Please forgive me if this post is redundant but I’ve be sifting through previous posts on the topic and haven’t found anything specific. After booking flights and planning our calendars, I literally just now realized that my spouse and I will be beginning our very first Camino during Holy Week this year! We chose this time of year hoping the CF would be slightly less crowded, but unfortunately didn’t do enough homework and now realize there many be LOTS of pilgrims. On the flip side, the holiday celebrations really add to our excitement!
We planned (unintentionally) to begin in SJPdP on Good Friday. My questions to those who have gone before me: are the French as excited about this holy day as the Spanish? In general, is there anything we should expect or be aware of (other than some fun celebrations?!) More importantly, should we expect the beginning of the route to be exceptionally busy at this time and if so, is it necessary to book ahead? We were hoping to avoid booking in advance but not at the risk of cold and rainy nights without a bed!! Last question: any favorite memories or stories of particularly fun town/village celebrations we should aim to participate in? We do have some flexibility in our schedule so we could begin a day earlier, a day later, or simply modify our daily walking goals if needed.
We planned (unintentionally) to begin in SJPdP on Good Friday. My questions to those who have gone before me: are the French as excited about this holy day as the Spanish? In general, is there anything we should expect or be aware of (other than some fun celebrations?!) More importantly, should we expect the beginning of the route to be exceptionally busy at this time and if so, is it necessary to book ahead? We were hoping to avoid booking in advance but not at the risk of cold and rainy nights without a bed!! Last question: any favorite memories or stories of particularly fun town/village celebrations we should aim to participate in? We do have some flexibility in our schedule so we could begin a day earlier, a day later, or simply modify our daily walking goals if needed.