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Staying extra days

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Jude57!

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Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Frances
I am starting my first Camino on September 16 from SJPP. I have read this forum daily for a couple months now in preparation for my walk and have gotten an amazing amount of helpful information, so thank you all for that. I have not needed to ask questions because if you just read the forum, your questions will surely be answered.

As my departure time is coming very quickly now, I do have one question. Most of you have recommended to take a rest day occasionally, (most saying Pamplona, Burgos, Leon, are good places), or just a day to tour some interesting places. I personally would love to tour a winery. I have plenty of time, so I do plan on doing this, but how do you arrange to stay in these places for more than one day since Albergues will only allow you to stay for one night? Do you need to stay in private hotels, or do you just find another Albergue? Thank you in advance for all your help.
 
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If you are in a city for more than one day, you may want to get a private room or a hotel room so that you can leave your pack while you are visiting the winery, museum, cathedral, etc. Finding another albergue instead may mean you have to carry you stuff around with you from 8 a.m. to when the next albergue opens in the afternoon.
 
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Public and parochial albergues usually only allow one night stay, but most private albergues and hotels allow multi night stays.
I agree with @J Willhaus though that if you are staying more than one night it's much nicer to book a private room where you can sleep in and spread out a bit if you want.
 
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You may be able to make into one of the winery towns early enough to not need to worry about staying an extra day. I did a wine tour in Logrono - checked into my albergue then walked to the winery and did an afternoon tour.
 
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That’s a good point. I hadn’t even thought of that. Thanks
 
It doesn't seem obvious to you now, but at some point a snore-free, sleep-in-allowed hotel room with a bonus bathtub will sound like nirvana to a tired body. Even a modest hotel feels like the Ritz when you are on Camino. If you can afford it, your body will thank you for it. Also, some veterans don't take rest days, preferring to do a short day of 10 Km or so, once every week or so. I find rest days to be a little jarring (OK, so I'm a tourist today?!), and a short day lets me keep my rhythm while giving the body a break. There is no best-practice here, you'll know what to do when you get there.
 
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Jamieb said:
You may be able to make into one of the winery towns early enough to not need to worry about staying an extra day. I did a wine tour in Logrono - checked into my albergue then walked to the winery and did an afternoon tour.
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I actually want to stay an extra day several places along the way. I have two months to walk the Camino and Finnestera/Muxia and then some spare time for whatever else might sound interesting. I have the time, so I’m going to make the most of it and not rush. I will check out the winery in Logroño though. Thanks
 
That makes a lot of sense. Maybe half days are the way to go. I need to remember that I don’t have to plan everything. I’m SURE my body will let me know when it’s time to rest! Thanks for the help.
 
I like to do two short days in a row and stay in a private room the night between them.
If you have booked a private room you can usually drop off your backpack before your room is ready, so you can explore the town.
The next day you can sleep in a bit, have a relaxed morning, then do another short walk.
 
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Jude57! said:
That makes a lot of sense. Maybe half days are the way to go. I need to remember that I don’t have to plan everything. I’m SURE my body will let me know when it’s time to rest! Thanks for the help.
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Try to remain flexible. You may have to take an extra day or any number of reasons. See how it feels when you get there. You may have to take some extra time for any number of reasons (illness, injury) or you may just want to take some extra time as you mentioned. Book a couple of days ahead as the mood strikes you if you are a person who feels better making reservations. Otherwise, enjoy your 2 months...
 
Jude57! said:
That makes a lot of sense. Maybe half days are the way to go. I need to remember that I don’t have to plan everything. I’m SURE my body will let me know when it’s time to rest! Thanks for the help.
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I wouldn’t be to SURE about that. Those who have worked in mountain, sea and wilderness rescue will tell you that, unfortunately, the brain (self) tends to override the body nine times out of ten. That’s why people who really should have just sat down, rested, kept warm and waited to be rescued keep blundering about to the point of self destruction.
An unlikely scenario on Camino. But a plan, even a very flexible plan, is no bad thing. Plan short days for your first week or so. Plan to stretch yourself as time goes by; and plan to stop and smell the Orujo whenever the inclination, the weather or opportunity presents itself
 
Thanks. That’s good advice. I’m still learning.
 
