... then, considering a very probable increase, I would say that by 2020 you can have an average of 2 or may be even 3 pilgrims per day in July ... what would really be nice!

I guess for the Camino Olvidado the peak month could be July. July is too hot on other caminos such as VdlP, Madrid, La Lana, ... even on the Camino Frances ... which could convince some pilgrims to take caminos further north, such as Primitivo, Norte, Olvidado, etc.

 

[Deleted member 73526]

If the 60/70 number refers to the year ... it is almost impossible to calculate how many pilgrims per day in May. If the number 60/70 refers to May 2019 ...

Total pilgrims for the year 2018 = 60/70
Total pilgrims for the month of may 2019 = 60/70

then, considering a very probable increase, I would say that by 2020 you can have an average of 2 or may be even 3 pilgrims per day in July ...

With numbers this haywire, I would quote Niels Bohr: "It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future."

 

[peregrina2000]

I have written to a couple of the albergues to see if I can get some info. I would say, having walked in June, that though the numbers are increasing at a strong rate, it is still likely to be the case that if you walk alone, you will usually be alone. I did meet two others in Boñar, but they didn’t take the mountain route (BIG mistake ) , so I never saw them again. At this point, I think there is a steady trickle, but it would be the luck of the draw to actually coincide with others.

One other point about the numbers in the albergue in Fasgar. As other albergues have opened, Fasgar is no longer an “obligatory stop” as it was. Now you can sleep in the albergue in Vegarienza, which is 18 km before Fasgar, and walk 17 km more to Igüeña. It used to be that there was nothing before Fasgar for almost 30 km. So Rosi now sees both people who stay there and people who pass through. The numbers she gave were only those who actually stayed there.

 

[Lirsy]

I have written to a couple of the albergues to see if I can get some info.

Thank you very much!! Counting with this info would be really interesting.

it is still likely to be the case that if you walk alone, you will usually be alone.

May be I have to wait another year and dedicate 2019/2020 to more standard Caminos! 2021 will be a crazy year, except on the Caminos that are hardly traveled today.

 

[peregrina2000]

One other point to @Lirsy. I think that if it bothers you to be alone in an albergue, you should wait a few years, because that is very likely to happen to you on this Camino for a while.

About the numbers — I have already heard from Estela in Vegarienza. Last year, she had 38 all year. This year up until now (and before what she expects to be a big number in August) there have been 52.

In Fasgar the numbers for June and July have been between 30 and 40 a month.

 

[KinkyOne]

I know almost nothing about Olvidado but on other less walked Caminos I did meet/see other walkers or bicigrinos from time to time but in albergues I was more or less alone. So even if there would be let's say 5 people daily on certain stage that doesn't mean they would stay in the albergue if there are other accommodation options. Not all are on the budget...

By all means I don't want to put you off the Olvidado @Lirsy

 

[Lirsy]

You are too pesimistic!!

With the figures you are giving + the increase per year and + the 2021 effect ... I would say that summer 2021 would be perfect for me. It could be that a percentage of nights I am alone in the albergue ... but I think that most of the days I will meet other pilgrims there (1 or 2 ... No that I think that Olvidado will become like the CF!!! - Fortunately!)

Ok ... that's a decision made! Summer 2021 Olvidado !!

Now I have to focus on 2019/2020 !!

I was planning a LONG camino, probably starting in Latvia ... but it seems difficult to find accommodation with a reasonable budget. I will probably have to forget about that and go to a less ambitious plan.

Ok, as my work schedule is still unclear ... I still have some time to plan.

 

[KinkyOne]

You are too pesimistic!!

With the figures you are giving + the increase per year and + the 2021 effect ... I would say that summer 2021 would be perfect for me. It could be that a percentage of nights I am alone in the albergue ... but I think that most of the days I will meet other pilgrims there (1 or 2 ... No that I think that Olvidado will become like the CF!!! - Fortunately!)

Ok ... that's a decision made! Summer 2021 Olvidado !!

Now I have to focus on 2019/2020 !!

I was planning a LONG camino, probably starting in Latvia ... but it seems difficult to find accommodation with a reasonable budget. I will probably have to forget about that and go to a less ambitious plan.

Ok, as my work schedule is still unclear ... I still have some time to plan.

If that is about my post I have to emphasize that what I mentioned (5 per day) was just an example for XY Camino.

About being pesimistic... I don't know, I think more like realistic. Anyway I like to be alone, even in albergues. If I want some company I can go to a bar

Nice to have a plan. Buen Camino Olvidado!

