3436 Compostelas today - pretty busy!

[Bradypus]

Just looked at the pilgrim office Compostela total for today. 3436 - the largest daily figure so far this year and well above the previous high number of 3053 recorded on Good Friday. Since we haven't been reading reports of long queues outside the pilgrim office it seems the new computerised system must be working well!

 

[Robo]

Wow! Anyone here finished a Camino recently?
How crowded is Santiago.......and he last sections of the various routes?

I was there at the end of May and I have to say the new automated system was great.
All done in 10 minutes...

 

[Bradypus]

How crowded is Santiago.......and he last sections of the various routes?

I had a brief look at the Bando webcam this morning and there was a fairly continuous flow of people passing by. Looked pretty busy. According to the pilgrim office stats page just over half of the arrivals this year have walked the Frances. So at a rough guess there may have been 1500+ on that final stage of the Frances today!

 

[Robo]

I had a brief look at the Bando webcam this morning and there was a fairly continuous flow of people passing by. Looked pretty busy. According to the pilgrim office stats page just over half of the arrivals this year have walked the Frances. So at a rough guess there may have been 1500+ on that final stage of the Frances today!

I haven't been on those final stages since 2018. I can't begin to imagine how busy it is.

It will be interesting in the next few years to see the growth impact on the final 100 kms of the Frances v the other routes.

I'm sure most first time Pilgrims, particularly locals, will stick to the 'top two'.
Being the Frances and Portuguese. Even busy, they are still wonderful routes after all.

But maybe repeat Pilgrims will start to shy away from the last 100 kms on the Frances particularly?

It may not happen for a few more years, but I suspect the Invierno will become very popular.
The route is just stunning.

There are 'enough' accommodation options already, but as more are added, it will become a lot easier to undertake. And of course once luggage transport arrives, in the form of the main commercial players, that may open things up more.

I suppose the Invierno is fairly unique, in that it can provide an alternative finish, for the Frances, as well as other routes. The Sanabres, maybe to a lesser degree. But both of course can provide a great 'short' Camino of 100 kms or so.

Whilst on the one hand I'm glad I got to walk the Invierno whilst it still provides that remote feel, with so few Pilgrims on the route, I'm sure greater numbers will help some of the smaller communities along the way economically. The local authorities are certainly doing a lot in regard to signage and route maintenance......

Interesting times ahead, as the various routes adapt and change..........

 

[Bradypus]

But maybe repeat Pilgrims will start to shy away from the last 100 kms on the Frances particularly?

I think that is already happening. I have avoided the Frances and chosen other routes since walking in peak season in September 2016 - a very mixed experience. However I returned to walk the Frances for the 4th time this year but chose to walk in January knowing that it would be relatively quiet. In fact I met fewer pilgrims each day in the last 100km than I had in many stages earlier on the route - probably because there was more frequent accommodation after Sarria and so we were more widely spread out.

 

[Robo]

I think that is already happening. I have avoided the Frances and chosen other routes since walking in peak season in September 2016 - a very mixed experience. However I returned to walk the Frances for the 4th time this year but chose to walk in January knowing that it would be relatively quiet. In fact I met fewer pilgrims each day in the last 100km than I had in many stages earlier on the route - probably because there was more frequent accommodation after Sarria and so we were more widely spread out.

On my last Camino, I hit the Frances for 3 days only, between Astorga and Ponferrada.
Peak season, in early May. It was 'crazy' busy......to me at least.
But............wonderful.
However busy, the Frances will always be my Camino 'home'.

 

[Bradypus]

However busy, the Frances will always be my Camino 'home'.

My first love too But numbers on the Frances this year are set to be 50x more than when I first walked it. Too big a shock to the system. I prefer a more solitary journey and so these days I mostly walk other routes in winter. Walking the Frances in mid-winter is like stepping back a few decades!

 

[trecile]

I haven't been on those final stages since 2018. I can't begin to imagine how busy it is

I came off the Primitivo and walked the last two stages on the Frances two weeks ago. We stayed in Boente, just past Melide and only saw one couple, also from the Primitivo for the first hour and a half or so. Then we stayed in an albergue 700 meters off the Camino at Santa Irene, and there were only 6 of us in a 24 bed albergue.

 

[Robo]

I came off the Primitivo and walked the last two stages on the Frances two weeks ago. We stayed in Boente, just past Melide and only saw one couple, also from the Primitivo for the first hour and a half or so. Then we stayed in an albergue 700 meters off the Camino at Santa Irene, and there were only 6 of us in a 24 bed albergue.

But what was the trail like?

 

[Bradypus]

How crowded is Santiago.......and he last sections of the various routes?

There is an article today on the website of La Voz de Galicia which has many comments from disgruntled local residents about the "invasion" of pilgrims and the impact of such large numbers on the city.

Abarrote de peregrinos un verano más: ¿Santiago está perdiendo sus calles en favor del Camino?

Los vecinos denuncian la conversión de la zona vieja en un parque temático para turistas en cuanto llega el buen tiempo y claman por un peregrinaje compatible con la ciudadanía

www.lavozdegalicia.es

 

[trecile]

But what was the trail like?

