Impressions of the 2011 Camino Frances from a Serial Caminoist

[HuskyNerd]

I want to share some reflections on changes to the Camino Frances since my first Camino, May-June of 2008:

• Hours of the SJPP pilgrim office are 07:30 to 22:00 except lunch and dinner hours. This was a little different that the times I´d heard before;
• There´s a new hut at the top of the Route Napoleon for emergency calls and overnights, if necessary. This is a big help since our ascent of Route Napoleon yesterday was very foggy and bitterly cold -- on May 12;
• the Route Napoleon itself has some changes. Watch for the red-white stripes, which are more reliable than the yellow arrows. The less-steep path is now a little hard to identify. Everyone is directed to what once was the steeper option;
• Roncesvalles has a completely new albergue that is very spacious and new. The old building across from the monastery is now used only for overflow. There´s also a brand new hotel there. It was hard to recognize Roncevalles. All the improvements are tastefully done, but the furniture, as it were, has been rearranged,
• Between Roncesvalles and Zubiri there is a lot of new ¨sidewalk¨style trail, i.e. it has been paved with concrete;
• Three albergues in Zubiri, which was a surprise to me;
• Lots of pilgrims, even in mid-May. This was a surprised since I hadn´t found accommodation to be a problem in 2008. This time, when our party finally arrived in Zubiri today two of three albergues were full, and all the hotels in the center of town were ¨completo¨as well.

More updates to follow.

[joe]

Thanks Sandy, I leave on Wednesday so information like this will come in useful for me, especially at the beginning of my first Camino.

[Covey]

Buen Camino Sandy.

When I walked last year I ran in to all the paved track which they had recently done for the Holy Year. Although the original track between Roncesvalles and Zubiri was really rough in places, I preferred walking on the track to walking on concrete trails through the woods!

The new Roncesvalles albergue was about to open when I went through last year. I hope they got the ratio of showers right this time!

Enjoy!

[unadara]

Buen Camino Sandy.
I hope you don't start to worry and hurry to get places, we will be very lucky to be forewarned by your posts. The last thing one wants is to start the day thinking of not getting a bed, and also it might stop people walking on a bit longer in the day as the camino progresses ?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Una

[HuskyNerd]

Another update:

Having great fun on Camino 2011 and am as always enjoying pilgrims from all over the world. In Estella today, headed to Los Arcos. Some things I´ve noticed:

• Some problems with getting spaces in albergues, but no problems in the bigger towns. I sat today with hospitaleros at an Estella albergue and they still had spaces at about 16:00
• The parroquial albergue in Villamayor de Monjardin, contrary to the St Jean guide, is closed. Apparently its roof collapsed and it hasn´t yet been rebuilt. That leaves just the Dutch albergue there, with only 28ish beds in a fairly long stretch
• People are as always in great spirits. I´m struck by how many pilgrims this May are older -- I´m feeling young at 53 in comparison :-)
• Lots of pilgrims with backpacks too heavy and feet full of blisters. If only people would listen ;-). 8 kilos in the backpack and liner socks and/or tape on the feet for blister prevention. No treatment for blisters is better than preventing them in the first place.

More updates to follow. Buen camino!

[unadara]

AAH the memories, have to share this one for those of you who have not seen "blisters". As a team we embarked on a long distance challenge, over 3 days. The first night we sat with another team at a table in the "pub" (dark and smokey!! NOT) and compared "feet". Yes 2 gentlemen actually stuck their feet up on the table to see who would win the worst blisters challenge. Such good laugh we had. Another time I remember the first aid team, and a team member asking for treatment, the needles came out, bandages, and tight taping followed. Another problem was if you took your boots off you might not get them back on again. I think with all the good advice here prevention is easier, the good socks, the comfy boots/trail shoes and I think the most important the "light" sac..I intend to cut down to 2 of each, if Sandy's post continue to talk re "completo" hostels we may come Sept and "The Way" be forced to bring a tent? or a bivvy bag ? anyways time to see before Sept.
Thanks Sandy
Enjoy-How's the weather ?
Una

[HuskyNerd]

Yet another update . . . .

