Hello! I walked the Via de la Plata from Sevilla to Santiago in the spring of 2015 and am looking to go back for seconds - this time I'm considering walking the
Camino Frances, but am concerned about the crowding. I am looking for a more spiritual experience and have heard that nothing compares to the
Camino Frances but don't want to feel like one in a sea of a million. Any words of advice?
I'm not of the opinion that complete solitude is necessary for spirituality. Some of the deepest spiritual epiphanies that I've received from my Caminos have emerged from my interactions with other pilgrims. That said, there are things you can do to reduce the "crowding":
- Walk in the "off season". I've read that May and September have the most international pilgrims and August has the most Spanish pilgrims. If you travel in April or October, you may encounter fewer pilgrims. If you travel in February, who knows, you may experience the same solitude you found on the VDLP. If you do some searches in pilgrim stats, you are likely to find good information about the times to travel with the least company.
- Plan your resting stops "between stages".
Brierley (especially) and many other guidebooks are organized into recommended "stages" for walking. If you stop before or after their stage endpoints, you will find fewer people. You'll find fewer amenities, too, but that goes with a less crowded Camino. And if the town you are staying at doesn't have a grocery store or an ATM, you can always use the one in the
Brierley town when you pass through it.
- Start your walk before or after the "pilgrim rush". There is a window in the morning when most pilgrims set off. Then they walk along the Camino like a big meal in a snake. If you start before or after them, you won't see them when you walk. This approach has its risks. On the one hand, if you start much earlier than everyone else, there is likely to be a LOT of walking in the dark, which doesn't necessarily make for the best Camino experience, and you may be walking through villages and/or towns when nothing is open. On the other hand, if you start much later than everyone, you increase the risk of arriving at your destination only to find all of the albergues are full, if you haven't reserved. And, on the gripping hand, this can intersect with the previous approach of stopping between guidebook stages in interesting ways. You may start later than everyone where you were staying only to find yourself in the middle of a large group of pilgrims who stayed at the guidebook endpoint a few kilometres before where you stayed.
- If you are REALLY concerned, you could walk the
Camino Frances until Sarria and then transport yourself to a spot 100 km from Santiago on a different Camino (say, the Primitivo or the Norte). That way you avoid the busiest part of the Frances but still get plenty of classic Frances experience. The stats seem to show a decline in traffic on the Frances before Sarria in recent years, in fact. Of course, this way you are not walking the complete Frances.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But if solitude on the Frances is your priority, I think those are the best ways to achieve it. I wouldn't really advise other methods (being anti-social, ignoring personal hygiene, etc.)
PS. You will be one in a sea of millions. Millions of pilgrims over thousands of years. That's part of the charm of the Frances.