geraldkelly
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Francés, Vía de la Plata / Camino Sanabrés, Camino del Baztán, Camino Aragonés, Chemin du Puy
This isn’t quite live from the Camino. I arrived in Santiago on Sunday 12 September. So it’s “liveish”.
I’ve walked the Camino Frances in July / August several times in the last six years. Of course due to the pandemic this year was different. The main difference from a practical point-of-view was booking ahead. I’ve never booked ahead before but this year I started walking from Pamplona with a group of four friends and we generally booked one day in advance as a group. Another reason to book ahead was that just about everybody else was doing it.
We started off walking fairly short stages (about 15 to 20km) and stayed in a mix of small villages and bigger “end of stage” towns. This worked fine for us and we didn’t experience any problems finding accommodation. We continued like this up until Burgos.
After Burgos we lost a few members of our group due to people heading home and others taking rest days, so from there on I was walking 20 to 25km and organising my own accommodation. Generally what I did was call once I’d decided what my destination was for the day, this would usually be about noon on the same day. If I was going to an albergue that didn’t take reservations I just relied on showing up. This always worked fine for me and I continued like that all the way to Santiago, staying in small places, booking on the day if possible.
Once I got to Galicia it got a bit busier, especially after Sarria. I was in Sarria on a Wednesday so I think I missed most of the crowds who are usually there at the weekend, but nevertheless there was a noticeable difference after Sarria with more people walking, most of them young and Spanish (20s and 30s mostly, this was September so the schools were already back), mostly walking in small groups.
I had given up booking ahead by the time I got to Galicia. I hadn’t had any problems up until then so I didn’t see the point. A couple of time my first choice was full and I had to walk a bit further but since I was walking fairly short stages it wasn’t an issue.
In Galicia I stayed in a couple of Xunta albergues which were quiet because they don’t take bookings and other nights I showed up at private one and always got a bed. I was walking on my own, if I’d still been with a group it would have been more difficult to manage without booking.
Bars, restaurants and shops were nearly all open and operating within the restrictions which varied from place to place. I didn’t have any problems getting food and after the first couple of weeks I gave up carrying food with me just because it was easy to get food almost anywhere. I’ve been in the habit of doing picnics, on harder Caminos you have to.
Tortilla has become ubiquitous on the Camino, it varied a lot in quality and occasionally it was the supermarket kind but mostly it was good. Sometimes the portions were too big (and the price). This I haven’t experienced before.
Pilgrim menus now mostly cost €12. This has increased a bit but I remember back to 2007 when they were mostly €9 or €10, so really it’s still extremely good value. The quality varies a lot (as it always has!) but I’m glad to report I cleared every plate that was put in front of me and sometimes ones that were put in front of other people too. So I can’t really complain. I did notice that some places are serving up factory made meals, especially meatballs and paella. I had them a couple of times and it was always edible, and the paella is actually quite nice.
Prices in private albergues are now also mostly around the €12 mark. Which isn’t really a big increase either. The quality of accommodation has improved enormously, as has the variety. There are so many swimming pools now I think you could plan your Camino to have a swim every day.
The general feel on the Camino was different from other summers. There were fewer people walking and there were very few groups (by which I mean groups of people who had come together and who didn’t really interact with other pilgrims). There were also fewer people doing the package tour thing.
Age profile was a big mix. More men than women (normally it’s about 50 / 50). Nationality-wise there was more Spanish than usual (both before and after Sarria), besides that the Germans and the French were the most common, followed by a mix of other Europeans. Very few people from outside the EU. Also very few Italians.
The lack of groups was the big difference from any Holy Year I’ve walked and the fact that it was a lot quieter.
Generally I found people more friendly and open than during recent summer Caminos. This is probably explained by the fact that a higher percentage than normal had come on their own. After Burgos I walked on my own but met up with different people in the evening, sometimes several evenings in a row. I can’t remember a single time I ate on my own.
Also, I noticed fewer people rushing this year, everybody seemed to be taking their time. I don’t know if that was something to do with the mix of nationalities, or the fewer groups (which have a tendency to move as the pace of the faster walkers).
And, with one notable exception I didn’t experience people getting up ridiculously early. The 50% capacity in dorms partially explains this but also the fact that booking ahead has become normalised. You don’t need to get up at 4am if you’ve got a reservation.