In Viana right now after a great day of walking. Some thoughts:

• Nice new track into Sansol, allowing pilgrims much less climbing around on loose gravel and less time on the road (though there´s still about a km prior to Viana)
• Seems like Camino Frances 2011 is very crowded. I have to say that I´ve wondered to myself whether this is a good year to do Camino Frances. Here we are in May and albergues that were available after 6:00 in my Camino 2008 are now full at 2:00. More and more pilgrims seem to be getting up at 05:00 to race to the next albergue and beat other pilgrims to the available beds there. Here in Viana I´m told there were 10 pilgrims already in line for the 54 beds at the Muñoz albergue when it opened at 13:00. Perhaps Covey is right and this is a better year to do something like Camino Portuguese. I can only guess how crowded it will be in June-July-August. I felt very sad for pilgrims who got here at around 15:00 to find all the albergues and hostels full
• Una -- the weather is splendid!

[unadara]

Possible spend on light weight tent and 2 sleeping mats now to be considered? Would our ageing backs stand up to long hours walking and sleeping on the ground! Maybe Sept/Oct the crowds will be gone!
Saw "The Way" tonight, very enjoyable, showed lot of scenic parts, none of the pain? Not having walked yet I can see how it would encourage people to walk the "way". Some corney bits/ overweight/smoking/abortion...writer's block..and walking in denim jeans, sure some do too.

[Anso]

Oh dear, looks like by September when i head off, it will be standing room only on the Camino Frances, the last 100km being nothing more than a blistered and somewhat smelly queue! Camino Portuguese is looking more and more enticing...

[Buffalo Girl]

Oh Crap. That's a bummer about the beds. I did invest in a good mat, so I guess it will come in handy in some places, I'm not doing this to race from alberque to alberque! 7 days till I leave Detroit. *-AHHHHH

[unadara]

What mat did you get, weight ? would you sleep outside with just a mat and s bag? I will not rush or join any race either, would chance sleeping outside if have to, but going mid sept-mid oct so maybe coast will have cleared?
Una

[Buffalo Girl]

Una,
I got a trekker 1.0 self-inflating pad from REI. Since I am only 5'2"" tall, I saved $$ and weight by buying a kids size pad. It's 60"x18" and It weighs 1lb 3oz. Perfect. I am bringing a small tarp, and with my walking poles, if I have to I can rig a tent to sleep under. Hope I don't have to, but it's all good, right!?

[HuskyNerd]

Having a great camino . . . sitting in the Locutoria in Leon looking back on the last weeks. Some additional additional thoughts:

• Definitely take the option to the left on the way into Burgos. Most pilgrims who took this agreed it was very pretty walking through trees by the river, in comparison to the route that takes you along the airport fence and then on an industrial highway into town. The left route is not longer . . . I parted from a French couple right at the option and we all arrived at the Burgos albergue at exactly the same time -- me hopeless and forlorn after the industrial route, they smiling and happy after the river route.
• The option at Calzada del Coto that follows the Roman road is definitely preferrable as well. I was unaware of this option last camino so followed the route through Bercianos del Camino. I found the Roman road to be lovely and deserted. Very much solitude and beautiful, desolate scenery through vast wheat fields.
• The camino was less crowded through the Meseta than between Pamplona and Burgos. I had a problem finding an albergue in Castrojeriz, but stumbled into the delightful San Nicholas albergue at Puentetitero and had my best ever albergue experience, including footwashing, simple pilgrim meal, etc. If I became a hospitalero it would be here . . . .
• Terrible stretch along asphalt still getting into Leon. If you´re not a EDS (Every Darn Step) pilgrim you should take a bus from Mansilla de las Mulas into the city.
• If you arrive in Leon on a weekend and want to enjoy nightlife (impossible with the Benedictinas´21:30 curfew) make certain to make a hotel reservation. Leon´s hotels fill up for the weekends and finding a non-albergue bed in the center of the city will be tough.

