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Look somewhere other than booking.com because that don't have access to all the available beds or rooms. I've booked places that are fully booked on booking.com by contacting them directly. Use Gronze to find contact info.
I would be checking Gronze or one of the many Camino apps for albergues and other accommodation providers, and contacting them directly by text or phone. I have heard different stories about what percentage of their beds they offer on sites like Booking.com, but clearly many hold some beds back for various reasons, including supporting those who walk in without a reservation.
This April/May I did a lot of reality checking while walking the CF. The municipal albergue in Los Arcos, f.ex.: The hospitaleras told me: "Yes, we take bookings". Money talks.
Galicia is different.
When I first walked, I was walking solo at the point that I reached Sarria, and I did this. When I walked from Sarria a few years later with my wife, we took a few more days, and I had a much more pleasant experience, despite the so-called crowding.
That is correct and basically applies to any plane, not just jets. Every airplane has a minimum speed at which it can fly anything less than that it stalls and "down we go" (Experienced pilot could of course recover). That's a stall speed, and they vary depending on many factors, some of which include the airplane's weight, dimensions, altitude and even the weather dimensions. Regardless, airplanes must fly faster than their respective stall speed to maintain lift
The other thing that powering through does for you is it allows you to do something else that might be more spectacular. You might be able to hike or bus out to Finnesterre and stay the night. You may have had a more pleasant experience taking the last 100 km slow, but going to Finnesterre is much more spectacular than the last 100 km
Or, you can allow yourself enough time to do both.
@CWBuff, thank you. I’ve been wondering why some of my subtler jokes didn’t fly and now I have an understanding
This made me wonder what it would be like living a life driven by some need to be continually foregoing what I am currently doing to search for some new experience with an expectation but no certainty that it might be 'more spectacular'. I wondered how often I would find myself disappointed. It's not something that I would contemplate doing anytime soon.
This might be your experience, but it wasn't mine. I recall that most of the walk was very similar to the other areas of Galicia that I had walked through. Muxia and Fisterra were pleasant seaside towns, and the lighthouse important for its location, but for me it wasn't the end point of my camino. Calling it 'much more spectacular' seems to be the sort of hyperbole that someone in the advertising industry might be tempted to use, not someone engaging in objective discussion about the merits of walking to Muxia and Fisterra after completing the Camino.de Santiago.
I would venture to say that most people would find Finnesterre more interesting than the last 100 km.
I never said anything about running the last 100 km. I said for people to power through the last 100 km, which is different than running. I'm just saying that if you started out at St Jean, by the time you get to Sarria you are a seasoned walker and in better shape to power through the last 100 km. So, there are 5 stages between Sarria and Santiago. I did it in just over 4 days, and that's because I was waiting for a friend to catch up to me. I could have done it in less than 4 days. Overcrowding in the last 100 km is one of the biggest complaints about the camino. It's okay to get it over with a little more quickly.
How could you possibly know if “most people” share what is your own opinion?
I guess that's what the people hopping in and out of tour buses would say
Gosh, that is a bit of a leap! There is no objective way to compare the last 100 km with a visit to Finisterre. You started out saying "spectacular" and are now saying "interesting." They are different. The two experiences are hardly comparable. An individual's preference will depend very much on their particular circumstances. I would not trade in my experience walking from Sarria to Santiago, for the experience of visiting Finisterre.
My advice is contact albergue directly as Booking. com only has a % of available rooms & show up as FuLL when their quota is sold. Im cycling Camino and here in Azura at the moment & no problem for drop -in accommodation. It’s busy but not full. Buen Camino.
You can use gronze and wise pilgrim but we also found if you searched on a town in bookings.com and then went to the map we found other accomodation showing up on the map but was not listed. Might help - off stage is also a good option. We found our journey to Santiago not that busy and liked to support the smaller towns.
Ok...matter of personal opinion. For you obviously 4 days or less is "power through" and for me - that's "running".
I can't say I agree with you.