One thing I noticed that I haven’t seen before is groups of young people who form a “family” which seems to become a bit cliquey and exclusive. I suppose this can be a good or a bad thing depending on the individuals involved. I think WhatsApp is partially responsible for this because it tends to tie people together in a way that wasn’t possible in the past.
There was less litter than usual, this would be partially the fewer people (and fewer groups) but several times I met people in uniform riding tricycles and picking up litter and chatting to pilgrims.
The Guardia Civil is now routinely patrolling the Camino. One hot day they stopped and gave us water and told us to install the AlertCops app in case we needed the emergency services.
Charity scammers, people claiming to be artists because they can put one stone on top of another, informal food stands with loud music, all of these thing were mostly missing.
The only negative behaviour I noticed was graffiti, especially the lowlife excuse for a human being who’s sprayed MICHAEL JACKSON all over the place. Sometimes even on private houses.
That and the flies. I remember feeling annoyed by the flies for the first time about three years ago and this year it was worse. There were several days when they bugged me for large parts of the day buzzing around my face. Am I the only one who’s noticed this?
Oh yeah, and after Sarria the whole “Buen Camino” thing was a bit much. I think people have been told that you have to say it to everything with a face otherwise people will be offended. It felt a bit forced to me and often I only waved in acknowledgement and occasionally ignored people who were wishing me “Buen Camino” for the third or fourth time that day.
Anyway, generally I had a great time and I’m really glad I went.
Highlights for me were:
- The view from the Alto del Perdon (without the food stand with its petrol generator).
- The countryside in Navarra and La Rioja.
- Tosantos, still in my opinion the embodiment of the Camino spirit.
- Casa Susi in Trabadelo, great company and food.
- Albergue San Bruno in Moratinos, this was my first time staying there, there was just two pilgrims so we got to eat lovely spaghetti carbonara (with no cream!) with out hosts.
- The meseta after Burgos.
- Forgetting about the bloody Covid.
Disappointments:
- My favourite restaurant in Santiago, Bierzo Enxebre, has closed.
- Albergue Amanecer in Villarmentero de Campos, the lovely couple who used to run it and who took such good care of the animals have left.
I’ve walked the Camino Frances in July / August several times in the last six years. Of course due to the pandemic this year was different. The main difference from a practical point-of-view was booking ahead. I’ve never booked ahead before but this year I started walking from Pamplona with a group of four friends and we generally booked one day in advance as a group. Another reason to book ahead was that just about everybody else was doing it.
We started off walking fairly short stages (about 15 to 20km) and stayed in a mix of small villages and bigger “end of stage” towns. This worked fine for us and we didn’t experience any problems finding accommodation. We continued like this up until Burgos.
After Burgos we lost a few members of our group due to people heading home and others taking rest days, so from there on I was walking 20 to 25km and organising my own accommodation. Generally what I did was call once I’d decided what my destination was for the day, this would usually be about noon on the same day. If I was going to an albergue that didn’t take reservations I just relied on showing up. This always worked fine for me and I continued like that all the way to Santiago, staying in small places, booking on the day if possible.
Once I got to Galicia it got a bit busier, especially after Sarria. I was in Sarria on a Wednesday so I think I missed most of the crowds who are usually there at the weekend, but nevertheless there was a noticeable difference after Sarria with more people walking, most of them young and Spanish (20s and 30s mostly, this was September so the schools were already back), mostly walking in small groups.
I had given up booking ahead by the time I got to Galicia. I hadn’t had any problems up until then so I didn’t see the point. A couple of time my first choice was full and I had to walk a bit further but since I was walking fairly short stages it wasn’t an issue.
In Galicia I stayed in a couple of Xunta albergues which were quiet because they don’t take bookings and other nights I showed up at private one and always got a bed. I was walking on my own, if I’d still been with a group it would have been more difficult to manage without booking.
Bars, restaurants and shops were nearly all open and operating within the restrictions which varied from place to place. I didn’t have any problems getting food and after the first couple of weeks I gave up carrying food with me just because it was easy to get food almost anywhere. I’ve been in the habit of doing picnics, on harder Caminos you have to.
