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San Salvador accommodations May 2022 - not much available?

BobY333

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Time of past OR future Camino
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I'll be walking the San Salvador and then the Primitivo beginning one month from today(!).

Does anyone have information about what accommodations will be open and available at that time? I've seen references to some of the municipal albergues being closed (e.g. La Robla). I've also seen a reference that the place in Bendueños will not open until June. And finally, in looking at booking.com, there is little availability. Needless to say, this is causing a bit of stress...

Thank you!
Bob
 
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BobY333: We are also planning a similar route this spring. It seems to me that albergues will be opening as the weather warms. It probably doesn't seem like it, but I'm confident of many changes between now and mid-May. Have you seen the San Salvador FB pages? There are updates almost daily from folks on the route even now. Buen Camino!
 
Thanks for the tip on the FB page. I’m rarely on there, but I’ll definitely check this out. I hope you’re right about openings - I did see someone say that it’s too expensive to heat, so they’re waiting for warmer weather. Fingers crossed!
 
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A word of caution about your reservations. I walked the Salvador in September. Reservations were difficult. I booked the entire walk from Leon to Oviedo. I booked based on my CF typical distance. The Salvador is much more physically challenging. Four days into the walk my knees and shins were shot. I was clearly walking too far given the elevation changes. I bused to Oviedo in hopes a few days rest would allow me to continue on to the Primitivo. I ended my trip and returned to the U.S. It took over a month to get back to normal. Big lessons learned, read the elevation charts, realize you cannot (at least I couldn’t) go the same distant, don’t force distance to simply get to your next reservation, and listen to your body. The Salvador is absolutely beautiful and worth the work, just be smart and plan. I found Ender’s Guide very good and it has the places to stay in most towns. It also breaks up the walk into 5, 6, 7 or more suggested legs. Most importantly…it shows the elevation on each leg. Pay attention to that. Hope this helps you plan. Buen Camino!
 
I think you will find enough options.

Cabanillas is open, but you must call ahead to set up entry. There are two pensiones in La Robla, and the RR workers that filled up the places in the fall are gone. Two pensiones in Pola de Gordón, and 15 de mayo does reservations via whatapp.

Albergue in Poladura is open, and the Posada de Embrujo serves meals but hasn’t yet opened. Pajares has both a pensión (above the bar/restaurante Mirador) and a casa rural.

Sandra’s place in Bendueños, which is WONDERFUL, is open, but you should call ahead.

Albergue in Llanos de Somerón has been open since April 1.

Pola de Lena has several places to stay, but I think the albergue is still closed.

Mieres “albergue” (in a university dorm) is open and looks fine.

Closed — albergues in La Robla, Buiza, and Pajares.

As someone pointed out, if you want to walk the Salvador in 4 days, the first day you will have to walk 38 to get to Pola de Gordón. I had done that three times without problems, but last fall found that I was really zonked when I got there. Maybe it had something to do with turning 70. I hope to walk the Salvador again, and will do it in five days this time.

Alvaro Lazaga just finished the Salvador and has some youtubes with a lot of joviality in the snow. But totally passable.
 
Laurie - as always you are an awesome resource! Between this post and my back and forth with Jim, I'm pretty set on just going without reservations and letting my body decide where I will stay for the night. I don't want to press too hard and jeopardize the balance of the trip. Thank you, Bob
 
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Does Cabanillas have any kind of kitchen facilities for even basic things like heating soup or making coffee?
 
Make sure to call ahead and get confirmation from the hospitalero a day or so before if you plan to stay in Cabanillas.

Early in the season (25 March 2022), when I arrived from Leon to Cabanillas, unfortunately I found the albergue in Cabanillas closed, and my attempt to contact the hospitalero failed. This could be due to misunderstaning as to my late arrival to Cabanillas (5:30 pm). I encourage anyone planning to stay at the albergue at Cabanillas to make sure the hospitalero knows the time of arrival. If unsure, have a plan B to continue to La Robla (8 km more) - that's what I did. I had a very good rest at Pension Mundo at La Robla before a challenging stage to Poladura.
 

Thanks for telling us about your experience. I have contacted Ender with your info, and he is going to do some poking around. BTW, @Happy Penguin, did you have any snow crossing the Salvador? Álvaro Lazaga’s video from a few days ago shows several places where there was a fair amount. It didn’t look like it was freshly fallen snow, more like something that had frozen over from sunshine, but I think I remember you saying that you didn’t have any. So I’m wondering if there has been a spring snowfall.
 
