StClairFam
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- July 23
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If you want to minimize the crowd, I suggest you consider not starting from Sarria on a weekend. A lot of Spanish groups start based on work or school schedules. Also, sleeping stops "off stage" will help avoid the crowd. I think there is a lot of variation from day to day, so some amount of luck is in play here also. When we left Saria on a Saturday last summer, it was one long conga line. We got off stage, and the crowd thinned way down.Hi all
I'm trying to get a sense of just how busy the walk from Sarria to Santiago is in July to help us decide if it's for us. I know it's hard to predict but am after a guesstimate. Is it like a complete trail of people walking right behind and in front the whole time or is there gaps between people?
It's like the line of climber at the summit of Mount Everest. Not really. But if it's solitude your after, reconsider the Camino. It's very much a social experience.Hi all
I'm trying to get a sense of just how busy the walk from Sarria to Santiago is in July to help us decide if it's for us. I know it's hard to predict but am after a guesstimate. Is it like a complete trail of people walking right behind and in front the whole time or is there gaps between people?
HahaImagine the line for free beer at a rock festival....
Its nothing like that. But there will be people, groups, in sight virtually all the time.
Try here for some numbers: https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/statistics/
Do you think it would be any less busy in October?It's like the line of climber at the summit of Mount Everest. Not really. But if it's solitude your after, reconsider the Camino. It's very much a social experience.
This was the image I had in my mind.It's like the line of climber at the summit of Mount Everest. Not really. But if it's solitude your after, reconsider the Camino. It's very much a social experience.
Yes. October has a nice number of walkers - you can choose to be social or not.Do you think it would be any less busy in October
Clearly. The numbers of pilgrims walking then will have declined significantly.Do you think it would be any less busy in October?
That's good to know. I do like the idea of community, but not to the point of no quiet contemplation time.Clearly. The numbers of pilgrims walking then will have declined significantly.
I have walked from Sarria to Santiago twice, the first time in May 2010, a holy year, and again in early Jun a few years later with my wife. Having already walked from SJPP, it is a quite different experience after Sarria. If that is all you walk, then you won't have any comparison like that you can make. I found that there were still ample opportunities to walk in quiet contemplation when I wanted to. I would also note that after the first day, when those who has joined at Sarria (or Tui on the CP) tend to be rushing past and chatting loudly, things calm down and the following days were really quite enjoyable.
Very much so.Do you think it would be any less busy in October?
I actually couldn't make sense of itVery much so.
You can check the statistics that the Pilgrims Office in Santiago keeps. There are numerous breakdowns, and you can search by individual month.
I would use 2019 as a baseline for a "normal" year.
It does take a while to figure it out!I actually couldn't make sense of it
That so much depends on when and where you walk!! In March 2018 I was the ONLY person in 3 albergues in a row. That was the alternate route out of Leon in March. Blessed solitude!! And kindly hosts. I never booked ahead. Shoulder and winter months are for those seeking a more solitary, contemplative experience.It's like the line of climber at the summit of Mount Everest. Not really. But if it's solitude your after, reconsider the Camino. It's very much a social experience.
That is very true but the OP was asking specifically about walking the final 100km in July. About as far from "blessed solitude" as I can imagine!That so much depends on when and where you walk!! In March 2018 I was the ONLY person in 3 albergues in a row. That was the alternate route out of Leon in March. Blessed solitude!!
I have memories of of when that used to be true, but here I am in mid-October about 25K from Sarria, and many Albergues are still jam-packed, and I come across occasional packs of peregrinos numbering in the many dozens. Beginning of October was extremely crowded.Yes. October has a nice number of walkers - you can choose to be social or not.
I have memories of of when that used to be true, but here I am in mid-October about 25K from Sarria, and many Albergues are still jam-packed, and I come across occasional packs of peregrinos numbering in the many dozens. Beginning of October was extremely crowded.
As to choosing or not to be social, frankly most of them seem to treat me like some kind of weird alien creature, but probably that's just me being all in black and with my great big black pilgrim cape and walking the kind of Camino that is entirely inconceivable to their thoughts.
Nevertheless, bottom line here is that if you want to avoid the 100K crowds, as of now it seems that November would be preferable to October.
Be careful what you wish forI would love to see your pilgrim garb!
I would love to see your pilgrim garb!
Ha ha
Imagine the line for free beer at a rock festival....
Its nothing like that. But there will be people, groups, in sight virtually all the time.
can tell us about the ghost or didn’t you mean that literallyOh but I had one morning that was literally like that, and this was at the end of October! I was in the middle of a wave of many hundreds coming out of O Pedrouzo. It was a solid line of people for most of the morning. By contrast, the previous two nights there were four of us in one albergue at Ferreiros and a tour group that didn't talk to anybody else at another; and six of us plus one ghost in the entire town of Eirexe.
It all felt rather random, and probably hard to predict.
That's really not all that eccentric looking. I was expecting a much bigger, structured cape and pilgrim's hat. Something along the lines of Darth Vader meets Gandolf. I don't think I'd have given you a double take or anything.
Hmm. @JabbaPapa was wearing this continually, not poncing around a movie set for a few minutes at a time. Costume designers can take certain liberties with functionality to achieve dramatic effects that would make everyday use impractical.That's really not all that eccentric looking. I was expecting a much bigger, structured cape and pilgrim's hat. Something along the lines of Darth Vader meets Gandolf. I don't think I'd have given you a double take or anything.
My point was I found nothing unusual about his garb. Modern T-shirt, jeans and a pair of work boots. Even the cape is a simple affair. I don't know why anybody would react to it. Darth Vader they would react to..... LuukeHmm. @JabbaPapa was wearing this continually, not poncing around a movie set for a few minutes at a time. Costume designers can take certain liberties with functionality to achieve dramatic effects that would make everyday use impractical.
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