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Shipping backpack ahead but alburgue unknown

David’s Next Country

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Frances (2017)
Hello, please forgive me if this is posted in the wrong place or my question has already been answered before; I tried searching but came up empty. We are starting our Camino on September 5 from SJPP. My wife will be transferring her backpack along the way; we know where we are staying in Orisson and Roncevaux, so getting her bag to the alburgue we are staying at is not an issue for these stops. My question is for the days that follow: how can one ship a pack ahead to the final destination of the day if you do not know which alburgue you will stay at? Or do we have to determine not only the town we stop in (which we will know) but where we are staying too? Or can you ship to the municipal alburgue and pick it up there, even if you are staying somewhere else? Thank you for any insights on this issue!
 
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Hi @DnCTravels, wishing you both a safe journey and a Buen Camino. And welcome to the forum - I see that this is your very first post!

I'm sure that others with more recent experience will weigh in to answer your question, but here's my tuppence worth in the meantime. I'm pretty sure that you need to know your destination before you ship your bag ahead. When you complete the envelope/tag for the transport company, they require a specific address. The municipal (or other) albergues might not be happy to be used as a drop-off point, if you aren't actually staying there.

The Camino is likely to be quite busy in September, so you might want to consider phoning the day before to book your beds (you can do this for the private albergues, but not the municipal ones). That would also take care of issue of where to send your bag.
 
The transfer companies have a list of the places that will accept backpacks, so each day you contact the company and choose a destination. In general, your backpack will be dropped at the entrance to your chosen albergue. Many municipal albergues do not accept backpacks, so they will not be on the transfer company's list. Keep in mind that no one will accept responsibility for the pack. It will sit at the entrance of the albergue until you arrive. While there is no requirement that you stay in the albergue where you have shipped your backpack, as a general courtesy you probably should stay there. They are commercial operations. They may have a lot of empathy for pilgrims, but if you had hundreds of people expecting you to watch over their backpacks (or use your restroom) without compensation, you probably would grow tired of the imposition. It is the same for hospitaleros, who work from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for 7 to 12E per bed.
 
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Hi, and hope you have a wonderful Camino. In the albergue where I was hospitalera, a parochial one, bags were left at the albergue by the transport company, but that fact does not imply a place is booked. The owner has to arrive in time to get a bed, or keep moving. If you choose a private albergue then you can book, so no problem beyond reaching the albergue on foot!
 
Thank you all for taking the time to reply! I appreciate the feedback; we will make a point of phoning ahead to book so we have an alburgue to ship her pack to. We are looking forward to starting this journey!
 
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I thought Orisson required that you walk in with your pack - implying that that would not accept transported packs.
 
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mcopeland said:
I thought Orisson required that you walk in with your pack - implying that that would not accept transported packs.
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We were able to ship the pack to Orisson without any issue; there were several that did so yesterday, I think it is understood some people cannot take the extra weight on their back.
 
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