Sarria to Santiago

[Wobbits]

Hi
Leaving from Dublin with a group of 13 (from Derry, N Ireland) in early May to walk from Sarria to Santiago (given ourselves a week). I've walked this route before, last year but with just a friend.
Any advice on taking a group along would be welcomed
Cheers

 

[miamijhp]

Yes, always help the slowest one.

 

[tyrrek]

Hi Wobbits!

I've never done a group Camino, but having read some responses on this forum there can be a bit of resentment if a single group takes up a significant part (or all) of an albergue.

Usually I advise against over-planning, but this may be a case where quite careful planning is required. Are you planning to stay in albergues or hostales, for example? If staying in hostales it could work out better to get the same hostal for, say, 3 nights rather than booking a different one each night. That way people who don't want to carry their baggage don't have to and it saves you messing around with baggage transfer so much. You can just get taxis back/forward to wherever you were on the Camino in the morning/evening.

Buen Camino!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Many albergues will not take more than a certain number of people in a group.

 

[sillydoll]

I have taken small and large groups on long distance walks for the last 12 years.

The most important thing is for you all to start off on the same page - with simialr expectations and goals. At your first planning get-together be honest about what drives each of you up the wall! Is it snoring, picking noses, people eating with their mouth open? Little things can become huge problems when you face them day after day after day.

Many people get lonely on the Camino, especially those who start in Sarria. By then 'families' have been formed and strong friendships made. The newcomer might not always be accepted into these tight-knit groups.

Walking with a group of like-minded people can be very rewarding - as long as you don't try to follow the Musketeer rule of 'one for all and all for one!'

There is too much info to put into this post so I am attaching a document with some advice for walking with a group. Hope some of it is helpful and that you have a wonderful walk to Santiago!

 

[zammy]

Reserve ahead, private albergues recommended because of availability of sleeping beds, prepared dinners and lugage transfer, enable the group to walk slower knowing there is accomodations reserved ahead.
A group walks 30 % slower then an individual, less distance.
Agree on what happens if someone is sick, can't walk. have any medical problems then will get them off the trail, will the person continue by bus? will he return home?

 

[gaydearbeck]

My husband and I are going at the same time and this is our first experience. We booked hotels thru a tour company. The problem is that we have to make sure we can make the distance each day. It is pretty far for this sixtish chubby gal..lol. If you want I could send you the name of the tour company.

 

[Bozzie]

Hi
Leaving from Dublin with a group of 13 (from Derry, N Ireland) in early May to walk from Sarria to Santiago (given ourselves a week). I've walked this route before, last year but with just a friend.
Any advice on taking a group along would be welcomed
Cheers

Hola!
I know this doesn't have anything to do with accommodations or who walks faster or slower, but one thing that I haven't seen addressed is the amount of loud chatter between friends while walking. I realize that some people walk for the fun of it, but many people use this time as a contemplative time. As someone who journeyed from SJPP to Santiago de Compostela this past Fall, I had to stop several times a day to let people pass during the days from Sarria to SdC for groups of friend's who, new on the walk, talked so incessently and loudly that it was impossible to retain even a minimal contemplative state as I walked. It wasn't just the occasional talking... It was loud, boisterous and continual. I asked some others who felt the same as me if we'd been that loud and almost obnoxious when WE started our walk 20-some days prior! I know it is everyone's Camino, but is it too much to ask that we keep the conversation to a gentle exchange versus loud conversations?! Perhaps if the groups are only aware of others on the Camino, they may enjoy the peace it is possible to receive on this sacred, ancient Way.
Thank you for listening...and Buen Camino!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I had to stop several times a day to let people pass

That is the perfect response, and it doesn't cost anyone anything!

 

[fraluchi]

Leaving from Dublin with a group of 13 (from Derry, N Ireland) in early May to walk from Sarria to Santiago (given ourselves a week).

Does this group depend upon you as a daily overall organizer? Remember that groups of people tend to "dominate" and that this is one of the reasons why not every albergue likes to accommodate them. If you can split the participants into groups of say 4 people, you may find several albergues in the same village/town to accommodate them. The "disruption" can then take place in previously agreed upon meeting place (restaurant, bar, church, etc.). Alternatively you may want to accommodate participants in a hotel or hostal, taking into account that most of them are small (< 15 rooms). Your decision depends upon whether people want to experience a real "Camino feeling" (which is alive in pilgrims' albergues) or find comfort in upscale hotels and not bother about the cost.
Difficult decision

 

[Anniesantiago]

Great post Sil, although I have to say that getting a group together for a dinner meeting can be a bit like herding cats!
:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[sillydoll]

I've never had that problem!!
Everyone is always so hungry, and always looking for food!

 

[tyrrek]

I had to stop several times a day to let people pass during the days from Sarria to SdC for groups of friend's who, new on the walk, talked so incessently and loudly that it was impossible to retain even a minimal contemplative state as I walked.

Hi Bozzie. I know what you mean, but as pilgrims we're a community and people have different motivations or just different ways of expressing them.

I walked with a small (informal) group of 5 or 6 people for a couple of days last year. They were younger than me. One of the group was an Italian girl called Saretta. When we met she was sharing a leather wine bag with her group at 10am! 'Hora de vino!' went up the call. Later, when the group were tired and despondent she jumped out in front of us and shouted 'Who eez the most bootifool woom-an on the Camino?' to which we were all expected to respond 'Saretta!' (sometimes more enthusiastically than others, it must be said).

That was what Saretta brought to our group. It was loud and others might say 'tut tut' but she was a star and brought so much animation and encouragement, despite having problems with her dodgy knees.

I lost that group well before the end, but when I arrived in Santiago I was walking down the street and saw a few of them walking in front of me. I ran round and said 'Who is the most handsome man on the Camino?! Saretta recognised me and shouted 'Saretta!' and gave me a huge hug. One of the highlights of the whole shebang. Buen Camino!

 

[jeff001]

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever gotten was from a man I met on my first Camino. I was telling him about some of my family coming to join me for the last section and he said, "As long as someone depends on you, you are not really free." Take that to heart. Unless you want the task, and the loss of freedom, make it clear to everyone that you are NOT a paid tour guide and will not arrange everything for them.

 

[Jacki Dufty]

Lightening Bolt Moment, thankyou Jeff001. I walked the Camino Frances with my husband and am planning the Camino del Norte on my own - have just realized why!