Wild camping etiquette on the CdN?

[Anne100]

1. To get permission from the property owner do you just walk up to a house, knock, introduce yourself and ask permission to tent there for the night? (I'm not fluent but my Spanish is sufficient for short conversations like this.)
2. Is it rude to knock on the door of a private home during the siesta hours (2-5PM)?
3. Should I offer any payment? Do the property owners expect it?
4. Is it okay to ask to use their hose or spigot for water or is that too much?
5. Would it be safe to sent up a tent, store your gear inside and leave (to get food in town or to wash up discreetly behind some trees, for example)? Taking your valuables (money, passport, etc.) with you, of course.

 

[angulero]

1. To get permission from the property owner do you just walk up to a house, knock, introduce yourself and ask permission to tent there for the night? (I'm not fluent but my Spanish is sufficient for short conversations like this.)
2. Is it rude to knock on the door of a private home during the siesta hours (2-5PM)?
3. Should I offer any payment? Do the property owners expect it?
4. Is it okay to ask to use their hose or spigot to get water?

Really wanted to ask you that?.

 

[hecate105]

We have knocked on doors and asked. 'is there anywhere around here we can put our tent - just for tonight?' But most of the time there either isn't anyone in, or you can't see a house that obviously goes with the land. So mostly we just pitch on a waste/edge area, never in a crop field or where there are stock. This is easy most of the time. Also picnic areas etc are good - cos you've already got a table for dinner/breakfast! Any folk who come along (usually dog walkers/farmers) we always say a cheery 'Hello'. (or 'Hola'!) People will wish you good appetite/good night and smile. We have only ever once had someone upset with us - and that was in the UK.
Just use your common sense.
Water is widely available in Spain/France, there are fountains/taps everywhere. If you are stuck - look for a church - they almost always have them. Or knock on someones door - I have never been refused water...
I would not offer payment but I would be willing to give it if asked. But we always take little tokens (easier on a bike!) We took little devon pixies (& postcards of Devon) and left them on peoples doors/fenceposts - but you could buy sweets/trinkets as you go. We occasionally have left/given a bottle of wine/Ricard for people who have really helped us. (bike breakdown/lifts to find B&B in rain...)
We cycled the C de N backwards and camped most of the way. After Irun - camp atop Mt Jexkibel (awesome views) and the mountain after San Sebastian (expensive, sloping campsite - or further on a lovely picnic area - with loos!) (as long as you are more then 1km from a campsite its legal to camp)
Enjoy!!

 

[Sojourner47]

*****

 

[Anne100]

Thanks, hecate105! Would you care to share any more of your camping locations?

Whenever I travel I always take some small, inexpensive items to give out that are easy to pack and carry, like keychains or bottle openers or pens that have my city's name on them. I agree with you that they're a nice and simple way to show appreciation.

 

[Anne100]

Really wanted to ask you that?.

I'm sorry, I don't understand your answer. I want to know if it's okay to knock on doors during that time because that's when I'm most likely to be looking for the owner of a field or other area to get permission to set up my tent.

 

[Tia Valeria]

I think Angulero was trying to ask if you would want to be disturbed when you are maybe asleep. If you don't do 'siesta' think whether you would want disturbing in the middle of the night. Personally when in Spain I need my siesta and would not like to be disturbed. If you wait until folk are around again and then knock it would be better IMHO

 

[hecate105]

Hi Anne, I think most of our nights on the Norte route were in albergues. (Tapia de Casariego, Almuna, Guernika, Aviles) 2 stand out as not to be missed - Guemes - with the lovely Father Ernesto, and Santillana del Mar, tiny albergue, in the centre of the most beautiful historic town, marvellous place for a day off - especially with the caves nearby. There was a nice campsite at El Pito (west of Aviles)
We cycled up from Sintra, so camped every night till Porto, then about half and half with albergues to S de C, then a lot of camping as we worked our way via Finisterra across to the Norte route. So we were happy to avail ourselves of 'facilities' when we could find them! Later on in France (Voie Litoral) we had to camp a lot again as very few 'Haltes'. (Saintes & Aulnay being lovely Haltes tho'...) Back in the UK we wild-camped almost every night. Sorry - re-reading my post I put that we camped most of the way on the Norte route - I meant we camped most of the nights on our Camino - which was Portugal to home in UK!
Pretty much anywhere you go there are places that you can wild camp. It doesn't take long to get a 'feeling' for places that are ok. If in doubt ask - but generally people are more concerned that you are comfy/warm/ok in the rain/ and 'where is your dog going to sleep?' (have only taken dog in UK - so far...)
Good luck and buen Camino

 

[Doodles]

If you are wild camping near houses what do you do about toilet facilities? Do you still dig a whole and bury it?

