Lessons Learned on the Camino - From Leon September 2023

[BrendanRoach]

Hi all,
I found this forum very helpful but it tripped me up a few times so here is what I learned from our Camino.
We loved our experience. So any negative comments below are simply meant to assist.
Thanks again to the community. I learned so much before we went it really helped.
Buen Camino

Context -

• Aussie Couple 60 years old
• Started from Leon
• Started Sept 11 2023
• I was carrying a foot injury and knew it would be difficult for me.
• I intended to stay in Albergue bunks - Only did so on the first night then private rooms with shared bathrooms.
• Had one large bag - from which we used a luggage transportation company.
• We each had a day pack that could have done us for 2-3 days if needed.

Best decisions -

1. I purchased trekking poles and practised for a couple of weeks before.
   1. The best thing I did. It absolutely got me from beginning to end, no doubt.
   2. Please check out other threads that have great info and take 20 mins to learn how to use it properly.
2. No water bladder - However, the frequency of places to stop is very limited in certain sections. Several times we have 10-12 sections with no rest stops, cafes, etc. In September it was cool so it was not a critical problem. If it was hot we would have been in real trouble. So pack an extra water bottle.
3. Change to private rooms in Albergues from Bunk accommodation. As an older person getting ready, strapping my foot, and finding meds without waking people was a real problem. On day 1, we got to breakfast 5 minutes late (starting time) and it was all gone!! I stripped off and changed the first morning thinking I was in the male section of the dorm to be told by my wife that the person who I stripped off in front of was female. Oops, sorry about that.
4. We taxied I short section where the hill was too steep. We were seriously worried that we might break down and not be able to continue. We bused one section when we realised that 25 klms per day was too ambitious for us. This got us back to 20 klms per day.

Things to watch out for -

1. Booking Accommodation - Do Not believe that posts about not needing to book! (1)
   1. In the beginning from Leon it was not a problem, However, the closer you get it starts becoming a real problem. We were booking every night without problem until O Cebreiro. Only with the help of our friendly Albergue owner, we found some accommodation for the next night, some 15 klms past our intended overnight. People we had dinner with tried booking four nights earlier for O Cebrerio and could not get in so they stayed in the next town.
2. Booking Accommodation - Do Not believe that posts about not needing to book! (2)
   1. In the last 120 Klms prebook all accommodations as the groups join in at this point and getting a place is extremely difficult. One night we had to stay 1,000 meters of the Camino route which is not fun after a long day's walk.
3. In September things started to shut down, Many Albergues already closed. I think all Munilicpal Albergues were already closed. Many places to eat are already closed in the smaller villages.
4. I used a lot more cash than expected, but that was my choice not to use my card for small purchases of coffee, drinks, small meals etc. Not a problem finding an atm as long as you do not leave till the last minute.
5. We intended to rely on WhatsApp, which worked well most of the time until we found several accommodation places that did not use it. This becomes problematic when you don't speak Spanish and you cannot translate messages.

Other Bits and Pieces

• Luggage transportation. This worked very well for us until the last day when our luggage did not arrive. Note many Albergues will not accept luggage so be careful when booking.
• We used airbags to track luggage. Very handy for a piece of mind and being able to ring company when our luggage went missing one day and was heading out of town.
• Google Translate - get comfortable using it. It saved us several times.

 

[donalomahony]

Great report,


airtags, not airbags

 

[witsendwv]

I stripped off and changed the first morning thinking I was in the male section of the dorm to be told by my wife that the person who I stripped off in front of was female. Oops, sorry about that.

My husband and I only stay in pensiones or albergues that have private rooms, but what you did would have been something my husband would have done as well, not really paying attention but concentrating on getting dressed. Stuff happens, and hopefully the female was not offended or upset. My reaction would have been "Did you look around before stripping?" "No" Everything is a learning experience. Sounds like despite your injury you had a successful camino. Ultreia!

