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O Cebreiro to Santiago currently in bed chaos ....

Gillyweb

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Villafranca - Santiago (2013)
SJPP - Santiago (2014)
Portugues (2017)
If there is another thread about this I apologise.
For those coming up to this stage, which I did last year with no reservations and no problems whatsoever, it seems currently to be in a touch of bed meltdown.
Queues at municipals are huge by 11am and a resulting panic booking wave has meant most privados are fully booked days ahead. We have had friends sleeping in fields, church porches and on benches. We have been forced today into an expensive hotel in Lavacollo despite getting to O Pedrouzo by 11:30am. Unless the panic booking wave stops the problem will persist but I can't really blame people, especially those who have walked from St Jean, for ensuring they get a bed. Large groups arriving with suitcases in vans are adding to bad feeling in the rain.
Not sure what the answer is but just warning that at the moment there is an air of panic permeating the air and beds are very tough to find.
 
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When I walked last year, my first experience with large tour groups was in Villafranca del Bierzo, at Fenix, 20 open beds were full and the other 60 beds sat empty waiting for a group to arrive, the municipal was almost full, and I got the last bed at Albergue de la Piedra (they too had over 2/3rds of their beds reserved) others had to cab ahead.
The Xunta Albergues open at 1300 and are usually completo within an hour.
If you're the type that wants to walk until 1600-1700, don't be surprised if you can't get a bed at the municipal albergue in the last 200km, be prepared to pay for private albergues, or other costlier accommodations, or book ahead.
I had no problem finding a bed in the first 600kms, it was the last 200kms where I had to be prepared to stop before or after the bigger towns. It may take a little planning and or calling ahead.
 
When I walked last year, my first experience with large tour groups was in Villafranca del Bierzo, at Fenix, 20 open beds were full and the other 60 beds sat empty waiting for a group to arrive, the municipal was almost full, and I got the last bed at Albergue de la Piedra (they too had over 2/3rds of their beds reserved) others had to cab ahead.
The Xunta Albergues open at 1300 and are usually completo within an hour.
If you're the type that wants to walk until 1600-1700, don't be surprised if you can't get a bed at the municipal albergue in the last 200km, be prepared to pay for private albergues, or other costlier accommodations, or book ahead.
I had no problem finding a bed in the first 600kms, it was the last 200kms where I had to be prepared to stop before or after the bigger towns. It may take a little planning and or calling ahead.[/QUOTE Sadly, the current situation isn't even really allowing for booking ahead. Things are booked up for a week in many places which I didn't experience last year. You can't really predict your stopping places further ahead than that. Being prepared to book ahead is one thing. Being able to is another.
 
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It is a pilgrimage. If you don't get a bed in an albergue or a hostal or hotel or in someone's house, you can sleep in the hay, the barn, in the field. Millions of pilgrims have done it before you. It may not be a comfy night, but you won't die.
And once you've done that, no one can say you're not "authentic!"
 
Looks like "peak Camino season" has started early - or is it Spanish school/university holiday season. Not walking myself but looks like a small tent will not go astray this season.
 
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Same problems in June 2014. So many pilgrims in Asturga that one convent was allowing female walkers to take over rooms of local nuns in the convent. They apologized to us for putting us in the cellar of an albergue when we were glad to just have a roof over our heads. And people still say to NOT carry a sleeping pad and bag! Practice sleeping a few nights on some concrete back home before you decide to not bring a sleeping pad.

Asturga was also one of the places where a lot of people reserving beds never arrived and several albergues then gave beds in the evening to people coming in late. Not a fan of people reserving beds in albergues , but almost everyone with a cell phone seemed to do it. Put my faith in the various Gods and always had a roof over my head, but not always a bed.
 
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Sorry to hear that.
This is one of the months where carrying a sleeping mat could be a good idea. Sleeping "à la belle étoile" in summer may be better than running from albergue to albergue.
On the other side, it is interesting the note about church porches as a nightly place for tired pilgrims. This was a very old tradition...
 
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2709 compostelas! I can imagine a queue starting at Casa del Deán, going along the old streets, and all the way to Monte do Gozo!
Well, almost...
 
While that's true and I essentially don't disagree, my warning was to innocent pilgrims who have no idea what's about to hit them. I had to help one older lady plan her last 5 days after she dissolved into tears in a bar because she was taken by surprise by the change in atmosphere and numbers. There have been several large and essentially uncompromising groups for last week or two whose empathy has been sadly lacking.
The rain has been torrential making haystacks rather less useful than back in the Meseta. Opening gyms with mattresses, then giving priority to groups of 200 odd who have walked only 50k, over single Pilgrims who have walked from St Jean - especially when said group are carrying bed rolls but still take all the floor matts in the gym leaving nothing for the others causes bad feeling. They didn't even offer their own bed rolls to other pilgrims. This has been happening everywhere. Throw rain in the mix with record numbers of pilgrims and sadly you quickly see who the genuine caring pilgrims are and who the 'couldn't care about anyone except myself' walkers are.
 