 

[Anne100]

Are there places along the Norte where you would absolutely have to wild camp near houses?

 

[angulero]

I think Angulero was trying to ask if you would want to be disturbed when you are maybe asleep. If you don't do 'siesta' think whether you would want disturbing in the middle of the night. Personally when in Spain I need my siesta and would not like to be disturbed. If you wait until folk are around again and then knock it would be better IMHO

No, no es eso lo que pensaba Tia. Es que tengo la sensación que no sabe muy bien a donde viene. Aquí no se para de trabajar por las tardes para echar una siesta por costumbre. Quizás en otras zonas más al sur de España sí paren las tardes en las que el calor aprieta y aprovechen para dormir un poco, pero es que según hizo la pregunta, parece que piensa que hay unas horas donde todo el mundo duerme y no se les puede molestar. Eso más bien pasa en las películas.

Eso sí, no creo que le haga falta llamar a una puerta para preguntar si te dejan acampar en su propiedad. Vas a encontrar mucha gente fuera de sus casas y en el campo a las que les podrás preguntar. Aquí, se hace mucha vida fuera de casa, por suerte.

Podrías decir esto:

"Hola, estoy haciendo el Camino de Santiago y quería preguntarle si me da permiso para dormir esta noche en su finca con mi tienda"

Ah, por cierto, la acampada libre está prohibida. Eso sí, no creo que pongan problemas por poner una tienda al oscurecer y quitarla de nuevo cuando amanezca.

No, not that I thought Tia. The feeling is that I have not really know where it comes from. This is not to work in the afternoon for a nap habit. Perhaps in other areas south of Spain stop working the evenings when the temperatures climb and take the opportunity to sleep a little, but is that as he asked the question, seems to think that there are times where everyone sleeps and does not they may bother you. Rather That happens in movies.
Just do not think you need it knock on a door to ask if they let you camp on their property. You will find many people out of their homes and in the field to which they can ask. Here, it is a lot of life away from home, thankfully.
You could say this:

"Hola, estoy haciendo el Camino de Santiago y quería preguntarle si me da permiso para dormir esta noche en su finca con mi tienda"

Oh by the way, the camping is prohibited. Just do not think to put problems by putting a store at dusk and remove it again when dawn.

No sé como quedará traducido con el traductor....

 

[Anne100]

No estaba seguro sobre el significado de la "siesta:" dormir en la cama o simplemente para relajarse con amigos. Es preferible hacer la pregunta ahora que cometa un error grosero en España, sí?

Quiero decir lo siguiente: "Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Anne. Soy una peregrina de los EE.UU. Con permiso, quisiera pasar la noche allí, en la hierba, en mi pequeña tienda de campaña. Voy a salir en la mañana. Prometo dejarlo en las mismas condiciones en que lo encontré. No fogata ni basura." ¿Es esto cortés y apropiado, angulero?

Cuando se haya obtenido permiso del dueño del campo por qué acampar es ilegal?
--------

I wasn't sure if siesta meant actually sleeping in bed or simply relaxing at home with friends. It's better to ask here than to make a rude mistake when I'm in Spain, no?

I plan to ask it this way: "Good afternoon. My name is Anne. I'm a pilgrim from the U.S. With your permission, I would like to spend the night over there on the grass in my little tent. I'll leave in the morning. I promise to leave everything as I found it. No campfire and no garbage."

Is that appropriate/polite, angulero?

If you get permission from someone to put up a tent in their field for the night, how would that be illegal?

 

[Bigpants]

1. To get permission from the property owner do you just walk up to a house, knock, introduce yourself and ask permission to tent there for the night? (I'm not fluent but my Spanish is sufficient for short conversations like this.)
2. Is it rude to knock on the door of a private home during the siesta hours (2-5PM)?
3. Should I offer any payment? Do the property owners expect it?
4. Is it okay to ask to use their hose or spigot for water or is that too much?
5. Would it be safe to sent up a tent, store your gear inside and leave (to get food in town or to wash up discreetly behind some trees, for example)? Taking your valuables (money, passport, etc.) with you, of course.