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Wine regions that come to mind are Rioja, Bierzo and Rias Baixas. Visiting wineries is usually not something you can do casually by just walking in off the road There are tasting rooms in Logrono and Cacabelos but generally you need to sign up for a tour to visit the wineries. Towns like LaGuardia near Logrono are great spots to visit and launch a tour from. Tour companies also offer Rias Baixas boat tours out of Santiago.
 
Actually a detour to Haro may be in order if Rioja wine is your thing and you want to take an extra day and a short cab ride. Many Bodegas there and the tapas are fabulous. You can book a tour with food and wine through various vendors or or just go hang out and do your town tapas tour. Much smaller than Logrono and very walkable. It is close to Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
 
You may wish to spend "rest days" in a large city or town where there is something to do during your free time. Alternatively, you can simply make days with very short walks, perhaps only as far as the next albergue, and enjoy the relative downtime. My experience is that every two weeks or so the body does well with a rest day.
 
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If you KNOW you are going to do a rest day - you will usually get a private room the first night. Some people get the private room for both nights and others move to the albergue the next night. Why? private rooms don't kick you out in the middle of the day and if you want to sleep in - you can. If you want to rest in the middle of the rest day - you can. If you are in an albergue both nights - it is more likely going to be a private albergue both nights - and with those - you also have to check to see if they expect you to leave mid-day. Private albergues that cater to pilgrims may ask you to leave while they clean. Private albergues that have other tourists are more likely to allow you in the room in the middle of the day. Municipal albergues will not allow you to stay 2 nights except in some rare instances such as illness or injury - but again - if you are sick or injured - better to be in a hotel at least the first night. My preference is private room for both nights unless I am trying to save money.
 
Also - don't think you HAVE to do rest days - they are optional. Many of us actually find rest days kind of jarring to our routine. I am glad I took 2 rest days on the Frances (Burgos/Leon) but this year I opted to not plan on taking any unless I needed it. I did the Norte/Primitivo and did take ONE rest day - but only because I did a double stage day in very wet conditions the day before and none of my socks had dried so I walked in wet socks all day since I couldn't change into dry ones during the day. Otherwise - I wasn't going to take one unless injured. Instead - I did some long and short days - with short days used to see some touristy things like a museum/cathedral in the afternoon.
 
I have approached a couple of municipal albergues on the Portuguese Camino who have allowed me to stay two nights.
 
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If you are going to Muxia you might want to consider chilling out at The Little Fox House at Morpeguite. Tracy allows up to four nights to rest and recover at the end of your Camino.
 
I walked both the Camino Frances (including to Fisterra and Muxia) and Camino Norte end to end, and I also walk a lot in my normal life. I chose to stop a day at all the major points (Pamplona, Logrono, Burgos, Leon, SdC, Fisterra and Muxia on the Frances) as I wanted to absorb and enjoy my Camino experience. I found that to be be perfect, and the days after the breaks were some of the days I enjoyed the most. I remember I left from Burgos about 6am and found myself in Hontanas by about 12.30pm despite several coffee/snack breaks, and only stopped then because it was windy and raining. I am about to do a rerun of the Frances this month, and I expect to take the same breaks. The tip is to stay in private albergues or hotels in those locations. Logrono is perfect for a winery tour!
 
Ellann said:
If you are going to Muxia you might want to consider chilling out at The Little Fox House at Morpeguite. Tracy allows up to four nights to rest and recover at the end of your Camino.
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Thanks. I’ll check it out.
 
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Thanks for the info
Buen Camino
 
We officially only allowed one night, but if the need was serious, we would store their things and have them come back to check in again at opening time.
 
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