Have albergues stopped providing blankets since 2019?

[mistermike]

I did my first Camino in June 2019 and pretty much all private, municipal and donotivo albergues we stayed at had blankets. Except one night, where I wore my full thermals, long pants, all my top layers, gloves and warm hat. While I was cool, it was okay in my silk liner. I heard somewhere that covid times changed the ratio of albgerues that provided blankets? Can any repeat-pilgrims offer personal experieince on this?

I'm thinking of heading back in September if I can line everything up in time. I love camera tech so any weight I can save is very important. I dont however want my last pic to be of me freezing blue about to expire in an albergue. I also can't imagine any extra space in my pack for a sleeping bag.

Thanks!

 

[David Tallan]

I am just completing the Madrid/San Salvador/Primitivo/Finisterre/Muxia caminos. Most albergues on these routes have been providing blankets but there have been exceptions.

 

[good_old_shoes]

I wouldn't rely on albergues having blankets. It's an additional service some albergues offer, but it's not the norm.

A lightweight sleeping bag weighs maybe 500g. That's not much at all

Recently one network of albergues apparently published a statement that they expect pilgrims who want to stay in their albergues to bring a sleeping bag.

There are still albergues that offer blankets, but certainly not all of them. Some might have the blankets somewhere hidden, so you have to ask for them. Some might take a fee. Electricity ect. has gotten expensive, so I guess cost of washing the blankets is one factor why they're not available everywhere. It's also a lot of work for the hospitaleros (who are often volunteers).

Private rooms maybe are an alternative. Those usually include blankets and linens.

I can't imagine that it's impossible to squeeze a lightweight sleeping bag into any kind of backpack, though - even a daypack usually has enough space for that.

Happy planning for your second Camino!

 

[mistermike]

I wouldn't rely on albergues having blankets. It's an additional service some albergues offer, but it's not the norm.

A lightweight sleeping bag weighs maybe 500g. That's not much at all

Recently one network of albergues apparently published a statement that they expect pilgrims who want to stay in their albergues to bring a sleeping bag.

There are still albergues that offer blankets, but certainly not all of them. Some might have the blankets somewhere hidden, so you have to ask for them. Some might take a fee. Electricity ect. has gotten expensive, so I guess cost of washing the blankets is one factor why they're not available everywhere. It's also a lot of work for the hospitaleros (who are often volunteers).

Private rooms maybe are an alternative. Those usually include blankets and linens.

I can't imagine that it's impossible to squeeze a lightweight sleeping bag into any kind of backpack, though - even a daypack usually has enough space for that.

Happy planning for your second Camino!

Last time I had 3 cameras (phone, 360 degree camera and semi professional but compact video camera). I will just take the 360 degree and phone next time. I also cook many meals due to dietary requirements, so I have more food supplies on board. My exos got pretty full last time. I had every item accounted down to the gram.

 

[Bernice M]

Xunta albergues in Galicia no longer provide blankets. On the VDLP at Lubian just before entering Galicia, the municipal didn't either.

Seems a policy, along with non-provision of equipment in their kitchens.

 

[NomadBoomer]

I was wondering this too. Roncesvalles for one doesn't provide blankets and I was freezing there on first Camino. I bought a lightweight sleeping bag after and I have always walked with it. I don't love sleeping in a mummy sleeping bag or squeezing it back into its tiny bag in the morning. I'm walking in a month first post COVID, and I was considering leaving the sleeping bag at home and bringing a few more clothing items I'd sleep in if no blankets. I'd only do this if most albergues still provide blankets. Any recent advice on the CF would be great. Thanks.

 

[naplesdon]

Many municipal albergues have old woolen Army blanket from the Franco days. They might keep you warm but God only knows what lurked in their fiber. When I served at San Anton, I would take them outside and hang then on the line in the sun and beat the "hell" out of them every couple of days.