As I mentioned, when leaving Boente we saw only one couple for the first hour and a half of walking.
After that there were clumps of pilgrims, and of course there were many at the bars along the way, but never so many that I had to wait in a long line to order food or use the toilet.

 

[Dani7]

Santiago is so different from other « tourist » cities in Europe as it has a large community of pilgrims coming into to it daily. A real conundrum for the local residents. It will be interesting to see what the future brings for pilgrims.

 

[Annette london]

Wow! Anyone here finished a Camino recently?
How crowded is Santiago.......and he last sections of the various routes?

I was there at the end of May and I have to say the new automated system was great.
All done in 10 minutes...

We started in Pamplona last week so can only give information regarding this section.
Now in Ste Domingo.
I’ve heard that the albergues are not overly busy and we haven’t met lots and lots of people walking

Hostal/Hotel/pension hosts have told us that numbers have dropped dramatically since the beginning of July but that this is usual for July and August due to the heat
Perhaps different to the Sarria scramble!

One cafe owner in a village outside Estella was closing for four days due to reduction in numbers
We’ve had no problem booking, and in fact we’re spoilt for choice

I would imagine that the June wave from STPDP are now entering Santiago plus from the other Ways

Regarding Sarria ….never ever again, and even though it’s boiling hot, this section has been lovely
we just booked on a whim and were walking 4 days later

 

[Mount Echo]

We started the Frances in St Jean at the end of May and completed it on Thursday. We had a sub 5 minute wait to get our Compostela because we had completed the pre registration and got the bar code. It couldn’t have been easier and the staff were terrific as me everything was super efficient. There were 15 counters open and everything was digital

The day leaving Sarria was v busy with school and youth groups but the rest of the Camino has been fine. All the warnings about large crowds and overcrowding seemed misplaced so far as we could see. The Camino was terrific.

 

[David Tallan]

I came off the Primitivo and walked the last two stages on the Frances two weeks ago. We stayed in Boente, just past Melide and only saw one couple, also from the Primitivo for the first hour and a half or so. Then we stayed in an albergue 700 meters off the Camino at Santa Irene, and there were only 6 of us in a 24 bed albergue.

Hmm. Now you've got me thinking about those stages.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I am in Mansilla de las Mulas tonight, staying at Albergue Gaia which is one of the most popular in this town and has a very high reputation.

It is full but I got a bed without a reservation when I happened to turn up at 13:05, which is five minutes after they open.

In my room of eight beds I am the only non-Spanish person and I think that the other seven are walking together as a group and having their bags shipped ahead.

I am not as certain about the other room of eight but there is one young guy who I don't think is Spanish and I think that a majority of the rest are Spanish. All middle aged.

Last night in Albergue Municipal, Calzadilla de los Hermanillos it was half full with mostly young people who are not Spanish. Then myself and an elderly Asian guy who was shipping his bag ahead.

Calzadilla de los Hermanillos is not representative though because it is on an alternative to the Frances that few people take.

The hospitalera in Calzadilla de los Hermanillos said that she had no pilgrims yesterday but was full the day before that.

When I rejoined the Frances proper there were other people visible in front of me and behind. Also given that I arrived in Mansilla de las Mulas at just after 13:00 I estimate that I was in the middle of the daily wave of people walking.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I am encountering a noticeable number of young Korean women walking on the Frances at the moment.

 

[Bradypus]

I am encountering a noticeable number of young Korean women walking on the Frances at the moment.

For the first three months this year Koreans were the largest national group leaving SJPDP according to its pilgrim office. Certainly the most common nationality amongst those I met on the Frances in January.

 

[Tickbush]

I am in Santiago today and it is crazy crowded. Large groups are pouring in and singing and chanting in the plaza, to the point of being very annoying. It was much quieter when I was here a week ago and a week before that. Each time was a Saturday, so larger crowds are to be expected. But today is definitely “over the top”.

 

[StephenHLanark]

Finished the Inglese last week. My fourth Camino so not bothered about a Compostela but my wife’s first. She was in and out of the pilgrims office in about 5 minutes

 

[KJFSophie]

Finished the Inglese last week. My fourth Camino so not bothered about a Compostela but my wife’s first. She was in and out of the pilgrims office in about 5 minutes

We finished Friday, July 7th but only went to the pilgrims office today, we were in and out in less than 10 minutes… I remember waiting hours on previous Caminos… this was wonderful!

 

[KJFSophie]

Wow! Anyone here finished a Camino recently?
How crowded is Santiago.......and he last sections of the various routes?

I was there at the end of May and I have to say the new automated system was great.
All done in 10 minutes...

We walked the Camino Ingles from Ferrol and it was extremely crowded. I think it’s replacing Sarria with big tour buses dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon… the groups all had matching shirts and descended on village bars etc… in large groups of 60+ people. Some told us they were being bussed back and forth to A Coruna everyday. The infrastructure doesn’t support tour bus groups that big, nor do the narrow trails…it wasn’t pleasant being overrun and the locals seemed quite aggravated with the noise and traffic interruption