 

[Pathfinder075]

I disagree on the municipal albergues. They are what I've used mostly and I was on the Frances this year from the second week in September. I had no issue finding albergues. All were still functional and open. Some private albergue were closed though. But the ones I stayed in were open.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

In September things started to shut down, Many Albergues already closed. I think all Munilicpal Albergues were already closed. Many places to eat are already closed in the smaller villages.

Genuinely curious about this one. Not at all denying your experience, but September being a very busy month, I would think most albergues would be open. I've walked two late fall caminos, the end of October/beginning November is when I would see albergues starting to shut their doors. Municipals should be open, especially xuntas.

However... this year being rather flush with pilgrims, maybe albergue owners were burned out towards the tail end of the season. Total guess, but perhaps having met their financial goal for the year, they were able to close their doors earlier than usual...

I also wonder if you and your wife were part of a "pilgrim wave", hence the crunch from O Cebreiro to Santiago?

 

[trecile]

As far as booking ahead goes - if you are willing to sleep in any available bed, such as in municipal albergues that don't accept reservations, you can usually get by without booking ahead.

 

[J Willhaus]

Glad you made it work for you despite the prior injury. Sounds like you had to change approaches early on.

Do you think you would just start with private rooms and bag shipping if you do it again, but without an injury?

We had to switch to bag shipping midway through the Caminos the past 2 years. My husband told me today how much he dislikes it. It keeps us from stopping where we like and staying where bags are not accepted.

 

[BrendanRoach]

If

Glad you made it work for you despite the prior injury. Sounds like you had to change approaches early on.

Do you think you would just start with private rooms and bag shipping if you do it again, but without an injury?

We had to switch to bag shipping midway through the Caminos the past 2 years. My husband told me today how much he dislikes it. It keeps us from stopping where we like and staying where bags are not accepted.

The luggage transportation did create a massive problem and reduced our freedom quite significantly.

 

[BrendanRoach]

As far as booking ahead goes - if you are willing to sleep in any available bed, such as in municipal albergues that don't accept reservations, you can usually get by without booking ahead.

Let me say it again clearly, too many people put out this myth. Municipal Alberges were closed in the second half of September.

 

[Pathfinder075]

Municipal albergue are not run by volunteers. The hospitalero/a is a paid member of the council based on the ones I've talked to, running on a 15 day on/off cycle. But some of the amigo run albergues were shut due to lack of volunteers. This was highlighted in a thread some months back. The only municipals I've seen shut were due to upgrade and maintenance work. I can't talk about after Sarria though as I abandoned walking the Frances after counting over 1000 people leaving Sarria to go to Portomarin, two weeks back.

 

[dbier]

Interestingly, Brendan's experience with lodgings matched mine in late September as well as peopleon the Camino now, especially where the Primitivo met the Frances. I was also shipping a backpack and I wasn't fast, so couldn't stay in municipals/Xuntas.

Several private albergues were closed (Santa Irene's private, for example). Chokepoints on the Primitivo were often booked out, with people having to taxi at night from Berducedo to La Mesa, for example. And finding any lodging between Boente and Santiago was a real challenge.

I think that if we take a hard look at arrival numbers, and remember that not everyone on Camino goes through the Pilgrim's Office, it's not a wave anymore in September. It's a straight on flood.

 

[MikeJS]

I purchased trekking poles and practised for a couple of weeks before.

Never used poles and never felt the need.

1. No water bladder -

I have always used a water bladder and carry 2l in the bladder plus a spare 1l in a bottle. The bladder ensures I drink regularly and it is set up so the drinking ’straw’ is about 6 inches from my mouth.

1. Change to private rooms in Albergues from Bunk accommodation. As an older person getting ready, strapping my foot, and finding meds without waking people was a real problem.

Get your stuff ready the night before. Only keep next to your bed what you absolutely need their during the night. Put your bag with the rest of your stuff in a public area. Then get up get out and do your preparations in the public area. That way you make minimal disturbance and can get ready in comfort.

1. Booking Accommodation - Do Not believe that posts about not needing to book!

If you use the municipal albergues that do not allow reservations then there is not normally any problem. I did not want to stay in O’ C so walked on to the next albergue. There were 5 of us in an 18 bed place.