 

[Thomas1962]

In the covid years, blankets had to be washed after each use, officially. You can imagin that is was not attractive for albergues to provide them. As far as I know, this rule does not exist anymore

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I don't know where you guys get your information, but there's never been any "official" rules about blankets or washing blankets, before or after Covid. There is no overseeing authority that rules over albergue hygeine and supplies -- norms vary widely, and they are executed by a ragtag army of volunteers, small business owners, and city-hall hourly employees.
I have for several years overseen three non-profit municipal albergues on three camino paths. We do not keep many blankets around, because there is not much demand for them, and they tend to disappear. The ones we do have are kept clean, and are tidied away for when someone asks for one. We don't always have enough, because when one pilgrim gets a blanket, everyone suddenly wants one, too.
We keep a few around because a few people will always walk the Camino without adequately preparing themselves.

 

[LewSher]

I did my Camino in 2019 and used my sleeping bag everywhere. Frankly, I wasn't too interested in using the blankets, when available, anyway. My two-season bag was light, comfortable, and I knew where it had been...

 

[Ianinam]

In Roncesvalles many people are always very surprised we do not provide blankets. We have never had them, not even in the pre-Covid years.
I myself never used blankets on my Caminos; I have a light-weight sleeping bag and prefer to sleep in this. You never know when a blanket was washed: yesterday? A week/month/year ago?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

When staying in albergues, I always bring my lightweight comfy inexpensive Naturehike sleeping bag. To avoid taking the time to cram it in its little bag it came with, I fold it up quickly to a size that fits in a sturdy one gallon ziplock bag. I sit on it on my bunk to get the air out before zipping it shut...so easy.
I always found the availability of blankets to be "hit and miss", but there were a few times in the spring when I was happy to add one on top of my bag.

 

[Chizuru]

On the Podiensis this year, we mainly stayed in Gites in private rooms or B&Bs which all had blankets available but in the Gites all needed our own towels. Hire of linen only provided a mattress cover and pillow cover, not a top sheet, and that was often a disposable one, so a silk liner was always needed and a pillowcase. The only time we stayed in a communal bunk room we also needed a sleeping bag as no blanket was provided. If you want to avoid the need to carry towels, liner and sleeping bag so that you can bring cameras then staying in hotels and B&Bs would be your best compromise.

 

[DwainS]

Just finished my camino in June. Didn't stay at Municipal Albergues but just about all private Albergues I stayed at had blankets. I barley used them as I was warm just with my sleeping bag liner. May 18 to June 25.

 

[LindaH]

Finished CF towards end of June and took a lightweight sleeping bag. Many albergues had blankets but just as many did not and I would not have been warm enough with just a liner. Some nights I wore socks, warm leggings and lightweight fleece top in my sleeping bag. Weather and altitude make for very variable temperatures at night.

 

[williamlittig]

I did my first Camino in June 2019 and pretty much all private, municipal and donotivo albergues we stayed at had blankets. Except one night, where I wore my full thermals, long pants, all my top layers, gloves and warm hat. While I was cool, it was okay in my silk liner. I heard somewhere that covid times changed the ratio of albgerues that provided blankets? Can any repeat-pilgrims offer personal experieince on this?

I'm thinking of heading back in September if I can line everything up in time. I love camera tech so any weight I can save is very important. I dont however want my last pic to be of me freezing blue about to expire in an albergue. I also can't imagine any extra space in my pack for a sleeping bag.

Thanks!

I have been a Hospitalero several times at public albergues and only once did we have blankets for pilgrims. The expense of laundering blankets meant they didn't get cleaned often (this is understandable) Since Covid I would hope Pilgrims will travel prepared, appreciate shelter and hospitality. If your standards are different there are ample options. The camaraderie in public albergues cannot be measured.

 

[mistermike]

Xunta albergues in Galicia no longer provide blankets. On the VDLP at Lubian just before entering Galicia, the municipal didn't either.

Seems a policy, along with non-provision of equipment in their kitchens.

