didi2L
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2021
My husband and I have been on camino since Pamplona and are currently in El Acebo de San Miguel. We've had a pleasant experience so far but each stage and each town have varied. Some days we hardly see another soul and other days we will see between 20-25 others. Overall it's been really quiet. There are lots of places that remain closed or sadly out of business. Small towns with few accommodations are tougher to find a bed (2 for us) but larger towns have been a bit easier. We've found that reserving a day ahead has been really helpful and a lot less stressful. We've struggled a bit with finding meals, especially pilgrim menus. Many albergues aren't doing menus and even keep the kitchen access closed. The more public facilities provide only plastic covered mattresses and if lucky a paper sheet. Some have required your own sleeping bag on top of the paper sheet. The more private places have provided sheets and pillows. The level of disinfection has also varied from being overwhelmed with bleach and disinfectants to smelling like stinky boots and sweat. Some places advertise as meeting covid measures but it seems inconsistent.
As for masks, it also varies. Generally most people wear masks in public as well as indoors (except when eating) even so, most people are trying to keep distance from each other as much as possible. Toilets and shower rooms have limited access as well.
The best part of being on camino is that there is almost no talk about covid, pandemic or anything related to what's going on with all of that. Conversations are blissfully and wonderfully about people and our daily experiences and topics of that nature. It feels like being in a bubble and we love it! We've met people from all over Europe, America and Mexico but so many other countries seem absent.
We've had some intensely hot days that we thought we would melt and others, like today, that we nearly froze our buns off. We thought the rocky descent after Pamplona was tough but today we have experienced the truly difficult after descending from the Cruz de Ferro...those rocky gullies are brutal!
**We've been asked by many businesses to pass along that they miss the pilgrims and are longing for their return! Those that are open are really struggling.
Hope these bits help anyone preparing to come on camino soon.
As for masks, it also varies. Generally most people wear masks in public as well as indoors (except when eating) even so, most people are trying to keep distance from each other as much as possible. Toilets and shower rooms have limited access as well.
The best part of being on camino is that there is almost no talk about covid, pandemic or anything related to what's going on with all of that. Conversations are blissfully and wonderfully about people and our daily experiences and topics of that nature. It feels like being in a bubble and we love it! We've met people from all over Europe, America and Mexico but so many other countries seem absent.
We've had some intensely hot days that we thought we would melt and others, like today, that we nearly froze our buns off. We thought the rocky descent after Pamplona was tough but today we have experienced the truly difficult after descending from the Cruz de Ferro...those rocky gullies are brutal!
**We've been asked by many businesses to pass along that they miss the pilgrims and are longing for their return! Those that are open are really struggling.
Hope these bits help anyone preparing to come on camino soon.
Really useful since I am starting from SJPDP on 12 Aug .
We had prepared ourselves for this based on other threads being shared but it was still overwhelming. This has certainly changed the situation with accommodations. We have had a really difficult time trying to reserve beds anywhere until Santiago. My husband has spent hours with emails, phone calls and even help from previous albergue hosts trying to reserve things for the remainder of our camino. 
