This just in from Thomas, a Dutch hospitalero/pilgrim/traveler just coming off the Camino del Norte and Compostela area: Theft is big this year, with so many tourist-pilgrims, drifters, and just dishonest people around, mixing in with the throngs. Watch out for a few things:
People in groups... young people, or younger men in groups, (sad to say mostly Spanish) who sit and quietly watch activity in a loose group. They usually arrive early at the albergues, and leave early. If you have left your phone plugged-in to charge overnight, or you´ve left laundry on the line outside? It may not be there when you wake up.
If you put your mobile on charge, do not leave it unattended. Mobile phones are a favorite target. If you bring along electronic devices do NOT leave them in the albergue when you go out, not even deeply buried in your pack. Take them with you. (Or don´t bring such things along on the camino.) Try not to present a good target: If you were a thief, where would you look for valuables? Who would you choose to hit?
If you hope to travel the next day with food, do not leave it in the shared refrigerator overnight. The people leaving earlier will often assume it´s been "left for the next guy," and help themselves. If you want to eat perishable food, do it in the evening or get up before everyone else and eat it. Don´t carry perishables with you. They might perish.
Thomas has lots of opinions about these things (you should´ve heard the snort he made when I mentioned a missing electric shaver!), and I´m sorry if these appear to be "no-brainer" suggestions. But you can´t be too careful. ... And if you are paying next to nothing for night´s lodging, don´t expect the innkeeper to pursue legal claims for you. There´s just too much else going on in his world to bird-dog your minor claim through the byzantine Spanish legal system.
Travel safe. And if you lose something, maybe it is an opportunity to learn how much you can do without?
rebekah (who´s lost an awful lot out there)