Yes, I found a Xunta in Galcia that advertised a kitchen, and all but laughed in my face when I asked where are the pots and pans. Unfortunately I had just purchased provisions for us for the night and morning to use in that very advertised kitchen. Things go worse when I found the overcrowded stinky mould growing sleeping areas the dank air was funky and too effort to breathe,. And then it got worse in the black with mould showers which had windows facing the street so in side the shower folks on the street look at you showering. Albergue de peregrinos Arca at Av. Lugo, 30, 15821 O Pedrouzo, A Coruña was by far the worst albergue I stayed at. I developed a cough from those spores that lasted many months. The only way to save that place would require an act of God, or napalm.

 

[mistermike]

Yeah the more I think about it, the more I think I will have to try to fit one of my light down bags in. I'm probablly going to mochilla express my food forward each day so I can have a decent stock pile of food anyway. Also thinking of taking a small automed cooker (think a fancy rice cooker or instant pot) that is super light weight. With lid about 700 grams. I figure I can make a meal in any place that has a power point. It only holds about a 1.7L. But that should make some soups and stews. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005459341742.html

 

[Chizuru]

Yeah the more I think about it, the more I think I will have to try to fit one of my light down bags in. I'm probablly going to mochilla express my food forward each day so I can have a decent stock pile of food anyway. Also thinking of taking a small automed cooker (think a fancy rice cooker or instant pot) that is super light weight. With lid about 700 grams. I figure I can make a meal in any place that has a power point. It only holds about a 1.7L. But that should make some soups and stews. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005459341742.html

That is a nifty-looking device but it looks like it will take up a lot of room in your bag, though I know that you can stuff things inside it. It would certainly be great to boil some eggs for lunches and breakfast, boil water, steam stuff, and make soups, etc. If you are going to bring that, and are planning on sending your bag with a courier (mochila express), then packing a lightweight sleeping bag and sending it with your cooker and food is a good idea. The only drawback is that many of the traditional Albergues are not accepting luggage services anymore and they are the very places where you would most likely need a sleeping bag and to cook your meal. Those that do accept luggage probably have a communal meal and blankets! It is a catch-22 dilemma. Where you need it, you can't send it, and where you don't need it you can send it!

 

[good_old_shoes]

Even many albergues that don't have a full kitchen at least have a microwave. You can check that info in the flyer with the albergue list you get in St. Jean, or on the gronze website.

So all you need is a lightweight plastic pot that can be used in a microwave, and you can make a soup or something like that (or a salad if not even a microwave is available). If you add a lid for that pot, you can even use the lid as a plate for cheese, bread, ect., and you can also carry your leftovers for lunch.

I usually bring a tiny (500ml) aluminium pot from a camping cooker that can be used as a normal pot in the kitchen but doubles as a cup (for wine, coffee...) , a lightweight small plastic container (for leftovers and microwave) my opinel, and a spork. With that I can prepare food wherever I am. Not always warm food but a day with a salad, olives, cheese, bread, fruits, nuts ect. is fine for me, also.

Maybe that's a more lightweight alternative for the rice cooker, that doesn't require a luggage service.

 

[David Tallan]

The only drawback is that many of the traditional Albergues are not accepting luggage services anymore and they are the very places where you would most likely need a sleeping bag and to cook your meal.

From what I've read, it is only suitcases that have started to be refused recently. If you send your backpack to these places you should be okay. That's not to say that every albergue accepts backpacks. But those that don't haven't for a long time. The new thing is about suitcases.

 

[Elena peregrina]

From what I've read, it is only suitcases that have started to be refused recently. If you send your backpack to thesexpkaces you should be okay. That's not to say that every albergue accepts backpacks. But those that don't haven't for a long time. The new thing is about suitcases.

Yes - that is correct. It is suitcases that some Albergues are refusing as per recent policy - not backpacks.