• Google Translate - get comfortable using it. It saved us several times.

The app SayHi works better, especially fro conversations and images.

 

[M2ME]

Let me say it again clearly, too many people put out this myth. Municipal Alberges were closed in the second half of September.

Can you please share which municipal albergues you tried to stay at that were closed. It would be a great help to those of us hoping to walk later in the season.

 

[J Willhaus]

Beginning Nov 1 there is generally an active site which helps you identify albergues open in the winter. It is updated regularly. Many albergues do begin to close in Mid to late October. Some will be closed around holiday times and festivals as well.

Pagina nueva 1

 

[astronwolf]

Hi all,
I found this forum very helpful but it tripped me up a few times so here is what I learned from our Camino.

Thank-you for sharing your experiences, and the travel tips. I am wondering if a person who does not impose or have the restrictions that you had would have a different experience. There are a lot of conflicting opinions in this forum. To be clear, I am referring to:

• Walking long distances with a foot injury
• Choosing to stay only in private rooms
• Forwarding luggage to next albergue.

Do you think that if one were to travel without these restrictions, would one have more options as to where one can stay? Or is the lack of accommodations unavoidable?

 

[dbier]

In my limited experience, your options are based on when you go, where you walk, and whether you can compete in the bed race for beds in the municipal albergues.

To clarify:

Several posters on this forum, this year ( which is shaping up to be a record year), on the most popular routes at the most popular times, have noted that they got a bed in the municipal by arriving before 1300 -1500 and queuing up. If you can't cover your desired distance in that timeframe, you are unlikely to get a bed in the municipal/Xunta. And as a few of us have noted, getting a reservation the night before can be a challenge, again based on when you go and which route you're on.

So. When are you going, which route are you taking, and, no kidding yourself, based on your own personal multiday hiking with pack over terrain experience, how fast and far can you go, day after day?

I made the critical mistake of thinking that my experiences walking Sarria to Santiago and walking multiple half marathons would be predictive of how fast I could go over the Primitivo. I invite you to learn from my experience ;/

 

[David Tallan]

Let me say it again clearly, too many people put out this myth. Municipal Alberges were closed in the second half of September.

This is very different from what is reported elsewhere. In fact, if you look at the "Christmas Camino" thread you will see that the Xunta ("municipal") albergues in Galicia operate 365 days a year. I looked at some other municipal albergues before Galicia in Leon. In Murias de Rechivaldo the municipal albergue is open until November 15. In Rabanal the municipal albergue is open all year round. In Riego de Ambros the municipal albergue is open through October. In Villafranca del Bierzo the municipal albergue is open until December 15.

Which municipal albergues did you try and find closed?

 

[M2ME]

Beginning Nov 1 there is generally an active site which helps you identify albergues open in the winter. It is updated regularly. Many albergues do begin to close in Mid to late October. Some will be closed around holiday times and festivals as well.

Pagina nueva 1

Thank you for this link. I hope the OP will share the municipal albergues that he found shut. I am hoping to walk the Frances in Oct ‘24. From one year to another things may change but his experience this year of municipal albergues closing in September would help in the planning.

 

[J Willhaus]

We walked in June from Sarria to Santiago this year as a recon for a trip I'll make with university students in December. The downtown Xunta albergue in Palas del Rey was closed for some work. I know there have been reports of albergue closures for remodeling and work, etc. this summer in other communities so it is always good to double check with the pilgrim grapevine or often the hospitalera in the prior town will know the situation and will warn pilgrims. In our case the Palas del Rey closure was posted in a form of a poster in the albergue at Portomarin. There is another large Xunta albergue complex before you enter Palas del Rey so that helped pilgrims to know not to go all the way into town if they planned to stay. I believe you can also check for closures on https://www.caminodesantiago.gal/es/durante-el-camino/red-publica-de-albergues and Gronze.com may also have a notice if a place is temporarily closed.

 

[J Willhaus]

Thank you for this link. I hope the OP will share the municipal albergues that he found shut. I am hoping to walk the Frances in Oct ‘24. From one year to another things may change but his experience this year of municipal albergues closing in September would help in the planning.

