LIVE from the Camino Protests in Pamplona and surrounding regions

[ffp13]

Edited

 

[ffp13]

Yesterday all supermarkets , bars, restaurants, banks etc were closed due to a strike/civil protest. This made dining options for the average pilgrim more difficult. There was unrest in the streets of Pamplona withe bak windows smashed and ATM s destroyed, by sheer luck rather than good planning I stopped short of Pamplona and although all options for dining were closed, the albergue was allowed to serve meals but only to pilgrims,
Hopefully this was a one off event, but somehow I suspect more to follow?

 

[rivrod]

There was a general strike called by one of the unions. It's part of ongoing protests against austerity. Passing through the last week there were graffiti and posters advertising it, in Spanish of course. Didn't see any for another date.

 

[bbeatty]

Where do you suggest ATMs then? I'd hate to be walking for days and not find an ATM when I heard you have to rely on bigger cities like Pamplona to pull cash out of an ATM because the smaller villages don't have ATMs.

 

[tyrrek]

Where do you suggest ATMs then? I'd hate to be walking for days and not find an ATM when I heard you have to rely on bigger cities like Pamplona to pull cash out of an ATM because the smaller villages don't have ATMs.

I suspect it's just a few ATMs around the site of the main demonstrations. I'm sure it will still be possible to find ones that are still intact.

More generally, you will find ATMs in all significant cities and towns (places like Estella, Viana etc). A few relatively small villages have them, but you can't always rely on that. Buen Camino!

 

[ffp13]

Most ATM in Pamplona were ok, just a few destroyed .

 

[bbeatty]

Thanks for the update...I should be in Pamplona by Tuesday or Wednesday. . Hoping things have calmed down there.

 

[Tia Valeria]

When looking for an ATM we decided that the best ones to use are those inside the bank. This was in case the 'hole-in-the-wall machine had been tampered with (happens here in UK). We felt too that it was safer as we could put the money away before walking out onto the street again.
As far as Pamplona goes, if the outside machines are damaged, the inside machines are probably OK. It just means that the bank needs to be open to access them.
Hope the problems soon stop, but many people are really struggling and frustrated.

Slightly off topic - we saw baskets at the supermarkets in some places to donate food to 'Caritas' which is running 'food banks'. Donating something (tins/pasta etc) won't stop the demonstrations, but might help some-one in need to have a meal.