re new camino guides and other questions

[Eve Alexandra]

Has anyone purchased or gotten a good look at some of the new camino guides? I'm wondering if any of them have information in our post covid world...masks inside albergues, new social distancing considerations when walking, perhaps expecting reduced services or new recommendations for carrying more food/water, etc. I am very aware that no one can read the future and rules/recommendations seem to change monthly. I'm just trying to get a sense of whether the guides are mostly like the old pre covid guides but with updated albergue lists or if they contain significant new information.

I'm also wondering if the albergue community is expecting and preparing for Holy Year crowds at the pre-covid levels?

And for those of you who have been on the camino since the times before the Martin Sheen movie, when the Camino was relatively obscure...I'm wondering if the current reduction in services is in some ways a return to that experience?

 

[Bradypus]

And for those of you who have been on the camino since the times before the Martin Sheen movie, when the Camino was relatively obscure...I'm wondering if the current reduction in services is in some ways a return to that experience?

My first Camino - the Camino Frances - was 20 years before the Martin Sheen movie. I am currently walking the Via de la Plata. Quite a few places have closed because of Covid and there are a few stages of 30km or so between accommodation. Since leaving Seville 10 days ago I have met a total of 6 other pilgrims - three of those in the first night albergue in Guillena. In that respect it is very like my first Camino journey though the accommodation now is greatly improved even on a less walked route like the VdlP. Others who are walking the Frances will be able to tell you their current experience.

 

[Eve Alexandra]

My first Camino - the Camino Frances - was 20 years before the Martin Sheen movie. I am currently walking the Via de la Plata. Quite a few places have closed because of Covid and there are a few stages of 30km or so between accommodation. Since leaving Seville 10 days ago I have met a total of 6 other pilgrims - three of those in the first night albergue in Guillena. In that respect it is very like my first Camino journey though the accommodation now is greatly improved even on a less walked route like the VdlP. Others who are walking the Frances will be able to tell you their current experience.

Thank you. I appreciate your perspective on this. It's something I've been thinking about a lot, lately.

 

[Pawel]

Gerald has some general information included in his FAQ and practical preparation and background guide (do not have the link at hand to the latter):

Camino Guide - the Free Guide to the Camino de Santiago

Camino Guide - the Free Guide to the Camino de Santiago

www.caminoguide.net

As well as dedicated to CF and VdlP on:

Vía de la Plata - the Free Guide to the Vía de la Plata

Vía de la Plata - the Free Guide to the Vía de la Plata

www.viadelaplataguide.net

http://www.caminoguide.net/pages/updates (-->http://www.aprinca.com/alberguesinvierno/)

and in his route guides updated for 2022:

Vía de la Plata - the Free Guide to the Vía de la Plata

Vía de la Plata - the Free Guide to the Vía de la Plata

www.viadelaplataguide.net

Camino Guide - the Free Guide to the Camino de Santiago

Camino Guide - the Free Guide to the Camino de Santiago

www.caminoguide.net

Hope that helps.

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Gerald has some general information included in his FAQ and practical preparation and background guide

Thanks! This is a site I have not seen before. Very informative.

 

[Walli Walker]

Good questions Eve, I’m looking forward to the answers.

 

[Rick M]

Everybody likes certainty and consistency. Me too!

Unfortunately, I have no idea how any guide book author could credibly offer it to you. I walked the Frances in the fall. Some places were shut down due to Covid. Some were opened up and running unchanged from previous years. Many had reduced capacities. There were fewer pilgrims than previous years, but it was largely the same experience as it has always been, including tour groups after Sarria. There were fewer communal meals, but some places still did it. Many bars had reduced seating capacity, but there was always somewhere to eat. A few towns between stages had no open bars anymore, but this was more of an inconvenience than a hardship.

It's all a moving target. The Camino infrastructure is bruised, not destroyed. It will recover as the pilgrims return, one location, one Bar, one albergue, at a time. As it was in October, all was perfectly well in terms of finding services. Can I suggest that rather than using a printed guidebook written by a presumably clairvoyant author, check Gronze.com as you walk, which is updated frequently. It was all I used, and it worked perfectly.

As for masking, social distancing, standards of practice, etc. - when in Rome, do as the Romans do - is the best plan. I was chided in several towns by locals for not wearing a mask on the streets. In neighboring towns, people were wearing them only indoors. The rules are slightly different between Galicia, Navarre, Casitlla y Leon, and Rioja, and they change at different times. No big deal, every hospitalero and barman would point out the local rules if we broke them, with a smile. It was all very calm. There was no uniform standard. Go with the flow.

Buen Camino

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Everybody likes certainty and consistency. Me too!

I have the gronze app. I just also prefer to have a paper copy, because I'm also that person who buys journals and paper planners rather than doing everything digitally. lol I just figured that if one has more of the post-covid info than another, that is the one I would most likely purchase.

I really appreciate your assessment of the state of the camino as you experienced it last year. Thank you.

 

[J Willhaus]

The information changes frequently with local rates so a paper guide would quickly be out of date. For example a rule on wearing masks outside was put back in place earlier this winter and will be lifted this week again. Occupancy in governed by the Covid rate in the local region. I think the only advice is to remain patient and flexible. An electronic resource that can be updated will be useful. I too like a good paper guidebook, but know that in order to see current openings and closures, I will need to rely on my phone or the hospitalero where I am staying for the next day's information..