In October 2024, you can check a day or two ahead of time. If you are carrying your own bag, that will help you be flexible and stop before or after someplace where there is a lot of pilgrim pressure. Most municipal albergues do stay open until mid or late October, however, as I mentioned above, they do close for various reasons from time to time such as holidays, remodeling, not enough volunteers, etc.

 

[Tony Bobcat]

Hi all,
I found this forum very helpful but it tripped me up a few times so here is what I learned from our Camino.
We loved our experience. So any negative comments below are simply meant to assist.
Thanks again to the community. I learned so much before we went it really helped.
Buen Camino

Context -

• Aussie Couple 60 years old
• Started from Leon
• Started Sept 11 2023
• I was carrying a foot injury and knew it would be difficult for me.
• I intended to stay in Albergue bunks - Only did so on the first night then private rooms with shared bathrooms.
• Had one large bag - from which we used a luggage transportation company.
• We each had a day pack that could have done us for 2-3 days if needed.

Best decisions -

1. I purchased trekking polesand practised for a couple of weeks before.
   1. The best thing I did. It absolutely got me from beginning to end, no doubt.
   2. Please check out other threads that have great info and take 20 mins to learn how to use it properly.
2. No water bladder - However, the frequency of places to stop is very limited in certain sections. Several times we have 10-12 sections with no rest stops, cafes, etc. In September it was cool so it was not a critical problem. If it was hot we would have been in real trouble. So pack an extra water bottle.
3. Change to private rooms in Albergues from Bunk accommodation. As an older person getting ready, strapping my foot, and finding meds without waking people was a real problem. On day 1, we got to breakfast 5 minutes late (starting time) and it was all gone!! I stripped off and changed the first morning thinking I was in the male section of the dorm to be told by my wife that the person who I stripped off in front of was female. Oops, sorry about that.
4. We taxied I short section where the hill was too steep. We were seriously worried that we might break down and not be able to continue. We bused one section when we realised that 25 klms per day was too ambitious for us. This got us back to 20 klms per day.

Things to watch out for -

1. Booking Accommodation - Do Not believe that posts about not needing to book! (1)
   1. In the beginning from Leon it was not a problem, However, the closer you get it starts becoming a real problem. We were booking every night without problem until O Cebreiro. Only with the help of our friendly Albergue owner, we found some accommodation for the next night, some 15 klms past our intended overnight. People we had dinner with tried booking four nights earlier for O Cebrerio and could not get in so they stayed in the next town.
2. Booking Accommodation - Do Not believe that posts about not needing to book! (2)
   1. In the last 120 Klms prebook all accommodations as the groups join in at this point and getting a place is extremely difficult. One night we had to stay 1,000 meters of the Camino route which is not fun after a long day's walk.
3. In September things started to shut down, Many Albergues already closed. I think all Munilicpal Albergues were already closed. Many places to eat are already closed in the smaller villages.
4. I used a lot more cash than expected, but that was my choice not to use my card for small purchases of coffee, drinks, small meals etc. Not a problem finding an atm as long as you do not leave till the last minute.
5. We intended to rely on WhatsApp, which worked well most of the time until we found several accommodation places that did not use it. This becomes problematic when you don't speak Spanish and you cannot translate messages.

Other Bits and Pieces

• Luggage transportation. This worked very well for us until the last day when our luggage did not arrive. Note many Albergues will not accept luggage so be careful when booking.
• We used airbags to track luggage. Very handy for a piece of mind and being able to ring company when our luggage went missing one day and was heading out of town.
• Google Translate - get comfortable using it. It saved us several times.

Hell Brendan. I completed the Camino back in mid May, pre booked all my accomodations. Confirming each Albergue the night before, the only problem I had was that the owners would get confused from Anthony being used for booking and Tony for confirming. WhatsApp and Google Translate were great and came in so handy. Next time I wouldn’t change a thing apart from always using Anthony.