Tortilla has become ubiquitous on the Camino, it varied a lot in quality and occasionally it was the supermarket kind but mostly it was good. Sometimes the portions were too big (and the price). This I haven’t experienced before.
Pilgrim menus now mostly cost €12. This has increased a bit but I remember back to 2007 when they were mostly €9 or €10, so really it’s still extremely good value. The quality varies a lot (as it always has!) but I’m glad to report I cleared every plate that was put in front of me and sometimes ones that were put in front of other people too. So I can’t really complain. I did notice that some places are serving up factory made meals, especially meatballs and paella. I had them a couple of times and it was always edible, and the paella is actually quite nice.
Prices in private albergues are now also mostly around the €12 mark. Which isn’t really a big increase either. The quality of accommodation has improved enormously, as has the variety. There are so many swimming pools now I think you could plan your Camino to have a swim every day.
The general feel on the Camino was different from other summers. There were fewer people walking and there were very few groups (by which I mean groups of people who had come together and who didn’t really interact with other pilgrims). There were also fewer people doing the package tour thing.
Age profile was a big mix. More men than women (normally it’s about 50 / 50). Nationality-wise there was more Spanish than usual (both before and after Sarria), besides that the Germans and the French were the most common, followed by a mix of other Europeans. Very few people from outside the EU. Also very few Italians.
The lack of groups was the big difference from any Holy Year I’ve walked and the fact that it was a lot quieter.
Generally I found people more friendly and open than during recent summer Caminos. This is probably explained by the fact that a higher percentage than normal had come on their own. After Burgos I walked on my own but met up with different people in the evening, sometimes several evenings in a row. I can’t remember a single time I ate on my own.
Also, I noticed fewer people rushing this year, everybody seemed to be taking their time. I don’t know if that was something to do with the mix of nationalities, or the fewer groups (which have a tendency to move as the pace of the faster walkers).
And, with one notable exception I didn’t experience people getting up ridiculously early. The 50% capacity in dorms partially explains this but also the fact that booking ahead has become normalised. You don’t need to get up at 4am if you’ve got a reservation.
One thing I noticed that I haven’t seen before is groups of young people who form a “family” which seems to become a bit cliquey and exclusive. I suppose this can be a good or a bad thing depending on the individuals involved. I think WhatsApp is partially responsible for this because it tends to tie people together in a way that wasn’t possible in the past.
There was less litter than usual, this would be partially the fewer people (and fewer groups) but several times I met people in uniform riding tricycles and picking up litter and chatting to pilgrims.
The Guardia Civil is now routinely patrolling the Camino. One hot day they stopped and gave us water and told us to install the AlertCops app in case we needed the emergency services.
Charity scammers, people claiming to be artists because they can put one stone on top of another, informal food stands with loud music, all of these thing were mostly missing.
The only negative behaviour I noticed was graffiti, especially the lowlife excuse for a human being who’s sprayed MICHAEL JACKSON all over the place. Sometimes even on private houses.
That and the flies. I remember feeling annoyed by the flies for the first time about three years ago and this year it was worse. There were several days when they bugged me for large parts of the day buzzing around my face. Am I the only one who’s noticed this?
Oh yeah, and after Sarria the whole “Buen Camino” thing was a bit much. I think people have been told that you have to say it to everything with a face otherwise people will be offended. It felt a bit forced to me and often I only waved in acknowledgement and occasionally ignored people who were wishing me “Buen Camino” for the third or fourth time that day.
Anyway, generally I had a great time and I’m really glad I went.
Highlights for me were:
- The view from the Alto del Perdon (without the food stand with its petrol generator).
- The countryside in Navarra and La Rioja.
- Tosantos, still in my opinion the embodiment of the Camino spirit.
- Casa Susi in Trabadelo, great company and food.
- Albergue San Bruno in Moratinos, this was my first time staying there, there was just two pilgrims so we got to eat lovely spaghetti carbonara (with no cream!) with out hosts.
- The meseta after Burgos.
- Forgetting about the bloody Covid.
Disappointments:
- My favourite restaurant in Santiago, Bierzo Enxebre, has closed.
- Albergue Amanecer in Villarmentero de Campos, the lovely couple who used to run it and who took such good care of the animals have left.
