Returning pilgrims

[Walkingbike]

Hi Camino pilgrims
Thank you for having me on your forum.
I will be travelling the Camino again this September,my second trip, and was wondering if it is acceptable to stay in the hostels and albergues whilst on the homeward journey? I intend reaching Santiago around September 20 th and re commencing the homeward journey then . Is this very late in the season or will I be okay?,as my return journey will take approximately 2 weeks.

 

[Tincatinker]

Provided that you can produce a Compostela to show that you are a pilgrim homeward bound then you should not encounter any issues with using pilgrim accommodation. I would expect most Albergue to still be operating at that time of year. Gronze is a good resource for annual opening and closing dates

 

[henrythedog]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Private albergues certainly. Municipales and donativos maybe not. Most will be fine but some consider the return trip to not be part of the pilgrimage. (Edit: @Tincatinker ’s comment on having a Compostela is relevant)


I can’t remember the precise context but there was a thread on a very similar topic a couple of months ago.

 

[David Tallan]

Hi Camino pilgrims
Thank you for having me on your forum.
I will be travelling the Camino again this September,my second trip, and was wondering if it is acceptable to stay in the hostels and albergues whilst on the homeward journey? I intend reaching Santiago around September 20 th and re commencing the homeward journey then . Is this very late in the season or will I be okay?,as my return journey will take approximately 2 weeks.

It is, of course, up to whomever is providing the accommodations.

From my own perspective, if I were walking back from Santiago de Compostela to my home, in asking to stay at albergues and pilgrim hostels. If I were taking the bus or train, I probably wouldn't present myself there but look for other accommodations.

I know @JabbaPapa has done homeward walks. Perhaps he can weigh in. Or anyone else who has done so.

 

[Kathar1na]

I will be travelling the Camino again this September,my second trip, and was wondering if it is acceptable to stay in the hostels and albergues whilst on the homeward journey? I intend reaching Santiago around September 20 th and re commencing the homeward journey then . Is this very late in the season or will I be okay?,as my return journey will take approximately 2 weeks.

Welcome to the forum, @Walkingbike. Just to clarify: I take it that you will bike on the Camino Francés from SJPP to Santiago and back, and that the return journey will take about 2 weeks, is that it?

I've never heard or read that the hostels and albergues on the CF would take issue with Camino pilgrims returning from Santiago who wish to stay with them. I would consider it as absurd if those who claim to uphold the century-old tradition of the pilgrimage to Santiago want to turn it into a one-way street. Those who created this tradition centuries ago did walk to Santiago and they did walk from Santiago back home. It is only today's Camino peregrin@s who are too busy to do so.

There was a thread a few weeks ago when it became known that albergues on a different Camino in the south of Spain refused to allow people to stay with them because they walked in the "wrong" direction. However that was not the main reason. The main reason was that they had not started in Santiago but in Granada far far away from Santiago and were therefore regarded as not belonging to the target group of these volunteer supported albergues as they did not meet the requirements of a "pilgrim" profile.

During your timeframe (last week of September and first week of October) things on the CF are still in full swing and you can expect albergues and hostels to be open.

Buen Camino!

 

[Walkingbike]

Welcome to the forum, @Walkingbike. Just to clarify: I take it that you will bike on the Camino Francés from SJPP to Santiago and back, and that the return journey will take about 2 weeks, is that it?

I've never heard or read that the hostels and albergues on the CF would take issue with Camino pilgrims returning from Santiago who wish to stay with them. I would consider it as absurd if those who claim to uphold the century-old tradition of the pilgrimage to Santiago want to turn it into a one-way street. Those who created this tradition centuries ago did walk to Santiago and they did walk from Santiago back home. It is only today's Camino peregrin@s who are too busy to do so.

There was a thread a few weeks ago when it became known that albergues on a different Camino in the south of Spain refused to allow people to stay with them because they walked in the "wrong" direction. However that was not the main reason. The main reason was that they had not started in Santiago but in Granada far far away from Santiago and were therefore regarded as not belonging to the target group of these volunteer supported albergues as they did not meet the requirements of a "pilgrim" profile.

During your timeframe (last week of September and first week of October) things on the CF are still in full swing and you can expect albergues and hostels to be open.

Buen Camino!

Thank you for your speedy and clear response. I take on board all your advice .
It does seem absurd that it's a one way only thing.
I will carry on with my plan and report back to the Forum at a later date and share my experience
Thank you all

 

[MesaWalker]

There also have been threads about people starting their walk in Santiago and walking a camino "backwards." We met a couple of people like that walking the Via de la Plata/Camino Sanabrés late last fall - those walkers had the logical idea of walking north-to-south as the weather got colder. They were indeed staying in albergues, but there is some question whether a zealous volunteer running an albergue might turn them away since Santiago de Compostela was not their destination.

I think that's a completely different question from someone who walked or cycled to Santiago and then is returning home. I agree be sure to have your Pilgrim Passport with stamps in it, and if you received one, your Compostela, and it's hard to think you would have any problems.

 

[WGroleau]

I think that's a completely different question from someone who walked or cycled to Santiago and then is returning home. I agree be sure to have your Pilgrim Passport with stamps in it, and if you received one, your Compostela, and it's hard to think you would have any problems.

In most cases, they can’t tell which way you came from. But if you show a credencial with stamps from “downstream,” and the hospitalero is paying attention, …

It wouldn’t matter at the albergue I worked in, but …

 

[sreevesjc]

Another challenge of walking in reverse is that the waymarking arrows are not orientated in your favour. I have been walking the Camino Inglis to Ferrol this week, and have made several blunders even with the Buen Camino mapping app. Having to stop at every intersection to check adds at least 10% to journey time. If you are lucky there are sufficient pilgrims walking towards you to enable the route to be inferred, but then you can get gaps of up to one hour between one albergue surge and the next.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Private albergues certainly. Municipales and donativos maybe not. Most will be fine but some consider the return trip to not be part of the pilgrimage. (Edit: @Tincatinker ’s comment on having a Compostela is relevant)


I can’t remember the precise context but there was a thread on a very similar topic a couple of months ago.

The issue was with some people who were walking away from the direction of Compostela but not *from* Compostela and having completed no pilgrimage to the shrine there nor to any other pilgrimage shrine, but trying to use the Albergues purely as cheap holiday hostelry.

I have never had a problem travelling back from Santiago in any Albergue, though on occasion to have your Compostela with you can be helpful.

 

[JabbaPapa]

There also have been threads about people starting their walk in Santiago and walking a camino "backwards." We met a couple of people like that walking the Via de la Plata/Camino Sanabrés late last fall - those walkers had the logical idea of walking north-to-south as the weather got colder. They were indeed staying in albergues, but there is some question whether a zealous volunteer running an albergue might turn them away since Santiago de Compostela was not their destination.

Those people have been to Santiago, so they are pilgrims - - but yes, some over-zealous hospitaleros can on occasion be unhelpful towards such people.

 

[Marbe2]

It is, of course, up to whomever is providing the accommodations.

From my own perspective, if I were walking back from Santiago de Compostela to my home, in asking to stay at albergues and pilgrim hostels. If I were taking the bus or train, I probably wouldn't present myself there but look for other accommodations.

I know @JabbaPapa has done homeward walks. Perhaps he can weigh in. Or anyone else who has done so.

If you are staying at private Albergues, you shouldn’t have a problem.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Some places are actually more welcoming if you have walked to Santiago and are returning from there. The good people along the way will be happy to see you a second time, including if you have chosen to give them your custom twice, once on the way in, then again on the way out.