 

[Reets65]

Hi all,
I found this forum very helpful but it tripped me up a few times so here is what I learned from our Camino.
We loved our experience. So any negative comments below are simply meant to assist.
Thanks again to the community. I learned so much before we went it really helped.
Buen Camino

Context -

• Aussie Couple 60 years old
• Started from Leon
• Started Sept 11 2023
• I was carrying a foot injury and knew it would be difficult for me.
• I intended to stay in Albergue bunks - Only did so on the first night then private rooms with shared bathrooms.
• Had one large bag - from which we used a luggage transportation company.
• We each had a day pack that could have done us for 2-3 days if needed.

Best decisions -

1. I purchased trekking polesand practised for a couple of weeks before.
   1. The best thing I did. It absolutely got me from beginning to end, no doubt.
   2. Please check out other threads that have great info and take 20 mins to learn how to use it properly.
2. No water bladder - However, the frequency of places to stop is very limited in certain sections. Several times we have 10-12 sections with no rest stops, cafes, etc. In September it was cool so it was not a critical problem. If it was hot we would have been in real trouble. So pack an extra water bottle.
3. Change to private rooms in Albergues from Bunk accommodation. As an older person getting ready, strapping my foot, and finding meds without waking people was a real problem. On day 1, we got to breakfast 5 minutes late (starting time) and it was all gone!! I stripped off and changed the first morning thinking I was in the male section of the dorm to be told by my wife that the person who I stripped off in front of was female. Oops, sorry about that.
4. We taxied I short section where the hill was too steep. We were seriously worried that we might break down and not be able to continue. We bused one section when we realised that 25 klms per day was too ambitious for us. This got us back to 20 klms per day.

Things to watch out for -

1. Booking Accommodation - Do Not believe that posts about not needing to book! (1)
   1. In the beginning from Leon it was not a problem, However, the closer you get it starts becoming a real problem. We were booking every night without problem until O Cebreiro. Only with the help of our friendly Albergue owner, we found some accommodation for the next night, some 15 klms past our intended overnight. People we had dinner with tried booking four nights earlier for O Cebrerio and could not get in so they stayed in the next town.
2. Booking Accommodation - Do Not believe that posts about not needing to book! (2)
   1. In the last 120 Klms prebook all accommodations as the groups join in at this point and getting a place is extremely difficult. One night we had to stay 1,000 meters of the Camino route which is not fun after a long day's walk.
3. In September things started to shut down, Many Albergues already closed. I think all Munilicpal Albergues were already closed. Many places to eat are already closed in the smaller villages.
4. I used a lot more cash than expected, but that was my choice not to use my card for small purchases of coffee, drinks, small meals etc. Not a problem finding an atm as long as you do not leave till the last minute.
5. We intended to rely on WhatsApp, which worked well most of the time until we found several accommodation places that did not use it. This becomes problematic when you don't speak Spanish and you cannot translate messages.

Other Bits and Pieces

• Luggage transportation. This worked very well for us until the last day when our luggage did not arrive. Note many Albergues will not accept luggage so be careful when booking.
• We used airbags to track luggage. Very handy for a piece of mind and being able to ring company when our luggage went missing one day and was heading out of town.
• Google Translate - get comfortable using it. It saved us several times.

Newbie here. Thanks for that information. What transport ‘company’ did you use. I am trying to decide if I want to pack all my stuff or send it on ahead similar to what you did.
Thanks in advance !
Rita

 

[VintageCowgirl]

Thanks for sharing your experience whci is similar to mine. My intention was not to book ahead but beginning in Pamplona when I arrived during a fiesta I changed my thought process. I arrived in Puente La Reina on Sept 25 and prebooked a bed at Albergue Puente. A nice albergue that sleeps 38. There was me, 2 men from Switzerland, and 35 from another country on one of these prebooked tours.in the morning the 35 were in no hurry to leave, hanging around the common areas. As I stepped outside I saw 4 large tour buses idling at the curb. The rest of their group must be scattered across other albergues.

