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That’s certainly what I would expect as well.
Yes, something went wrong on their website. 1,774 is the number of Compostelas for the 1st of September 2022 and not for the whole month. The total for September 2022 is around 66,000 Compostelas.
Just left Santiago, it was busy. As I have mentioned elsewhere not everyone walking is getting a compostela
oficinadelperegrino.com
I was there this last September, and I can confirm that the Camino was emptier than I have ever seen it. I did it twice; first in June 2017 and the second time in July 2019 and both were full of pilgrims. Both times were the happiest, most exhilarating experiences of my entire life. I fell in love at once with everything. This year was completely different. First, I immediately noticed a noticeable change in atmosphere. In Navares and the Rioja in particular, the few pilgrims you'd encounter on the way were often uncommunicative, almost avoidant of each other and the Buen Camino you'd normally hear from any stranger on your path was actually quite rare. There was a dullness in the air, something less joyful. People were happy to talk to each other if someone started a conversation, but it wasn't as effortless, spontaneous as before. Some hospitaleros were rude, abrupt or not particularly friendly. We did a few Albergues that felt business-like. Rooms were more expensive and when in new hotels or renovated places, they all had the charm of hospital rooms: walls painted intense white or grey, nothing decorative or pleasant to look at. Same thing in some caf's whose redecoration is the opposite of what pilgrims are looking for on the Camino; I am thinking for example of the little cafe next to Sarria's train station, all wooden panels and full of local history 5 years ago; now, everything has been stripped down to the usual white walls and it looks as drab as a cantina, with a fairly bored looking owner stuck behind the bar on his mobile.
Are you talking about September 2022?
It would be interesting to know which part of the month, and what part of the Camino you walked, to better compare the experiences.
You apparently didn't read all the replies on this thread. The numbers cited in the first post have been updated, and the Pilgrims Office statistics say that 66,196 pilgrims arrived in September 2022.
Hi!
I think that explains the solitude you found. You got a time interval that is, indeed, normally slow on those sections. You missed the September crowds in SJPP and the summer crowds starting in Sarria. It is important for people to understand the finer points of the reputed "crowding."
I just left Santiago today, and it was mobbed. I walked in a day earlier than I had planned and had real trouble finding a hotel. I walked to Finisterre and Muxia and heard various times that October has been busier than September.
There were 2,156 Compostelas issued yesterday. I found that an extraordinary number for a Sunday in October. The third day in a row where numbers were well over 2,000. A friend living in Santiago has also told me that the city has been exceptionally busy recently.
) were made to enter through the north portal, which is unusual, and it took ages for them to file in and fill the whole cathedral. They brought in their banners and flags, too, and positioned them near the altar space. The mass was in Spanish only, no foreign words now and then as can so often be heard from a priest or lay person. It looked to me as if they may have been a mixture of foot pilgrims and bus pilgrims. My guess is that, in Galicia, the Jacobean Year campaign is a great success and has brought, and still brings, more people to Santiago and to Galicia than usual.
I think you may have been seeing a special event for this Ourense diocesan pilgrimage. A huge gathering of nearly 2,000 though most arrived by bus then walked from the Seminario Menor to the cathedral en masse.
Bingo! I could not remember what I had heard when it was announced: Whether they came from Oviedo or Ourense. But yes, now I am certain: it was Ourense. I had noticed that many of them wore these orange scarves that one can also see in the photo of the news article.