Heard from an American woman about the Camino Invierno and am considering giving it a try after Ponferrada. It follows the Sil River valley to Ponte Ulla and approaches Santiago from the south. Perhaps a good option in order to avoid the busy last 100 kms starting at Sarria.

[grayland]

Sandy...
There has been a lot of discussion on another forum about the Camino Invierno. The long and short is that it is or has been badly marked and confusing. But....it appears that some people have been working on it and had a free guide worked out. Let me know if you need a link to it.
Ed

[geraldkelly]

The Camino Invierno sounds really interesting. Let us know how you get on!

Ger

[Covey]

Admittedly my Spanish linguistic abilities stem from trying to learn Spanish for two years at school about 100 years ago, but I seem to remember that Invierno is Spanish for Winter.

Why there should suddenly be a need for a Winter Camino beats me when Pilgrims have managed Ponferrada to Santiago on a single route without difficulty. A winter route through the Pyrenees is essential as the top Route Napoleon can be closed by deep drifting snow and sub-zero temperatures which make walking suicidal.

In recent years sections of the Camino Frances have been re-routed for the purposes of "economic tourism". The route in to Villafranca used to involve a walk down the main road and in to Villafranca. Four years ago I was plodding along mind in neutral when I saw suddenly the yellow arrows pointing to the right. I turned right and ended up in a derelict village with a population of 5 and nowhere to stop and have refreshment, followed by a dreary amble through the countryside and the arrival on the back path past the albergue.

There were places to stop on the main road, but none on the new route, and other than to try and bring life to a derelict village (a la Hontonas!) no reason to go there. In subsequent years I re-engaged my mind, resumed dreaming of Claudia Schiffer waiting in the albergue to take care of me, and continued down the road.

I suspect the "Camino Invierno" is an exercise in economic tourism by those towns who saw the 150,000+ pilgrims walking through the usual towns and reaping the economic benefit of the Camino. An exercise in "me too" in my opinion.

Pilgrims over the generations have dreamed that they were walking in the footsteps of the Faithful to reach Santiago. If it becomes just any old walk, then why not catch the bus!!

[Covey]

Interesting in that having trawled the Net, there seems to be evidence that the Local Governments along the "Camino Invierno" have given their approval to set up the route, BUT the Catholic Church has not, and at the end of the day, they are the ones who "recognise" your Camino by issuing a Compostella.

It would appear that "Mammon" is willing, but the Faith is not so sure, maybe of peoples motives.

There was a major crackdown about three years ago by the Cathedral in Santiago concerning the Pilgrim Passport. All the world and its uncle in Spain were producing bits of paper and calling it a Pilgrim Passport and some of the tour companies were issuing their own so they could use Albergues. The Cathedral Office (and the Bishop of Santiago) stated that only the official Pilgrim Passports issued by the Cathedral could be used EXCEPT those issued by the affiliated Pilgrim Associations in other countries like the UK, Canada, USA, Australia and France etc.

The National Association Pilgrim Passports have always been accepted by the Pilgrim Office in Santiago and still are today.

The route from St Jean to Santiago was given UNESCO World Heritage status in the late 1980's and I would assume that such status would not apply to "unofficial" diversions for whatever reasons they were made.

[HuskyNerd]

More impressions of Camino 2011, this time from Murias just outside Astorga . . . .

