Busiest day so far this year at the Santiago pilgrim office

[Bradypus]

The Compostela counter on the pilgrim office website has reached 3,895 today. The largest figure for a single day since the 2022 Holy Year. Fridays are often the busiest day of the week but this is a remarkable number. Is there some special event or gathering in town this weekend?

 

[Tincatinker]

I'm not there so presumably not

 

[Bradypus]

I'm not there so presumably not

Glad that I'm twice as modest as you any day...

 

[dbier]

Next feast day I was tracking was Aug 15th. @ivar?

 

[Kiwi-family]

When the counter goes even higher tomorrow, you’ll start thinking you’re at the beginning of the almost-back-to-school wave

 

[Bradypus]

When the counter goes even higher tomorrow, you’ll start thinking you’re at the beginning of the almost-back-to-school wave

A friend in Santiago said that he had seen a number of large groups today - one with over 100 members - and suggested that it might be Spanish school groups making the most of the vacation period.

 

[t2andreo]

The Compostela counter on the pilgrim office website has reached 3,895 today. The largest figure for a single day since the 2022 Holy Year. Fridays are often the busiest day of the week but this is a remarkable number. Is there some special event or gathering in town this weekend?

View attachment 175876

The Catholic feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is on 15 August. This is a major holiday. But, it is likely too early for that bump in arrivals. I would expect it later this coming week.

No, I assess that we are seeing a season spike in arrivals of pilgrims who were able to walk a Camino over the summer months.

Also, given that absolute number, I would think that a lot of arrivals were in groups, some very large. Over the summer months, this is the usual distribution pattern. As many as half the daily arrivals COULD be in groups.

That said, I am very glad the Pilgrim Office finally opted to include automated efforts to handle the Holy Year surge. This includes online registration before arrival, and laser printing of certificates using excellent calligraphic fonts. This very wise decision is now reaping benefits. As the popularity of pilgrimage increases in the future, this will also be seen as a wise move.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

[falcon269]

3,956 today...

 

[SusieP]

I was wondering if additionally it could be that the Olympics are ending tomorrow, some may have left early to hike? I just can't help but think the Olympics might have something to do with it. LOL

 

[Nick MJ]

I was one of today’s arrivals. Got to say the pilgrim office was amazingly efficient. Congratulations to everyone there who thought through the process and made it all so painless.

 

[Bradypus]

When the counter goes even higher tomorrow, you’ll start thinking you’re at the beginning of the almost-back-to-school wave

Seems you were right about "even higher" - the counter seems to have stopped at 4,023 today. An extraordinary number. 7,918 Compostelas issued in just two days. That's 3,000 more than in the entire year of my first Camino. Gobsmacked!

 

[Nelle]

While numbers are high right now at the end of the Frances, numbers last week between Logroño and Burgos told another story — none of the albergues I visited were full, and in one off-stage spot I was the only pilgrim. Far, far fewer people than when I walked the full Frances in late September/October 2023. I had heard this might be the case, but the difference in the number of pilgrims was really striking. If one can deal with the heat - late July/early August may be a great time to walk the earlier stages for those looking for a quieter Frances. Buen Camino!

 

[Bradypus]

I just had a look at the excellent Solviturambulando Camino statistics site. Looking for a detailed breakdown of yesterday's arrivals by route walked, nationality and starting point. A snapshot of a single very busy day's arrivals. The point which struck me most immediately was how the great majority of yesterday's pilgrims were Spanish. So far this year overall Spanish pilgrims make up about 40% of all those receiving Compostelas but at the moment they are a much larger presence.

 

[trecile]

I was one of today’s arrivals. Got to say the pilgrim office was amazingly efficient. Congratulations to everyone there who thought through the process and made it all so painless.

How long did it take you to get your Compostela?

 

[trecile]

I just had a look at the excellent Solviturambulando Camino statistics site.

For those who don't know about this site, here's the link:

Camino de Santiago Stats | Solvitur Ambulando

Interactive statistics of the Camino de Santiago since 2004. Make your own analysis by month with this data! Updated every month!

solviturambulando.es

 

[PaulaKH]

Hi everyone, I am interested in the stats for pilgrims starting from Lisbon. All the stats I see seem to include Portuguese interior and coastal, but only from Porto. Can anyone help with this?

 

[Steven Dwyer]

I am interested in the stats for pilgrims starting from Lisbon. All the stats I see seem to include Portuguese interior and coastal, but only from Porto. Can anyone help with this?

Lisbon doesn’t see big numbers, so it is possible no one arrived yesterday from Lisbon. Total number of pilgrims walking from Lisbon was on 2,470 through the end of July.

 

[Bradypus]

Very long queues to enter the cathedral today. An extra door has been opened temporarily to help speed entry for the very large numbers.

Colas kilométricas para entrar en la Catedral: habilitan otra puerta para facilitar el acceso

El calor no ha impedido que este domingo cientos de personas se acerquen a Compostela para dar el abrazo al Apóstol

www.elcorreogallego.es

PS: Looking at the video I see quite a few pilgrims in the long queue still carrying their packs. They may be disappointed when they eventually reach the door of the cathedral and are refused entry with their rucksacks.

 

[PaulaKH]

Lisbon doesn’t see big numbers, so it is possible no one arrived yesterday from Lisbon. Total number of pilgrims walking from Lisbon was on 2,470 through the end of July.

Thanks Steven!