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If you're approaching Santiago soon, I would strongly advise that you book something ahead of time. The hostels, and even many of the lower-cost hotels, have been full this week, and it has been extremely hard for pilgrims without reservations to find something upon arrival. Even Monte de Gozo was full one night. We're not sure how things will pan out in the coming weeks (maybe this past week was just a random blip) but if you're the type who needs to know that you'll have a bed in Santiago when you come in, it might be a good idea to make a reservation. www.booking.com is a great site that we use all the time, and they have many of the Santiago albergues listed (plus, of course, hotels). If you'd rather wing it, don't panic and don't worry - as Rebekah says something will always work out, even if it's in a park somewhere!
 
I suspect it may be a blip but even booking.com was struggling. My friend arrived at her hostel, complete with reservation email and booking number to be told they didn't have her reservation, the hostel was full and she didn't have a bed. Interestingly she was later charged anyway as a no show.
There will always be somewhere and I think some people cope well. Others however need to be cut a little slack for having walked nearly 800k straight into unexpected chaos and uncertainty and to not judged for the need to book and have a feeling of security.
Hope the weather improves soon :))
 
Thanks for the heads up. Does anyone have current information on accommodation availability: Palas-de-Rei to Santiago. Or numbers of pilgrims arriving daily at the Camino office in Santiago.
 
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It is very difficult for me to believe that in one day a sizeable portion of 2700+ people had a "reason" (please spare me the replies!) for walking into Santiago other than seeing themselves as an extra on Seinfeld, Survivor, or The Ten Commandments! Granted this is a free(?) world but the answer may eventually lie at the feet of those issuing the credencials?!? I truly thank God I'm not in the middle of it.
 
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I suspect it may be a blip but even booking.com was struggling. My friend arrived at her hostel, complete with reservation email and booking number to be told they didn't have her reservation, the hostel was full and she didn't have a bed. Interestingly she was later charged anyway as a no show.
There will always be somewhere and I think some people cope well. Others however need to be cut a little slack for having walked nearly 800k straight into unexpected chaos and uncertainty and to not judged for the need to book and have a feeling of security.
Hope the weather improves soon :))

That is so frustrating about your friend's hostel! I've never had that happen with booking.com but that would drive me to tears for sure. Yes, definitely a good idea to book ahead if a pilgrim needs the peace of mind. Just hope it actually goes through, unlike for your friend :( .
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
This is the problem of walking in August. Long distance Pilgrims have actually started in July, when also in most of Europe, the schools and universities are out.
Usually the school parties are housed in the local sports hall, or similar, but there are still thousands of smaller groups or individuals who chose to walk at this time of the year.
Personally, I would never go through a booking agent (booking.com, or any other), but would prefer the direct approach by making a phone call. Like that, you have a personal confirmation ( or not, depending on a availability). You will probably be told that they will keep your bed until a specific hour. Remember that the agents also collect a commission on a reservation made through them! Anne
 
There were 1,714 compostelas yesterday.
How many pilgrims compostelas were processed yesterday. (a running tally would be a helpful resource).
 
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We are taking 7 weeks to walk, so will enter Santiago early to mid-October. Thinking it won't be so busy, yet while getting backpack in order for this Wednesday's flight into Paris, thinking a sleeping mat would be nice - not only to ensure a comfy sleep, but one under the stars along the way. Koontz suggested no pillow, no z-poles.. still considering taking them, too.
 
This truly makes my heart feel bad as I could see it changing in mid July as we were finishing up. I really had to work to keep my heart open with the suitcase and taxi pilgrims, all seemingly to appear during the last 100 k. It was a real test for me to be certain, and we did not have a sleeping bag or mat. Luckily, we always had a bed. I can truly understand how this can change the feel of things for those walking for so long since by the last 100 k we are raw, vulnerable and open. I don't know what the answer is, but my empathy is there with anyone caught up in this and I will be sending good thoughts to all.
 
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1637 pilgrims reported at the Pilgrim office in Santiago by 9 pm today (Aug.14).
 
1836 pilgrims got compostelas in Santiago today (Aug. 15)
 
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Dreamwalker,
May I suggest you not add to your kit...stuff you "think" you might need. Especially when using information several weeks old. The availability of space in October is much higher than the peak in the summer months. Today, 404 pilgrims were welcomed at the Pilgrim's Office. A special treat was a handshake, or fist bump for every Forum member from Johnnie Walker (just kidding;)).
I will be on the CF from Sarria, or a few km prior the first two weeks in October.
Buen Camino,

Arn
 
Dreamwalker,
May I suggest you not add to your kit...stuff you "think" you might need. Especially when using information several weeks old. The availability of space in October is much higher than the peak in the summer months. Today, 404 pilgrims were welcomed at the Pilgrim's Office.
Actually, there were 989 compostelas issued today, so it is staying busy. But your point on information several weeks old is well taken. Those arriving today left as much as 35 days ago. There is not a lot of value in today's arrival information for a departure several weeks away. Look at last years October and November data, and it will tell you much more about what to expect.;)
 
Pigrims walking now can relax - we finished our Camino on Sept 4 and had no problems finding accommodation anywhere. We were expecting difficulty from Palas de Rei to Santiago so in Melide we decided to stop before noon and checked into the albergue at the main intersection - we were the very first lodgers. Our albergues in Arzua, O Pedrouzo and Santiago all had empty beds at closing time, and the Seminario Menor in Santiago was taking in pilgrims for more than 1 night..
 
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The problem in November isn't that the beds are full; rather its whether the albergue is open.
 

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