• I found the stretch into Leon to be much worse than the stretch out of Leon. Going into town involved some walking first alongside then actually right on the road. While I´ve in the past advised people to take a bus leaving Leon, I´d now suggest considering a bus from Mansilla de las Mulas into Leon. The first 8 kms out of Leon is not pretty, but my friends and I covered it in a little less than 2 hours -- not long enough to cause many headaches.
• Definitely the option at Virgen del Camino that follows the fields is to be preferred over the road route. Last time I followed the road and was exhausted getting into Hospital de Orbigo after Leon . This time I was equally exhausted, but was also enchanted by the vast fields of this last part of the Meseta. A shorter option is to stop at Vilar de Mazarife rather than tough it out all the way to Hospital, but I was anxious to get to the medieval fair in town for the Ascension weekend holiday. Very fun and interesting to see Hospital de Orbigo filled with people in medieval clothing enjoying dancing, food, jousting, etc.
• Although the albergues at Hospital were crowded, I found the albergues at Astorga to be quiet and am staying tonight in a 20 bed albergue with only 4 people. Not sure yet if I´ll change my opinion that the Camino Frances is crowded, though, until I have a bigger sample on this side of Leon.
• I was rained on three times already this camino and also had some fear of being out in the fields as lightning rolled by. Folks with ponchos faired poorly since they blow around so much and in a thunderstorm aren´t that useful. My pack cover and GoreTex jacket worked fine, but my boots got wet, meaning a two-day hassle until they dried. Fortunately I had walkable sandals with me, otherwise I would´ve suffered with wet boots and potential blisters. So, I´d suggest decent sandals or light shoes as a backup for people´s camino packing list.

Thanks to Ger, Grayland, and Covey for info and opinions on the Camino Inviernes. I have the free guide from the English Confraternity with me and will consider this option more thoroughly as I near Ponferrada. There are no albergues in this stretch, only casa rurales, and the itinerary shows 9 days, which is slightly more than my plan. The route follows the Sil River valley and my interest is simply to see some new territory -- not too worried about whether or not I earn yet another compostela on arrival at Santiago -- and I sampled a bit of this region last year on the final days of the Via de la Plata. Photos of the scenery look wonderful, but I´m not sure I want to miss a couple of my favorite camino towns -- Villafranca and O Cebreiro -- or that I want to miss my camino friends.

[grayland]

Sandy..
Check out this thread in another forum. Lauri is still hoping you guys are switching with her.
Looking for an alternative to the mobs on the last 200 kms? - Camino de Santiago de Compostela forum

[HuskyNerd]

Just finished a great Vesper service with the monks at Samos and am having a super camino as always. A few more thoughts about Camino 2011:

• Some options are definitely not well marked. Starting in Galicia it´s handy to have a guidebook or some experience with past caminos. For instance, at Triacastela the option to Samos was invisible. When I found it it had been painted over with spray paint. After the option there were almost no yellow arrows. At the final bit going into Samos I had to rely on road signs due to very poor marking and I came in to the wrong side of town along with several other pilgrims.
• I´m surprised at the number of people who are camping out informally under bridges or porches. Not huge numbers -- perhaps 5-6 over the last month -- but I´d never seen this before.
• The weather is quite cool, even for this time of the year. I´d guess the temp in O Cebreiro yesterday was 5C overnight. It was cold at Foncebadon and also at Villafranca del Bierzo. I´m wearing all my layers here at Samos and struggling to stay warm. Folks with only sleeping bag liners are often quite cold at night, and if the albergue has no blankets it´s pretty chilly. For any future May-June camino I´l be bringing a set of long underwear.
• Overcrowding of the albergues has eased quite a bit. I haven´t seen a ¨completo¨ albergue since the start of the Meseta. My conclusion is that albergues before Burgos don´t have quite the capacity for this year´s pilgrim traffic, but that afterward things loosen up.
• Wish I´d asked for the key to the castle at Villamayor de Monjardin. I met an American pair today who had a grand time in the castle ruins after a 25 minute walk from the village.

I chose not to take the Camino Invierno as I´ve come to enjoy my pilgrim family and none of them could be talked into taking an alternate route. I´ll save that camino for sometime in the future and am sure I´ll enjoy it. More updates to come.

[unadara]

I wonder? in The Way there was a camp under a bridge and a very definite one in a porch where they lit a fire and went out in the early morn for provisions from the local farmer! A new trend then.