If you're planning to arrive in Santiago on July 6 everything is indeed booked because of the concert at Monte de Gozo.
The albergues are booked because all Pilgrims are going to the concert? Including MdG 500+ bed one as well?
Yes, they are different. But they also are both very positive things to say.
I am on the CF now in Melide. You can call the places directly. Phone numbers in the apps. I use Buen Camino app and I call directly using WhatsApp. The places with highest rating sell out first. But, I haven't been shut out yet. But I am flexible an will to stay in Albergues too. I hope that helps. Only need to call ahead by 2 days, in my case.
I can only say again, @isawtman, this might have been your experience, it wasn't mine. To me it is a pretty seaside fishing village that makes much of its location as not quite the westernmost point on the Iberian peninsula. At the right time, I have no doubt that the Atlantic swell crashing into the rocky coast around the headland will give it a dramatic air that inland towns cannot match. Otherwise, it seemed to me to be very much the same as many other similar sized towns in Galicia. Muxia was, for me, a much more interesting place, with the Santuario de la Virxe da Barca amongst other things.
But this is more than just making time to visit Finnesterre and Muxia. The last 100 km continues to be a big concern to many pilgrims. It seems like every week or two we have someone, mainly new people, who are making a post about the last 100 km. I think a perfectly good technique for limiting your exposure to the negatives of the last 100 km is just to get through it in good time. This is especially true for people who started farther back in places like St Jean. Plus, the last two stages on the Frances are very short anyway. Both stages are less than 20 km. This gives you a chance to appreciate more "natural and environments" as you go to your next location.
I think we all tend to see more of what we are sensitized to look for. I know that as soon as I got a new car, that make and model seemed to be everywhere when I had never noticed many of them before. Similarly, it is interesting to read people's experience of the Camino Portugues from Lisbon. It seems to be much more enjoyed by people whose first Camino it is and who take it for what it is.
I wasn't telling people who started a Sarria to power through it. I was specially suggesting that people who started farther back including at St Jean that one of the good options for them is to power through the last 100 km. If you power through you can get to the last 5 km that has the good stuff. I specifically stated that the people who started farther back would be seasoned hikers and in good shape to power through it. For people who start at Sarria, that is not the case and I wouldn't suggest they power through it. In fact they could hurt themselves if they did something like that. And I hope that you will agree with me that if you started at Sarria and did the Camino in 5-7 days, that it's not the same experience as starting at St Jean and doing the Camino in 30-35 days. Maybe that is a point we can all agree on because it seems we can never agree on anything.
I agree. Walking to Finisterre and/or Muxía is a bonus and a nice way to wind down from the Camino.
Yes, I suppose there are a few people that want to slow down at the end of the camino. But, I never experienced or have heard of anybody like that. But I have heard of several people who were doing long days to get to Santiago.
We obviously walk in different circles.
I am aware of both, people who feel the strong magnetic pull of Santiago and people who want to savor their last days before Santiago and the end.
It seems to me that you have been told several times in this thread that there are some of us who wanted to take a different approach to 'powering through'. More, some of us think that the way you present your preferred options appears to leave little room for the discussion of other options. Amongst the many things that this forum provides is a space where different approaches can be discussed and our personal experiences trying such approaches can be shared. That is always worth protecting.
You guys have plenty of room to discuss your preferred option. But somehow, if someone suggests something else, they are totally wrong. Powering through the last 100km if you started at St Jean is a
I'm (sort of) getting what you are saying but I'm more of a "powering down" sort of guy. It seems a little radical to gain very little after 25/30 days walking from St.Jean. and is only necessary if the objective is to obtain the Compostela.
Check out from the six minute mark in regards to my comment.
I don’t think anyone can hear you
Starting out by taking a condescending tone is a good way to ensure your audience tunes you out.
No-one said that. But we do disagree with you and wonder why you continue to think that no-one does.
Why?
.
This doesn’t answer the original question in the thread. Even the most determined power walker is going to need at least three nights’ accommodation.
Exactly!