 

[williamlittig]

Yes, I found a Xunta in Galcia that advertised a kitchen, and all but laughed in my face when I asked where are the pots and pans. Unfortunately I had just purchased provisions for us for the night and morning to use in that very advertised kitchen. Things go worse when I found the overcrowded stinky mould growing sleeping areas the dank air was funky and too effort to breathe,. And then it got worse in the black with mould showers which had windows facing the street so in side the shower folks on the street look at you showering. Albergue de peregrinos Arca at Av. Lugo, 30, 15821 O Pedrouzo, A Coruña was by far the worst albergue I stayed at. I developed a cough from those spores that lasted many months. The only way to save that place would require an act of God, or napalm.

I am sorry for your poor stay, please do not paint all public albergues with the same brush. We must all donate generously at public albergues so they will be able to maintain and improve things needed. Kitchen supplies are generally missing because albergues do not want to compete with their neighbors the cafes and bars. Onward!

 

[David Tallan]

Kitchen supplies are generally missing because albergues do not want to compete with their neighbors the cafes and bars.

Having a full kitchen, oven included, with no pots and pans never made sense to me. If you are going to invest in the appliances, invest in the rest that will make them usable. If you don't want to compete with neighboring bars and restaurants, or don't want pilgrims to do real cooking, have no kitchen, or just a fridge and microwave as some albergues do. But why spend money on appliances pilgrims can't use? Does the Xunta really think enough pilgrims are carrying cooking pots to warrant appliances?

 

[dick bird]

Having a full kitchen, oven included, with no pots and pans never made sense to me. If you are going to invest in the appliances, invest in the rest that will make them usable. If you don't want to compete with neighboring bars and restaurants, or don't want pilgrims to do real cooking, have no kitchen, or just a fridge and microwave as some albergues do. But why spend money on appliances pilgrims can't use? Does the Xunta really think enough pilgrims are carrying cooking pots to warrant appliances?

I think they did, initially equip the kitchens with utensils etc, but over time these became broken or went missing one way or another (and had a nasty habit of not always being cleaned). Having invested, they needed a budget to maintain and this was often not forthcoming, so for cost reasons the Xunta and other authorities apparently decided not to carry on providing cooking utensils, and even went so far as to remove the ones they had. This leaves the anomalous situation we often find of a kitchen but nothing to cook with. But a lightweight billy and a spork is not going to be a massive extra burden if you want to save money and self-cater.

 

[dougfitz]

I am sorry for your poor stay, please do not paint all public albergues with the same brush. We must all donate generously at public albergues so they will be able to maintain and improve things needed. Kitchen supplies are generally missing because albergues do not want to compete with their neighbors the cafes and bars. Onward!

This seems an odd rationale. When I have been in places like the Xunta albergues that have no cooking equipment, I have sometimes wondered about the scale of the stoves, ovens and other fixed equipment. Some seemed to be little more than domestic kitchens, others were equipped with catering grade equipment. It made me wonder if these larger kitchens were designed to be used to cater for local community activities. Does anyone know if they are?

 

[dick bird]

I love camera tech so any weight I can save is very important.

Henri Cartier-Bresson is generally reckoned to be one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. He carried a 35mm Leica. In his coat pocket. Robert Capa used to say ¨If your pictures aren´t good enough, you aren´t close enough.¨ So the moral of the tale is, maybe dispense with some of the camera gear? A light sleeping bag is a really good idea if you are starting your walk in September. It can get very cold even with blankets. Not sure if I see the logic of pack transporting food forward - if you can shop at the place you started from you can just as easily shop at the place you arrive at, or for the combined cost of food and transport, eat in a restaurant. As for cooking, there tend to be stoves or at least microwave ovens in the albergues. It is the pots and pans, knives, forks etc that are missing. An actual cooker would be dead weight when you could use a billy and a plastic plate.

In fact, most of the albergues that used to supply blankets have reinstated them but not all so I wouldn´t rely on it. I know this is blasphemy to some on the forum, but why not get a bigger backpack?