 

[peregrina2000]

I think that the energy, dedication and unity of the towns along the route, coupled with the amazing scenery, is going to ensure that the growth in numbers happens more quickly than we have seen on other caminos. For now, it is quite adequate for pilgrims to have access to albergues juveniles, but in the summertime that gets tricky. We spoke with a restaurant owner in Vegarienza, a town where pilgrims sleep in a very nice albergue turístico. It was a place with about 8 cabins, with bunks for about 12 per cabin. Alun and I had a cabin to ourselves, and there was still one empty, but there was a group of kids occupying the rest. She said that when the place is filled with kids, the owner of the albergue brings pilgrims home to his house, because he feels like he has committed to taking in Olvidado pilgrims. That has led her almost to the point of committing to building a small albergue, so we will see.

BTW, for @MikeJS and any others starting out, the hands down best place to eat in Vegacervera is a restaurant connected with a local embutidos factory. http://www.mesonlacocinona.com/ (not sure that it’s the place for vegetarians or vegans, though I bet they will accommodate). It is not on the main drag, hidden a few streets up, but definitely worth finding.

 

[MikeJS]

BTW, for @MikeJS and any others starting out, the hands down best place to eat in Vegacervera is a restaurant connected with a local embutidos factory. http://www.mesonlacocinona.com/ (not sure that it’s the place for vegetarians or vegans, though I bet they will accommodate). It is not on the main drag, hidden a few streets up, but definitely worth finding.

Thank you.I have made a note just in case I stop there!

 

[peregrina2000]

Thank you.I have made a note just in case I stop there!

I know you are a camino monster, but if you don’t stop there you will be looking at a 43 km stage with one of the most horrendous descents I have ever encountered. But the mountain splendor totally makes up for it.

 

[MikeJS]

I know you are a camino monster, but if you don’t stop there you will be looking at a 43 km stage with one of the most horrendous descents I have ever encountered. But the mountain splendor totally makes up for it.

It all depends on how I am doing on the day (and the weather!)

 

[Pruden]

I would really like to walk this Camino. I guess not being so popular (at least today) it would be wise to walk in the peak season (which I guess will be between July and September).

Anyway, I would like to know if, even in the peak season, there are a minimum number of pilgrims. It's not too nice to arrive to an alberge and discover that you are the only pilgrim there.

As I am mainly a winter walker, it would not be the first time I am alone in the hostel ... but better when you have some company! It is so difficult and sad to prepare a queimada for a single person !!!

I’m know doing Camino Olvidado and on my seventh journey I haven’t found any pilgrims and I don’t think I would find any the rest of the journeys ( total journeys 22 from Bilbao to Villafranca del Bierzo).
If the year goes well ( not this one ) it might walk this Camino less of a hundred or a little bit over )
It’s a lonely Camino and very few albergues and even hostel or hotel on the Camino , you must make about 30 to 35 kilometers day to find then .
Buen camino

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

I’m know doing Camino Olvidado and on my seventh journey I haven’t found any pilgrims and I don’t think I would find any the rest of the journeys ( total journeys 22 from Bilbao to Villafranca del Bierzo).
If the year goes well ( not this one ) it might walk this Camino less of a hundred or a little bit over )
It’s a lonely Camino and very few albergues and even hostel or hotel on the Camino , you must make about 30 to 35 kilometers day to find then .
Buen camino

I'm not an expert on this route, but all in all it seems to be one of the less travelled Caminos. And if you add the Covid Pandemic, one would expect even fewer pilgrims than normal this year. If I was to walk the Olvidado right now I would expect to meet zero other pilgrims...

BP

 

[Pruden]

I'm not an expert on this route, but all in all it seems to be one of the less travelled Caminos. And if you add the Covid Pandemic, one would expect even fewer pilgrims than normal this year. If I was to walk the Olvidado right now I would expect to meet zero other pilgrims...

BP

You’re right!
No pilgrims a toll !
Few weeks buck a couple walked this Camino and met no pilgrims all the way through!
So I wouldn’t expect to meet any .

 

[dick bird]

I would really like to walk this Camino. I guess not being so popular (at least today) it would be wise to walk in the peak season (which I guess will be between July and September).

Anyway, I would like to know if, even in the peak season, there are a minimum number of pilgrims. It's not too nice to arrive to an alberge and discover that you are the only pilgrim there.

As I am mainly a winter walker, it would not be the first time I am alone in the hostel ... but better when you have some company! It is so difficult and sad to prepare a queimada for a single person !!!

Hope you get to walk this camino. We did it in September 2019 and were informed that 500 pilgrims had walked it that year so far. The only other pilgrims we met were actually on other routes (Lebaniego or Vadinense) and somewhat taken aback to hear the Olvidado even existed, let alone that they were on it. I hope to put up a post soon with some photos, meantime let me know if you have any specific questions although Enders' and Peregrina's and Rayyrosa's guides will have pretty well all the information you'll need. We also found Wikilocs handy - a lot of Spanish walkers seem to do bits at the weekend and have posted on that. One more thing, Adolfo, Luisa and Chuchi are three hospitalero's running their own albergues. Sweethearts every one.

