I started from SJPD on 27 April. I had my luggage sent over by a Spanish courier company from London to the Pilgrim Helper in Santiago, so it was waiting for me when I arrived. It only cost me 15 pounds.
May was the most beautiful time to walk with the abundance of spring flowers, perfect balmy weather (1 day of rain the entire journey), but I definitely would not walk so late into May again and next time will start in early April or later September. I thought that the crowds only started gathering in June and July but was told that May is normally a very busy month. Although I was turned away only once at an albergue, I always had to cut my walking short to ensure I got into an albergue. If I was still walking after 2.00 pm, I had to bypass all the smaller albergues as they generally filled up by 2.30. There were large numbers starting off from SJPDP, and even more from Roncesvalles. I think the albergue there takes about 180 people, and it was full the night that I was there. Setting out from Roncesvalles with the hoardes of pilgrims was quite a shock to the system and my heart sank at the thought of walking the next 780 km with them. Zubiri was full by 3.00 pm. There was always this stampede of pilgrims to leave in the dark by 6.00 am which became quite stressful. Fortunately, after Cezor Menor the crowds thinned out considerably and it wasn't too bad after that and often I walked long stretches without seeing another pilgrim. The crowds started gathering again from Sarria. It is a beautiful stretch from there to Santiago, but one gets the impression that it is becoming over-saturated with the large number of pilgrims.