 

[Barbara]

I think they did, initially equip the kitchens with utensils etc, but over time these became broken or went missing one way or another (and had a nasty habit of not always being cleaned). Having invested, they needed a budget to maintain and this was often not forthcoming, so for cost reasons the Xunta and other authorities apparently decided not to carry on providing cooking utensils, and even went so far as to remove the ones they had. This leaves the anomalous situation we often find of a kitchen but nothing to cook with. But a lightweight billy and a spork is not going to be a massive extra burden if you want to save money and self-cater.

Yes, they did. I stayed in many Xunta refuges when they were new and there were pots and crockery etc.

 

[mistermike]

That is a nifty-looking device but it looks like it will take up a lot of room in your bag, though I know that you can stuff things inside it. It would certainly be great to boil some eggs for lunches and breakfast, boil water, steam stuff, and make soups, etc. If you are going to bring that, and are planning on sending your bag with a courier (mochila express), then packing a lightweight sleeping bag and sending it with your cooker and food is a good idea. The only drawback is that many of the traditional Albergues are not accepting luggage services anymore and they are the very places where you would most likely need a sleeping bag and to cook your meal. Those that do accept luggage probably have a communal meal and blankets! It is a catch-22 dilemma. Where you need it, you can't send it, and where you don't need it you can send it!

That's a great idea. How do you know who does or does not accept a small bag being sent forward?

 

[Albertagirl]

With respect to whether blankets are provided at albergues, in the present situation it seems wiser to assume that they will not be, as they almost certainly will not be everywhere one stays and some warmth is generally needed for sleep, depending on the season when one walks. I no longer carry a sleeping bag. I have a couple of lightweight sleeping bags in my storage area at home which will do for a week or so in a tent in the Alberta mountains. But for the much longer times spent walking caminos, I am allergic to down and become more so by the day. However, I do carry a liner, which went by the sale name of "camino." It is adequate for modesty in albergues and for warm nights. For those nights which are not warm, my thick woolen tights and warm, hooded jacket provide enough warmth for sleep. And in crowded albergues all those other sleepers produce considerable heat. To summarize, at my age I am not able, or willing, to carry a heavy sleeping bag, and cannot use down, which is the only material light enough for me to carry. But I manage just fine with my light liner and warm clothes when needed. If what you are willing to carry on camino is largely camera gear, then you may need to adjust your clothing as needed to sleep in.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Re: the kitchen question. Back in the early days, a minimal kitchen was laid-on for pilgrims to use, with some pots and pans, plates and cutlery to serve and eat from.
The pilgrims were initially amazed at such luxury, and seeing as many of them were men who had never cooked or cleaned up anything, they left the pots, pans, dishes, and cutlery on the table when they finished eating, for the magic fairies to clean up. But that sharp fruit knife could come in handy on the trail, so it vanished into a backpack. (Decent knives don't last more than a month in an albergue.) Over time the spoons vanish too, one by one, and the saucers. The magic fairies (aka hospitaleros/local cleaning crew) got fed up with cleaning up other peoples' dinners, but they saw the pots and pans were still in good shape, and didn't their kids need some cookware for their new place? So the pots -- the ones that were not left on the stove too long, or blown up when the microwave exploded -- quietly walked home with the cleanup fairies. Soon the kitchen was left without cooking and serving equipment.
Kindly people re-outfitted the kitchens each year, only to find them cleaned-out within months. The expense wasn't worth it. The kindly people and fairies decided to let the pilgrims carry their own mess kits.

Some albergues were given grants for upgrades, or replaced altogether with new shiny albergues with huge kitchens, designed by architects who never set foot on a pilgrimage. There wasn't money in the grant for pots and pans and plates, so no one bought any... because they'd just disappear anyway.

It all boils back down to Pilgrims Are Responsible for Their Own Maintenance. If you want pots, pans, plates, and cutlery, bring your own.

(that said, I am proud to say the FICS albergues in Najera, Grado, and Canfranc all have fully equipped kitchens that pilgrims can use to prepare their own dinners. None of our hospitaleros is a fairy (that I know of), so plgrims have to clean up after themselves.)