- Time of past OR future Camino
- 1989, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024...
I've also noticed an easy binary, but a slightly different one. Rather than two camps of people who book, it is instead to approaches to dealing with a situation where there appears to be more pilgrims than beds.Listening to the conversations along the way about booking ahead, there seem to be two camps among those who book: those who are confident in their ability to walk the km required to get there, and those who are ever shifting their reservations because they’ve discovered walking that many km every day is hard.
There are those who do not want to commit to where they will stop but are fine with getting up early and walking quickly to ensure that they are at their destination in a timely manner while some of the (perhaps few) unreserved beds are still available. And there are those who value walking at their own pace and starting and finishing their daily walk and are ready to commit to a stopping point so they are sure to have a bed waiting for them.
Wait a minute. I lied. This isn't an easy binary. There are actually three groups. There are also those who don't fit nicely into either of the two categories above. They are destined to be disappointed and will end up complaining about the "bed race" (where reservations are not taken) or the "people who reserve and steal all the beds" (where reservations are taken).
For myself, it doesn't seem conducive to my peace of mind to put myself into the third category. I'd rather figure out which of the first two fits best for me or pick a time/route where it won't be an issue.
Your mileage may vary.