Dear Richy,
Just seen your post about the VdlP. I was a first-timer on any Camino and walked the VdlP from 1st May, ending up in Finisterre on 12th June.
I hesitate to comment, amid such a galaxy of veterans...
I was a fit 49-year-old (now still a fit...50-year-old) wearing well-worn in boots and carrying around 10kg. But I found the first week pretty hard: blisters and sheer tiredness. In May, the temperatures were already into the low 30's and, unlike I expect you do, I had no idea of 'Camino-pacing'. Physically, for me, the worst two days were the stages from Monasterio to Calzadilla de los Barros and from Los Santos to Almendralejo. After the first week, though, provided I didn't walk too fast, I was fine. That said, I clocked up not a few days of more than 30kms. This was mostly out of choice: it 'bought' me a whole week's free time on the beach at the end of my Camino. Thankfully, I had a very problem-free Camino otherwise.
It's interesting to note that I think I met only three others who had never walked another Camino before the VdlP. Most folk were walking as singles or as couples. Most were walking the whole stretch from Seville to Santiago and were either retired, unemployed or able to take out a longer-than-usual chunk from their usual lives: I was on sabbatical. You need at least five weeks, and that would be rushing it for most people.
There were a smaller group, more, probably, as the Camino progressed, who were only walking a part of it: such as Sevilla-Merida; Merida-Salamanca; Zamora-Santiago. Most of these were walking for a week or so only.
At the start, the nightly 'cohort' in most of the albergues was around 10 walkers and 2/3 cyclists. This decreased as we got closer to Salamanca and then markedly increased from Salamanca and Zamora.
I used the Camino Planner on the Godesalco website, which is excellent and broadly accurate. This shows you at a glance where is the accommodation and of what kind. As you comment, there are far fewer refugios. I found that, apart from the excellent network of Council-run albergues in Galicia (still charging Eu3), the rest generally charged Eu5 or 6. Some, Eu7. The Galician ones were by far the best: clean, comfortable, good facilities. The ones in the north of Castille y Leon - beyond Zamora - were the poorest. I was turned away on only two occasions, but there was an alternative not too far away in each case.
I don't know what you are looking for. In my case, I wanted a fair degree of peace and quiet. That was most definitely achieved during the walking day. It was easy not to see, let alone meet, another person all day! As Johnnie has pointed out, you definitely need to take food and water adequate not just for lunch but also in case there might be nothing much at the end of the day too.
At the end of the day, I found that several of the refugios got quite full. If the VdlP increases much more in popularity, the Camino infrastructure will struggle. (That said, if you are happy to use alternatives, as I was, you can find a variety of pensiones, hostales, habitaciones at a variety of prices, starting from Eu15. Some were more basic. The one in Sanabria was palatial: Carlos V: highly recommended and very reasonable!).
I found the other peregrinos a charming and very friendly bunch. Having joined something of the stream that flowed on from the
Camino Frances after Santiago, onwards to Finisterre, I would venture to suggest that VdlP walkers are a slightly different breed (anyone else got any thoughts?). I met only two other Brits on the entire walk. There were lots of Spaniards of course and Germans (there are no less than two highly detailed German guides to the VdlP, one only published in October 2008: still, they managed to find some mistakes even in that!). All were, on the whole, older rather than younger people and mostly 'seasoned' long-distance walkers. Many were walking purely and unashamedly as a holiday experience (which, I hasten to add, is fine, but perhaps more so than on the CF?). I made some very good friends. You do need at least basic survival Spanish. English only will not do, unless the other person is a German, of course.
I took a more or less weekly day off. I stopped off at Merida, Salamanca and Sanabria. I had a half-day off at Caceres. I also took three days out at Oseira Abbey, north of Orense: a very different experience. The refugio there is basic if not dire, but the accommodation I enjoyed inside the Abbey was near luxurious: Eu30 full board per night. You need to book in advance and to be prepared to join in something of the monastic experience: not for everyone but definitely for some!
The walking is mostly on farm tracks: i.e. wide enough for at least one large-ish vehicle to negotiate: sometimes the tracks were a little busy with farm vehicles. There is also a significant chunk of walking on tarmac. The worst stretch was from Salamanca to El Cubo del Vino: the Camino has literally been churned up by motorway construction and we had the dubious and sweltering experience of walking along the as-yet unopened motorway for several hours: no longer possible! Further north, the track became much more frequently a mere footpath.
I wound up having a week doing very little on the beach, 7kms from Finisterre, at a delightful place, Estorde. Not a cheap pension there, but absolutely idyllic.
I think the VdlP is great. Beautiful countryside, fascinating towns and cities, solitude as well as good friendships. I hope you have a great time too.
Clive.