The Camino is well signposted but are the Albergues?

[Sheffield James]

Hola todo el mundo (no pretention, just practicing).

My understanding is that the Camino is well signposted which makes it hard to get lost. I am less sure about how well signposted the Albergues are when you enter medium abnd larger sized towns. I know there are lists of albergues but would I be advised to research addresses before I go?

Muchas gracias.

SheffieldJames

 

[Deleted member 3000]

At one time the yellow arrows took you to the albergue in town as a matter of regional policy. As new albergues were opened, the competition could get nasty with contradictory sets of arrows. So today, there is no uniformity. In most cases the yellow arrows will take you to the principal or municipal albergue, and signs will direct you to other options. In villages it will be hard to get lost, but having an address in towns and cities will be useful. The Brierley guide gives good information in almost all cases.

 

[Sheffield James]

Thanks falcon269. I am trying to take your advice to let the Camino control me but it may take just a little while longer to show up in my posts. I am aware of the Brierely book and may try to get it thru the library as I have already invested in the Alison Raju (Ciccero) and Village to Village guide by SJ Raza (2nd edition). I like the first - compact and authorative - but not the second - dated to the extent it still talks about costs in pesetas.

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

James, you do not need to belong the Confraternity of St James, London, to obtain their guide to the Camino Francés 2013. It is considerably lighter than Brierley and tells you all you need to know about accomodation, including telephone numbers. It also clearly lists the municipals. It is printed annually and was revised in November 2012. http://www.csj.org.uk

It is the only guide book I carry. It is worth its weight in gold IMHO.

In the past I have thrown away the pages which are no longer relevent. Or you can write on the pages and post them home if you want them to help write up your story after the Camino.

Parts of Alisons book is now well out of date as improvemnets to the Camino have continually been made since the book was published.

 

[Sheffield James]

Methodist Pilgrim 98, I suppose any printed publication is out of date not longer after it hits the bookstands, but if the CSF guide is updated annually then it should be quite current and worth a look. Thanks for the link...with helpful support like I've been getting on this forum to so far, I have to resist the temptation to go further and ask will someone care to walk the 500 miles for me. Only joking, although I've read that this did occur in medieval times.

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

and ask will someone care to walk the 500 miles for me. Only joking, although I've read that this did occur in medieval times.

true and if you have a spare £700 I'm up for it. :wink:

Brierley updates yearly but a library copy is likely to be older. Go for the CSJ guide and look at what else CSJ offers. I have belonged since 1997.

 

[Pei2spain]

I too am a big fan of the guide from the Confraternity of St. James in the UK. I ordered a copy to be sent to Nova Scotia, Canada with no problem. It has just enough info for you to feel comfortable but not enough to ruin the surprise around the corner. I was able to note which establishments I stayed in and had a nice record of my trip to complement my journals. Buen Camino!!

 

[juliecarteraz]

I also have the CSJ guide. I ordered it online. CSJ posted it from London on March 27th, and it arrived in Prescott, Arizona in the USA on April 5th. It has a weather-resistant cover :lol: Julie