[grayland]

I did not see (or hear) of the camping out that Sandy described either.

[Lipka149]

I re-engaged my mind, resumed dreaming of Claudia Schiffer waiting in the albergue to take care of me, and continued down the road.

I love it, Covey ! Now THAT's what I call positive reflection !!!

[HuskyNerd]

Hi all --
I´ll enter Santiago tomorrow after a wonderful Camino 2011 and my heart is full of great memories. I´ve made many friends, saw great scenery once again and renewed my love of the Camino Frances. Some thoughts:

• The masses of pilgrims seems to have subsided after Burgos, but in the days after Sarria things are full once again. At 3 pm there were still 4 beds at Ribadiso, but my group checked 4 albergues in Arzua before finding beds. Lots of rumors about hordes of pilgrims getting their compostelas at the cathedral office.
• Things do tend to get more expensive the closer you get to Santiago. Private albergues are now in the 10E range and laundry has gone from 2E per load to 4E per load.
• Food is surprisingly inexpensive. Six premade flan for .75E, a dozen eggs for .99E, etc. Pretty surprising to find food so inexpensive and it truly makes albergue kitchen cooking a good bargain.
• Weather has been cool and slightly damp ever since we set foot in Galicia. If you come in June don´t forget your rain gear. Today started out with rain -- the fourth of about seven days where it´s rained or threatened.
• I confess that I didn´t remember the countryside after Sarria to be this beautiful. Although there are stretches of the camino I prefer, this last 100 kms has been full of beauty.

So, I certainly recommend the Camino Frances to folk. I´m thankful for a great walk, for super friends, and for the joy of arriving once again in the city of St. James. Blessings to all pilgrims!

[Covey]

Lipka.............A man can dream!

[Leslie]

Weather has been cool and slightly damp ever since we set foot in Galicia. If you come in June don´t forget your rain gear. Today started out with rain -- the fourth of about seven days where it´s rained or threatened.

I have been soaked twice in Galicia both times I walked, in Aug and in Sep. I don't think it matters the month it is a bit like Ireland and can rain at any time.

All the best Sandy, how has it been traveling with others?

[Lipka149]

[*]Lots of pilgrims with backpacks too heavy and feet full of blisters. If only people would listen ;-). 8 kilos in the backpack and liner socks and/or tape on the feet for blister prevention. No treatment for blisters is better than preventing them in the first place.

Oh my, I remember the agony so many were in. I think I gave away half my blister medicine in the first week. I also saw how impractical the "camelback" backpacks were. Has anyone here had a good experience with them ?

[HuskyNerd]

Used my CamelBak every day for all three caminos -- nearly 2000 kms now -- and wouldn´t do a camino without it! I put bottled water in it, never local water, and it helps me stay hydrated. Just couldn´t imagine doing 2-3 liters of water per day with plastic water bottles. I can´t even reach the water bottle pouch on my backpack while I´m walking, and I couldn´t tell you how many times people asked me to grab their water bottles for them. With good care the CamelBak is irreplaceable.

BTW am in Santiago right now and am once again enjoying this great city. Walked 40 kms from Arzua to SDC so I could get a rest day tomorrow, then off to Finisterre on foot.

[unadara]

So good to hear from you that all well. How did your family enjoy ? Thanks for all the posts.

[Lipka149]

Used my CamelBak every day for all three caminos -- nearly 2000 kms now -- and wouldn´t do a camino without it!

Now there is a resounding recommendation !

Gotta go with your experience over my observation. The people I was with using CB's dropped out and never made it to Santiago. They struggled with packs loaded to 14-17kg. The water sure didn't help.

Interesting comment on bottled water as well, Sandy. We only bought it when we wanted something cold. Used local water almost all the way, from hand carried water bottles. Carried them on the end of our sticks like runaway little boys. (We saved our Euros for las cervezas.)

Glad to know you are in Santiago safely. Well done !!!