 

[peregrina2000]

I hope to put up a post soon with some photos,

Can’t wait to see it!

I think the Olvidado/Invierno combination is my number one favorite of all the caminos I have walked. Though in some ways it is kind of like picking which child you love the most.

 

[OzAnnie]

I think the Olvidado/Invierno combination is my number one favorite of all the caminos I have walked. Though in some ways it is kind of like picking which child you love the most.

Laurie,
I can understand that !
- but is there something else which puts it ‘up there’ for you?
Is it mountain scenery /climbing., the villages , the historic buildings/churches ., or the people you walked with or met ., on this one?
I know there can be a little of all of those on every camino route but I’m trying to understand how you rank it . I guess it comes back to trying to choose between children .

is the degree of difficulty high? (I’ve walked the Invierno section., but wondering about the Olvidado ? )

 

[MikeJS]

Laurie,
I can understand that !
- but is there something else which puts it ‘up there’ for you?
Is it mountain scenery /climbing., the villages , the historic buildings/churches ., or the people you walked with or met ., on this one?
I know there can be a little of all of those on every camino route but I’m trying to understand how you rank it . I guess it comes back to trying to choose between children .

is the degree of difficulty high? (I’ve walked the Invierno section., but wondering about the Olvidado ? )

For me what made the Olvidado stand out was the scenery. I found some of the stages I walked to be the best I had ever seen on any camino. The ones that stood out to me were Puente Almuhey to Cistierna, Bonar to Vegacervera and onto Buiza.

 

[peregrina2000]

but is there something else which puts it ‘up there’ for you?

I think the Olvidado has that unmistakable Camino feeling for me in ways that the Norte, the Portugues and the Inglés didn’t and the Primitivo and the Invierno did. (Don’t get me wrong, I would happily return to every camino I have walked, but some affect me in different ways —I would put the Levante somewhere in the middle in terms of my camino-thermometer, which you may relate to since you’ve walked some of it). Though I’m not certain exactly what triggers it, I know that the feeling has nothing to do with the numbers of people I meet and connect with —the Primitivo is quite heavily travelled and the Invierno and Olvidado are empty, yet I had that sense on all three.

It may have to do with a certain sense of timelessness and connection to the past that I feel. Romanesque helps for sure! Long stretches in wide open spaces, whether they be on flat fields or mountain ridges, also seems to open up my spirit in some weird way. And the Olvidado has a lot of unmatched (IMO) mountain stretches. Maybe it has to do with my own mental state when I walk and how I approach the camino. I really don’t know how to put a finger on it.

If any of the other Olvidado veterans have a similar sense, let us know how you describe it!

 

[OzAnnie]

I think the Olvidado has that unmistakable Camino feeling for me in ways that the Norte, the Portugues and the Inglés didn’t and the Primitivo and the Invierno did. (Don’t get me wrong, I would happily return to every camino I have walked, but some affect me in different ways —I would put the Levante somewhere in the middle in terms of my camino-thermometer, which you may relate to since you’ve walked some of it). Though I’m not certain exactly what triggers it, I know that the feeling has nothing to do with the numbers of people I meet and connect with —the Primitivo is quite heavily travelled and the Invierno and Olvidado are empty, yet I had that sense on all three.

It may have to do with a certain sense of timelessness and connection to the past that I feel. Romanesque helps for sure! Long stretches in wide open spaces, whether they be on flat fields or mountain ridges, also seems to open up my spirit in some weird way. And the Olvidado has a lot of unmatched (IMO) mountain stretches. Maybe it has to do with my own mental state when I walk and how I approach the camino. I really don’t know how to put a finger on it.

If any of the other Olvidado veterans have a similar sense, let us know how you describe it!

I found some of the stages I walked to be the best I had ever seen on any camino. The ones that stood out to me were Puente Almuhey to Cistierna, Bonar to Vegacervera and onto Buiza.

Tks @peregrina2000 and @MikeJS for those descriptions. I truly wondered as I ‘get’ the real feeling of something special coming thru all things written about it. (Also the other northern linking caminos around there ).
from the two descriptions above and with JS’s mention of ‘Buiza’ where it crosses the Salvador - I’m ‘getting’ my image of ‘that’ area (having walked Salvador/primitivo).... that spectacular wide-open mountain/rocky areas. Lonely too but I’m getting to understand that - even if many don’t, although getting to an age (shucks, I’m already there lol) where I’ll have to be sensible.
I think @VNwalking holds this up there too. I hope I get the opportunity to compare.
Buen camino to all.
x