So these tour groups sre prebooking albergues. I guess they part walk, part bus, whatever. And they are booking up the tiny towns too. Last night I stayed in El Burgo Ranero at La Laguna, another nice place I booked a day earlier, getting the last private room. There was me, an Itslian man, and the other 30 from a tour group. Due to these large groups snapping up all the beds, finding place to sleep is difficult.

 

[WGroleau]

Let me say it again clearly, too many people put out this myth. Municipal Alberges were closed in the second half of September.

Seems inappropriate to call someone a liar when you weren’t present for what they are reporting.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I help to run three municipal albergues. I am networked with a whole lot more. I can't speak for the ones in Galicia, which are run by a conglomerate, but the ones I know stay open at least through the end of October. Closing in September -- one of the busiest months of the year -- would be madness.
I appreciate the OP's informative post, but he missed it on that one.

 

[Rav]

Today is my first day home from camino Frances. I sought to stay in smaller towns and villages, off stage from any guide I’d seen. I also sought parochial and municipal albergues (I didn’t walk the Sarria to Santiago section though). I never slept outside and didn’t book at all, except in Santiago. I only booked in Santiago because I was unsure of what effect the national holiday on the 12th would have on availability, and since I didn’t walk those final KMs, didn’t try to stay at a pilgrims only albergue there.

So all of that background to say that I never had a crisis of accommodation. I was turned away two times in all -“completo!” And both times I found a bed within 10 minutes.

I’m not responding to argue or refute, only to say that different camino decisions result in different camino experiences.

For those reading this who’ve yet to walk their first camino, my advice would be to choose the options you’re most comfortable with. I was comfortable with the possibility of sleeping outside, and uncomfortable with locking myself into a certain distance to walk each day. Other pilgrims I met were not comfortable unless they knew ahead of time where they were sleeping each night. Neither way is right, neither way is wrong. Vive la diferencia!

 

[MARSKA]

We walked in June from Sarria to Santiago this year as a recon for a trip I'll make with university students in December. The downtown Xunta albergue in Palas del Rey was closed for some work. I know there have been reports of albergue closures for remodeling and work, etc. this summer in other communities so it is always good to double check with the pilgrim grapevine or often the hospitalera in the prior town will know the situation and will warn pilgrims. In our case the Palas del Rey closure was posted in a form of a poster in the albergue at Portomarin. There is another large Xunta albergue complex before you enter Palas del Rey so that helped pilgrims to know not to go all the way into town if they planned to stay. I believe you can also check for closures on https://www.caminodesantiago.gal/es/durante-el-camino/red-publica-de-albergues and Gronze.com may also have a notice if a place is temporarily closed.

Helpfulk website for Galacia. Thanks for posting!

 

[dreaming]

I walked camino CF last October and had no problem getting a bed in albergues. I didn't prebook only in Roncesvalles. I stayed at Municipal, Donativos and Private albergues.

 

[jsalt]

In September things started to shut down, Many Albergues already closed. I think all Munilicpal Albergues were already closed.

It's a shame that the OP has never come back to us with which municipal albergues were closed in September.

It would really help us to know, as that is such misleading information for newbies.

September is peak season, so no albergues would normally be closed during that month.

They DO close, for a few days, for LOTS of reasons, particularly for bedbug control (and then we should be thankful ).

Otherwise a good post, helpful for mature couples with restrictions.

And it included a good tip to have (and pay) for only ONE bag to be transferred between them, not both bags. I would add to that, that one should still carry normal-sized (30-40 l) backpacks, as they are easier to carry for 20+- kms each day, on the hips, rather than day packs dragging off the shoulders.

 

[Lexicos]

I walked the CF in September too. Accommodation was a challenge at times, especially towards the end but as others have noted, flexibility is a key to this issue. That is; stay in private if you must, pay more if you can, walk a bit further if necessary, share a room with someone if possible, cry for help if you get stuck and sleep in a church hall if you must. Busy as it was last September, I always found something, booking ahead most times but not always. Having said that I was solo, I have no injuries and I can walk very long distances when I need to.
Nonetheless your post is helpful Brendan and it’s good of you to take the time to inform others. Thank you.