renegadepilgrim
Veteran Pilgrim and Traveler
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2010: Camino Frances, 2011: Santo Domingo de la Calzada (Hospitalera), 2012: Camino Portuguese from Porto, 2015: Camino Norte
I know that many of you on here believe that in order for one to be a true pilgrim, one must stay in the pilgrim hostels....with that in mind, I am going to go ahead and throw this question out there.
Have any of you:
1) Heard of couchsurfing.com?
2) If yes, have you used it? (I have and have had great experiences)
3) Would it be bad form to mix up my lodging options and stay sometimes with people through couchsurfing.com and sometimes in pilgrim hostels?
The reason I ask is I plan to leave around mid-April 2010 and with it being a holy year, I know lodging will get tight the closer I get to Santiago. I do not want to carry extra weight in the form of a sleeping pad or bivy sack and was looking at other options of places to stay.
I am a little bit unconventional in my travel style sometimes and usually have quite a good experience when I just open myself up to whatever happens. Just curious if anyone has explored couchsurfing.com as a viable alternative to pilgrim hostels.
Thanks!
Have any of you:
1) Heard of couchsurfing.com?
2) If yes, have you used it? (I have and have had great experiences)
3) Would it be bad form to mix up my lodging options and stay sometimes with people through couchsurfing.com and sometimes in pilgrim hostels?
The reason I ask is I plan to leave around mid-April 2010 and with it being a holy year, I know lodging will get tight the closer I get to Santiago. I do not want to carry extra weight in the form of a sleeping pad or bivy sack and was looking at other options of places to stay.
I am a little bit unconventional in my travel style sometimes and usually have quite a good experience when I just open myself up to whatever happens. Just curious if anyone has explored couchsurfing.com as a viable alternative to pilgrim hostels.
Thanks!