- Time of past OR future Camino
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I will be there in October!!!I got a WhatsApp a little bit ago and also saw here on the forum that @Vacajoe posted that the pilgrim albergue in Canfranc Pueblo will be opening April 16.
Hello Adelina. I would be interested in your experience. I am on my way to act as hospitalera in Ponferrada. I worked in Porto last year too in Peregrinos do Porto and loved it. I am a Canadian ( Fluent in French) and would like to know a bit more about this posting for possible future consideration. Thanks Isobel CunninghamHappy to hear it! This is a beautiful albergue in a beautiful setting! Very much enjoyed being hospitalera there last year.
I am from 1 -15 oct and you?I will be there in October!!!
I am this year in Ponferrada from tomorrow to April 30/31I am from 1 -15 oct and you?
I should be starting right around October 15. Hope I see you.I am from 1 -15 oct and you?
I will be there from the 15th, so might see you again. You still owe me that beer you promised last time you came through!!I should be starting right around October 15. Hope I see you.
That's what most pilgrims do. In fact, the hospitalera in Jaca Municipal gets upset if you want to start walking to Santiago without first taking a bus to Somport. She tells you to stay two nights, leave all your stuff at the albergue, and walk from Somport with a day backpack. No one will touch your stuff that you leave on your bed.other option is to stay in Jaca, bus to Somport next morning, then walk back to Jaca. That would mean staying both nights in Jaca.
I know one hospitalero who took issue with someone wanting to leave a pack and walk from further back and spend a second night at Canfranc. It really depends on the rules in the community. We were told to watch which way a pilgrim approaches as from one way may mean the bus stop.That's what most pilgrims do. In fact, the hospitalera in Jaca Municipal gets upset if you want to start walking to Santiago without first taking a bus to Somport. She tells you to stay two nights, leave all your stuff at the albergue, and walk from Somport with a day backpack. No one will touch your stuff that you leave on your bed.
At least that was my prepandemic experience.
Oh, I just remembered one more thing: if you go to the tourist office in Jaca, they have a stamp for Jaca, but also for Somport, in case you couldn't get a stamp up there. Just tell them that you have just walked from Somport to Jaca - no cheating - and you will get two stamps in your credencial
@Tortilla Thanks, thats good to know that its common enough to stay 2 nights in Jaca albergue. Will prob do that.
@J Willhaus I never thought taking a bus to begin a Camino may be frowned upon. During a Camino or skipping stages with a bus would be a different matter though.
I would have intended walking to Canfranc if the way up to Somport was open.
It is a high tourism area and this albergue is only for pilgrims. We got a lot of hikers wanting a cheap place to stay when we were there.@Tortilla Thanks, thats good to know that its common enough to stay 2 nights in Jaca albergue. Will prob do that.
@J Willhaus I never thought taking a bus to begin a Camino may be frowned upon. During a Camino or skipping stages with a bus would be a different matter though.
I would have intended walking to Canfranc if the way up to Somport was open.
Thinking of staying in Elias Valina albergue in early October.
Thanks for sharing this.I was informed earlier today that Canfranc will now close early this year, around the 6th of October. This appears to be mainly due to the route in from France being blocked at Urdos and the significant drop in pilgrim numbers as a result (as mentioned in other threads), so you may need to plan around this..
We were told to watch which way a pilgrim approaches as from one way may mean the bus stop.
Remember, we don't make the rules. We just have to abide by them. It is in a very touristy area and it is attractive to people who are not pilgrims, but area hikers. We would fill up with hikers looking for a cheap or "free" space and no room for pilgrims if the rules were different.The difference in hospitality in Jaca and Canfranc is striking.
And they both are municipal albergues.
At albergue de Peregrinos de Jaca, they are very happy if you to arrive by bus from Pamplona and insist that you leave your backpack when you go to Somport (probably because they don't want you to spend the second night somewhere else, so that they keep the money for the two-night's stay in that albergue).
In Canfranc pueblo (which is about an hour's walk from the Canfranc "city", where the cool train station is), they ask the hospitaleros to watch from which direction you come to the albergue, so that they can decide whether you qualify as a pilgrim or as a tourist (can I even say that without breaking forum rule #3?)
Just because of that, I would stay as far away from the albergue in Canfranc "Pueblo" as I could. I passed it on my way from Somport to Jaca. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's a pueblo of three houses and a dog. If the only bar is closed you are doomed.
If you have a credential and a plausible explanation, no problem. When we were there last in 2022, there was discussion among the city officials about staying the night, taking the bus to Somport and then hiking down and staying a second night or just picking up your pack and whether this should be allowed. The early bus was a new addition. @Flog has been there more recently and might comment.You know, if I were a hospitalero at Canfranc and someone came and said, "I just walked all the way from Bayonne to Pamplona across the Baztan region, now I came here to walk more", I would probably say, are you sure you know where Santiago is, Pilgrim? From Pamplona you were supposed to go west, not take a bus to come here! You are clearly a Tourigrino!
Then I would let them in
In Canfranc pueblo (which is about an hour's walk from the Canfranc "city", where the cool train station is), they ask the hospitaleros to watch from which direction you come to the albergue, so that they can decide whether you qualify as a pilgrim or as a tourist (can I even say that without breaking forum rule #3?)
Just because of that, I would stay as far away from the albergue in Canfranc "Pueblo" as I could. I passed it on my way from Somport to Jaca. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's a pueblo of three houses and a dog. If the only bar is closed you are doomed.
At albergue de Peregrinos de Jaca
they are very happy if you arrive by bus from Pamplona and insist that you leave your backpack when you go to Somport (probably because they don't want you to spend the second night somewhere else, so that they keep the money for the two-night's stay in that albergue).