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Getting the first stamp & question about trains

titania

New Member
I'm starting my pilgimage in a couple of weeks from Ponferrada. I'll arrive there early in the morning (around 7 am) by train, and start walking right away. Is it possible to get my pilgrim's passport stamped in Ponferrada even though I'm not staying in the albergue? Can I visit the albergue in the morning and ask for a stamp? I really would like to get one from Ponferrada, as it is my starting place.

Another question about Spanish trains: I'll take the night train from Barcelona to Ponferrada, leaving on Sunday evening. Are the trains usually very full? Should I buy the ticket in advance, or will it be okay to buy it at the station a couple of hours before the departure? I've visited the Renfe website, and I could buy a regular ticket from there, but I'm not sure if it 's possible to book a bed - and I'd really like to have a place to sleep on the train because the next day is going to be hard work!
 
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The trains may not be full but if you can book a bed it will settle your nerves a bit! We booked a bed when we took a hotel-tren from Santiago to Madrid. There were four of us in the cabin and we were given sheets, pillows and a small blanket.
You can get stamps anywhere in Ponferrada that is open at that time of the morning - not necessarily at the albergue - in cafe-bars, church, wherever is open and has a stamp.
Have a great walk.
 
We started in Ponferrada too, and got our first stamp at the Templar Castle and we had only walked from the bus station.

Have a great Camino.

Jerry
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
the train's unlikely to be full (increasingly nowadays people fly rather than use overnight trains), but if you want to be sure of a bed, you're best off booking. You can book on the RENFE site; prices depend on number of people/beds in cabin.
 

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