LIVE from the Camino Ribadeo

[nickymd1]

Hey all, so with Tapia closed for 3 days, a large number of pilgrims are headed to Ribadeo today - what a nightmare!

Can anyone confirm or deny that Vilalba (the one 6.8km from Ribadeo) s closed this year?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There are three albergues and five hostales in Vilalba, so I doubt that all are closed. There were 4,416 pilgrims last year on the Camino del Norte in August, so you are there at a very busy time. Buen camino.

 

[wisepilgrim]

Confused by the question. If I am not mistaken you might have the name of the town wrong. VILELA is the town 6.1km from Ribadeo and I can confirm that the albergue is currently closed for renovations.

I can also add that the bar there was closed when I passed by, so not much to be had there.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The restaurant is open from 1930 to 2300 today, but the albergue still seems to be closed in Vilela. The government runs it. Try:
Teléfono:
+34 982 128 689
+34 659 942 159

 

[Deleted member 3000]

About two kilometers down LU-133 is the Hotel Casa Domingo if Vilela is closed.

 

[wisepilgrim]

but the albergue still seems to be closed

I asked the workers how long it would take and they replied "some time." They used their gallego to it's fullest in answering, which tells me some time indeed.

 

[peregrina2000]

It may be too late for you, but if it were me, I'd try to get out to the coast after Tapia and weave along there, it is absolutely beautiful. Serantes beach has at least one little pension/hotel nearby. The coastal route rejoins the camino near that beach.

I think Ribadeo is a standard stop for many pilgrims anyway, so the closure at Tapia isn't likely to change things too much in Ribadeo. There are plenty of little hotels and pensiones there. But as falcon says, since it is high summer seasson, the prices are likely to be high and availability limited. I have not stayed in Ribadeo's albergue, but many say it has lovely views and less than nice facilities.

 

[jsalt]

I have not stayed in Ribadeo's albergue, but many say it has lovely views and less than nice facilities.

I really liked Ribadeo albergue, very basic and small (only 12 beds), so the facilities are limited, but nothing wrong with them. I saw several pensions while wandering around town, and we found a couple of really great bars – but no idea exactly where they are, as we got lost down the tiny back streets .
Jill

 

[peregrina2000]

Good to have some first hand knowledge. The two people I talked to this year who stayed there were not happy but maybe they are prima donnas. They said it was dirty and that there was no "control", whatever that means.

Ribadeo is well worth a walk around town, IMO. Down along the river there is a nice walk, and there are some old parts that are trying hard to renovate themselves. But the jewel in the crown was a low-tide trip out to Catedrales beach. Taxi 15 € each way, so quite do-able for four. Low tide is a must, and now in the high season you need tickets, so there may be more complications than are manageable. But in June, it was uncrowded and just amazing.

 

[nickymd1]

Hi all, thanks for those replies.

Yes indeed, I meant to type Vilela not Vilalba!

Finally got a pension after checking about 15 or 20 - everything within a 30km radius seemed booked out. My friends had trouble finding anything in Tapia (which had been our intended stop for the day) and will now be sleeping in a church. I went on ahead to Figuera and Ribadeo and struggled to find anything at any hostal/hotel/albergue I stopped in. Not just sonething affordable, but anything at all. Considering how bad our weather has been, few people are also carrying tents this year, wgich would otherwise alleviate some of the strain.

The size of the albergue in Ribadeo is rather ridiculous considering the massive growth in numbers on this Camino, although in honesty we've had difficulty with beds through most of Asturias too. The closure of Tapia wouldn't be such a big issue if Vilela were open, or vice versa....

They said it was dirty and that there was no "control", whatever that means.

I think this is reference to the lack of a constant hospitalero. The guy seems to come through only for short periods once or twice a day. With only 12 beds, there's no need to have someone there full time.

 

[jsalt]

They said it was dirty and that there was no "control", whatever that means.

I was there in off-season (Nov 2016). You have to phone the number on the door, and the person on the other end gives you the combination numbers - in Spanish – (miraculously I worked them out ) - to unlock the box, to retrieve the front door key.

The floors were still wet in places where they had been mopped, so it’s a shame others found it dirty.

It filled up (Neve, her children, and others came in later), and although there was a tiny kitchen I don’t think anyone cooked. But we had hot showers, and both bathrooms were clean. It’s a nice town, so three of us went out for the evening.

No hospitalero came round at any time. We wanted to pay, but couldn’t work out how. There was no box to leave money inside the albergue, and we didn’t want to leave cash just lying on the counter next to the stamp and inkpad. What do others do in this situation? Pay twice as much at the next municipal? I guess that’s what they might mean by “no control”.
Jill

 

[LTfit]

Just curious, anyone know why the albergue in Tapia is closed? Temporary I assume.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The size of the albergue in Ribadeo is rather ridiculous considering the massive growth in numbers

Or vice versa. The massive growth is ridiculous considering the size of the albergues...

 

[AlanSykes]

I was there in off-season (Nov 2016). You have to phone the number on the door, and the person on the other end gives you the combination numbers - in Spanish – (miraculously I worked them out ) - to unlock the box, to retrieve the front door key.

The floors were still wet in places where they had been mopped, so it’s a shame others found it dirty.

It filled up (Neve, her children, and others came in later), and although there was a tiny kitchen I don’t think anyone cooked. But we had hot showers, and both bathrooms were clean. It’s a nice town, so three of us went out for the evening.

No hospitalero came round at any time. We wanted to pay, but couldn’t work out how. There was no box to leave money inside the albergue, and we didn’t want to leave cash just lying on the counter next to the stamp and inkpad. What do others do in this situation? Pay twice as much at the next municipal? I guess that’s what they might mean by “no control”.
Jill

I was there in November 2015 and got the same thing: somebody gave me the combination number but never turned up to stamp my credential or take my money. It was spotlessly clean and great views on the estuary, but I was embarrassed not to pay (when I went out to dinner I left my credential and 6€ on the table, but they were untouched when I got back; nobody else was staying there that night).

 

[nickymd1]

Just curious, anyone know why the albergue in Tapia is closed? Temporary I assume.

Late response, I know, but it was closed for "Deep Cleaning" - which in Camino speak means bed bugs. There was quite a run of them recently and I heard that a number of albergues in Cantabria and Asturias were closed for a period over the 6 weeks I was in Spain for the same reason. I (and about 15 others who stayed the same night) got an unfortunate case in Aviles, which meant the bugs were likely carried in from Villaviciosa/Deva/Gijon and there were people still sorting them out at the albergues in Soto (which thankfully was well equipped to deal with the onslaught) and Cadaveda.

 

[LTfit]

Late response, I know, but it was closed for "Deep Cleaning" - which in Camino speak means bed bugs. There was quite a run of them recently and I heard that a number of albergues in Cantabria and Asturias were closed for a period over the 6 weeks I was in Spain for the same reason. I (and about 15 others who stayed the same night) got an unfortunate case in Aviles, which meant the bugs were likely carried in from Villaviciosa/Deva/Gijon and there were people still sorting them out at the albergues in Soto (which thankfully was well equipped to deal with the onslaught) and Cadaveda.

Thanks for the response. I guess that I was lucky to escape the onslaught when I was in the area in June.