 

[hecate105]

If there are no toilet facilities somewhere it is always right to dog a hole and bury it! We have a trowel & toilet roll kit at the top of a pannier...

 

[StuartM]

If there are no toilet facilities somewhere it is always right to dog a hole and bury it! We have a trowel & toilet roll kit at the top of a pannier...

I posted this in the other thread about camping. It is a leaflet distributed amongst walkers and climbers in Scotland: http://www.mcofs.org.uk/assets/access/where-to-go-leaflet.asp.pdf

 

[angulero]

Cuando se haya obtenido permiso del dueño del campo por qué acampar es ilegal?

En general, la acampada libre no está permitida en España, aunque depende de cada Comunidad Autónoma. Igual que te digo esto, también te digo que no creo que te diga nada la policía, siempre y cuando estés en un sitio apartado y tengas permiso del dueño.

https://sede.asturias.es/bopa/disposiciones/repositorio/LEGISLACION34/66/21/001U003PGG000A.pdf

Artículo 3.—
Acampada libre
1. A efectos de proteger y salvaguardar los recursos naturales y medioambientales existentes, y siempre respetando
los derechos de propiedad y uso del suelo, queda prohibida
cualquier forma de acampada libre o no legalizada.
2. Se entiende por acampada libre la instalación eventual
de tiendas de campaña, caravanas u otros albergues móviles
con intención de permanecer y pernoctar en lugares distintos
a los campamentos de turismo autorizados.
3. No tendrá la consideración de acampada libre:
a) La realizada en zonas habilitadas para acampar con motivo de fiestas locales, o acontecimientos deportivos o musicales multitudinarios, siempre que dichas zonas cuenten con la previa autorización municipal.
b) La que tenga su causa en fines de investigación y cuente
con la autorización municipal correspondiente.

En cuanto a pedir permiso, bastaría con lo que te he puesto más arriba, pero estoy seguro de que antes de que pidas permiso ya habrás hablado un buen rato con la gente que encuentres. En general, la gente de esta zona es bastante abierta.

Saludos

 

[Anne100]

Gracias, angulero. Eso es una buena información.

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Good info. Thanks, angulero!

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Here is my 2 cents. Out of sight is out of mind... Get far off the trail and try not to be obvious. Wild camping is technically illegal in Spain. It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission. I'm not sure I would camp in parks in the cities or too close to town without asking. Camping is better out of town anyway. Also, I found that the property and fields surrounding a house are not necessarily owned by whomever lives there. Well, at least that's what I was told from time to time. Maybe they didn't want the responsibility. I would advise NOT knocking on doors during the siesta.
Basically, if you see someone in a field then ask, if not just hide yourself well. Carry some water purification. A tiny bottle of household bleach goes a long way. It's not ideal but it works in a pinch. The biggest danger from open water sources is probably agricultural run off and water purification won't solve that. If I knew I was camping for that night, I would stock up on water in the last town. You can carry extra empty water bottles or the collapsible Platypus.
Anyway, have faith in yourself and God. It is a pilgrimage after all, you'll figure it out.
Have fun and remember to laugh... A LOT.
R-

 

[TerryB]

There is a list of the official camp sites in Asturias here;- http://www.principadodeasturias.com/index.php?cat=campings

As Angulero says, most of the locals on the Norte are very open and welcoming to pilgrims. This is partly because they have not reached 'overload' or been overly pestered by demands by agressive pilgrims! I have heard comments and demands from some folk which make me ashamed to be called a 'peregrino'!
A short conversation about where you are from, where you are going, where you might stay, may even lead to an unsolicited invitation to use their property.
I have not been camping, but have often called in the first bar coming into the town or village, bought a drink and asked if they know of any accommodation.
This has led to some interesting stop overs and I would guess work for permission to camp. Better to ask IMHO and know that you are welcome! You can then relax and may even find that folk will keep an eye on your tent etc. Enjoy!

blessings
Terry B

 

[Stephers]

hecate105, This is super helpful. Thank you!