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The albergue in La Robla was not open. We went to the main street, found a bar with delightful food with excellent rooms upstairs at a reasonable price. This meant we could blow past Buiza, which was also closed. It's truly a shame if the albergue in Pajares is closed. But there we found an apartment on short notice that was fabulous. When we got to Mieres, the albergue was closed. We went to the ayuntamiento. They sent us to the police station. They said one of their guys who lives in the mountains had the keys. He finally came. We ended up having a delightful lunch with a Polish couple, a young Spaniard in some pain and couple in their 80s from the Netherlands. It was unforgettable.

We always found that whether closed or full, there was always a place to stay. The Camino provides.
 

I found two patches of snow on San Salvador near the highest pass (1600 m). One small and one bigger. I named the bigger one " The Penguin's Glacier". It was on the side, you didn't have to walk on snow at all.
I imagine the snowfall happened when I was already on Primitivo (El Acebo* had snow from about 1000 m of altitude up)

Pictures below: The Penguin's Glacier at 1600 m of altitude, San Salvador, 27 March 2022


More pictures from my Camino de San Salvador



4 days later at El Acebo on Primitivo - fresh snow (1 April 2022)

Descent to Montefurado on Camino Primitivo:



___________________________________________

* not to be confused: there is El Acebo pass on Camino Primitivo and El Acebo village on Camino Frances.
Do you know what is the meaning of acebo? It's a beautiful plant you can see on the Camino!
 
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El Salvador is on my wish list. There are some places where you must let them know ahead of time that you would like to eat. Check the FB pages for current updates from Peregrin@s and Gronze for details. Buen Camino!
 
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Jim, your story is a good word of caution. I live in Colorado and do steep climbs regularly. I was still shocked at the Salvador Camino elevation totals. I broke up this route into 6 days, and still felt like it was right at my limit. Of course, there are folks who do it in 5 or even 4 days, but I can't imagine how! Mike.
 
Anthony Rocco said:
When we got to Mieres, the albergue was closed. We went to the ayuntamiento.
Click to expand...
Just checking to see which albergue you are talking about — the old albergue, which was actually a km or two outside the town (but on camino) is no longer functioning. I don’t know what the address was, but it was very near the plaza with the statue of the guy pouring sidra the traditional way over his head.

Mieres is currently building a pilgrim albergue, but till it opens, the university dorms are definitely available.

Residencia Universitaria de Mieres | Albergue de Peregrinos en Mieres | Gronze.com

Información del albergue de peregrinos Residencia Universitaria de Mieres, en Mieres: Precio, plazas, características, etc...
www.gronze.com
 
Thank you @peregrina2000 for indirect recommendation to watch Alvaro Lazaga's videos - here's the playlist - I just spent an hour watching his San Salvador and Primitivo videos with great pleasure. He and his team walked aproximately 11 days after me (and they are still walking) - and we experienced totally different weather conditions and scenery. There must have been heavy snowfall in the mountains between mine and his Camino de San Salvador - those guys were having a lot of fun with snow! My San Salvador was completely dry and 99% snow free, later at Primitivo I had some snow when walking from Pola de Allande up the Puerto del Acebo, but nothing compared to what they had at San Salvador. I'm guessing due to altitude, Puerto del Acebo on Primitivo is at about 1150 m while the highest pass at San Salvador is 450 m higher, that's a big difference. I'll keep watching Alvaro's videos and I suggest those planning San Salvador have a look at them as well even if you don't speak Spanish, they are very concise and there's good energy emanating from Alvaro and his friends. Enjoy! YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

 
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I know it was awhile ago, but I used the wise pilgrim app. If you click on the places it will give you a list of accommodation options for places . You might try contacting these a day or two ahead. It is a beautiful walk. I did it in 5 nights 6days. Enjoy
 
Ender has been in contact with the hospitalero in Cabanillas. There was some initial frustration because the phone was “comunicando”, but he finally did speak with him. Ender’s “Salvador circle” confirmed that the Cabanillas hospitalero is a “good guy.” The hospitalero says that he or his wife are always there and that if they know a pilgrim is coming they will turn on the heat ahead of arrival.

Misunderstandings do happen, but I think that you can minimize the likelihood. If you want to stay in Cabanillas, I would recommend calling (he does NOT do WhatsApp even though his phone is connected to WhatsApp) a full day ahead of time.

Walking in unannounced is very likely to produce a disappointment.
 
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