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The Invierno is much more sparsely populated by pilgrims than the Ingles - but I saw people every day on the Invierno, as many as eight and as few as one. I enjoyed the Ingles last year (from A Coruna) but there were definitely more people than the Invierno...and it sounds like this year is more crowded than last. But @NorthernLight is right: starting on the weekend puts you right in the middle of 'bubble days;' they're best avoided.On the other hand, for those having walked the Invierno, if you are so kind to give your opinion,
I agree. And because we are doing a slow Camino (15 km per day or less), I’m hoping everyone outpaces us. I’ll post more as we go!Many caminos have a bubble of people who start walking on a weekend. If you delay, and start on Monday through Thursday, you miss the crowds ... and potentially see few people.
Many caminos have a bubble of people who start walking on a weekend. If you delay, and start on Monday through Thursday, you miss the crowds ... and potentially see few people.
So it depends just how in shape you are. 11 days is quite feasible, but for some people it would feel like a rush. I walked in 14, purposefully taking my time - and could have easily done it in 12. And I wasn't wanting the killer day or two that it would have taken to do it in less than that. But everyone's different. If you can walk 35 hilly kms without crashing the next day, go for it.
My thoughts, I walked the invierno in 9 days during semana santa this year, I think if we had the time to cut the two 35km days making it 11 it would have been a much easier time, I do think you could get it done in 11 and if you have 12 days free you are covered for any surprises. We saw one group of jubilados just before As Médulas and no one else until the last 2 days after Lalin. However the places we stayed said they had pilgrims the nights before us so they were out there, we stayed in hostals not albergues. My gut tells me if there are more walking the inglés there will be more walking the invierno as well now so I imagine you will have solitude and enjoy seeing other pilgrims. It is a gorgeous walk.
I don't think you can go wrong either way. Actually we are leaving now to walk Pontedeume to Miño.
Thanks for sharing your experience. ¡Buen camino!I’ll post more as we go!
Buen camino, wherever you end up walking!
Many Spanish have all or most of August off. This would be peak time for many of them to do the shorter Caminos or 1-2 week sections on the longer more northerly Caminos. A YouTube channel "De rutas y sendas" has popularised many routes with commentary by the intrepid Spanish couple, both for walking and cycling.We are in Pontedueme tonight, after starting from Ferrol yesterday on Sunday am August Aug 4. We stayed in Neda last night at the municipal albergue (28 bunks, all full, with 2 overflow in a tent outside and 2 more on couches). After our albergue mates left us in the dust (did I mention we are tortugas?!), we must have seen another 40+ people today, many in groups of 8 or so. There was also a group of 25 that left Ferrol early before us. I wonder if I am seeing a “start of the week beginning a week vacation on the Ingles” bump. Wouldn’t it be great if these numbers brought about new infrastructure?
Many postings in the past have reported few native English speakers, which is definitely the case this week; indeed most seem to be Spanish, followed by Italians. The average age so far seems heavily weighted to the 20-35 crowd. We lucked out and got inside the Monastery San Martin, 9 miles outside Ferrol; it is only open on Sat and Sun.
Hope you had a good day today. We are following you, in Pontedeume now. I saw your Neda situation repeated yesterday as went to see about getting a stamp. We spoke to a young Spanish couple who had arrived just around n.oon and got the last beds. I had taken note of various signs of bed difficulties so chose to reserve ahead. This takes away pressure, but it has its shadow side in that pensions, hostal etc are not albergues, specially for peregrinos...We are in Pontedueme tonight, after starting from Ferrol yesterday on Sunday am August Aug 4. We stayed in Neda last night at the municipal albergue (28 bunks, all full, with 2 overflow in a tent outside and 2 more on couches). After our albergue mates left us in the dust (did I mention we are tortugas?!), we must have seen another 40+ people today, many in groups of 8 or so. There was also a group of 25 that left Ferrol early before us. I wonder if I am seeing a “start of the week beginning a week vacation on the Ingles” bump. Wouldn’t it be great if these numbers brought about new infrastructure?
Many postings in the past have reported few native English speakers, which is definitely the case this week; indeed most seem to be Spanish, followed by Italians. The average age so far seems heavily weighted to the 20-35 crowd. We lucked out and got inside the Monastery San Martin, 9 miles outside Ferrol; it is only open on Sat and Sun.
Thanks for the update!Another update for anyone who is still following: we are in Mesón do Vento tonight at one of the hotels. It seems the bulk of the big Italian crowd came through last night, the barmaid at our hotel was still recovering today from their onslaught. Even though the weekend bubble has passed on ahead, there is still a bit of a bed crunch. I talked to a number of perigrinos who are taxiing forward for beds because places are full.
Yes that might be so in case of Ingles because of its lenght....
Just for future reference, I had a chat with the lady running the pension and the bubble (here in Neda) seems to go as follows: most people stopping here start walking either on Sunday or Monday. Exceptionally, the bubble may spread (as was the case this week) until Tuesday-Wednesday. The rationale for that Sunday start (she was pretty confident on that) was the willingness to arrive in Santiago just before the weekend and then stay there during the weekend.
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Good. I'm starting on Thursday, 26 September. What will the weather be like, though?Many caminos have a bubble of people who start walking on a weekend. If you delay, and start on Monday through Thursday, you miss the crowds ... and potentially see few people.
I guess it depends on the weatherGood. I'm starting on Thursday, 26 September. What will the weather be like, though?
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