Hello Ivar, I love your blogs bringing news from Santiago as well as other Camino issues. Re Covid, early in April there was a great number of people coughing, sneezing & weezing not only on trail but also on the albergues. I had to go to the pharmacies twice: once for sneezing, runny nose & weepy eyes and two weeks later for a bronchial infection. Needless to say I got over it ... whatever it was, but there was something going on🤭
I was in Santiago too during the time of the festival after walking the Portuguese Coastal. I only saw rooms from €200 up and otherwise many km's out of town. Booked the Seminario in advance luckily, which was only open for pilgrims from what I've seen.
Ivar: this is Sam. I was finishing the Camino Inglês and had planned to stay 2 days in Santiago and because of the festival I had to stay outside Santiago the first night. As for fellow pilgrims walking along with me, one knew of the problem ahead of time and arrived in Santiago, got the Compostela and flew out all in the same day because of the lack of rooms; another after arriving in Santiago took the train to A Coruna (30 mins by train) to sleep there . Because I was staying outside Santiago the first night I took a taxi to the hotel (big wait to get one) and made arrangements for a pick up next morning: when talking to the driver he also said he was tired and that with increased number of pilgrims he hasn’t had time to take a vacation. Since there is a limited number of taxis (100?) they are working harder. Don’t know if numbers are correct but he mentioned that with 2,300 pilgrims arriving a day and usually they stay more than one day it is putting a lot of pressure in the service industry. And in high season it is even higher
How many Albergues are there in Santiago which are only for pilgrims with an official credential? Should these not always be available for pilgrims only, i.e. no tourists. p.s. Your weather is like ours in Scotland ☔️
Dear Ivar, I haven't watched your videos for a while and to be honest, as a previous donating member of your Camino Forum, your forum website has become almost unusable. I cannot see where you have removed ads. Especially on a mobile device using the forum is impossible. In other words, taking donations to make something usable is in my eyes not fair. An albergue donativo is always usable, welcoming and friendly no matter how much a pilgrim can donate. Perhaps something you want to re-think in regards to monetising your forum. ❤
Thanks Ivar for the great information!
We’re enjoying a nice rest day in Bilbao. ❤ We will see you near the end of July. 🙌🏼
Enjoy!
@@Ivar it’s been quite busy but we’re loving it!
Hello Ivar, I love your blogs bringing news from Santiago as well as other Camino issues.
Re Covid, early in April there was a great number of people coughing, sneezing & weezing not only on trail but also on the albergues. I had to go to the pharmacies twice: once for sneezing, runny nose & weepy eyes and two weeks later for a bronchial infection. Needless to say I got over it ... whatever it was, but there was something going on🤭
I was in Santiago too during the time of the festival after walking the Portuguese Coastal. I only saw rooms from €200 up and otherwise many km's out of town. Booked the Seminario in advance luckily, which was only open for pilgrims from what I've seen.
Thanks for that update!
Ivar: this is Sam. I was finishing the Camino Inglês and had planned to stay 2 days in Santiago and because of the festival I had to stay outside Santiago the first night. As for fellow pilgrims walking along with me, one knew of the problem ahead of time and arrived in Santiago, got the Compostela and flew out all in the same day because of the lack of rooms; another after arriving in Santiago took the train to A Coruna (30 mins by train) to sleep there . Because I was staying outside Santiago the first night I took a taxi to the hotel (big wait to get one) and made arrangements for a pick up next morning: when talking to the driver he also said he was tired and that with increased number of pilgrims he hasn’t had time to take a vacation. Since there is a limited number of taxis (100?) they are working harder. Don’t know if numbers are correct but he mentioned that with 2,300 pilgrims arriving a day and usually they stay more than one day it is putting a lot of pressure in the service industry. And in high season it is even higher
@@samong1023 thanks for this. It as very busy for a few days there.
Any festivals coming up in July?
It has been much busier from Tui in the last days. We are now at Caldas de Reis and it has been much busier.
Thanks for the update!
How many Albergues are there in Santiago which are only for pilgrims with an official credential? Should these not always be available for pilgrims only, i.e. no tourists.
p.s. Your weather is like ours in Scotland ☔️
Not many public albergues in town.. I don’t think there are any actually. All private, meaning anyone can stay.
Ed Sheeran will be in Santiago July 6, 2024
Thanks for looking that up..
Woopty-doo🤭
God help us
This might be a really good thing to post on the blog and Fb
Dear Ivar, I haven't watched your videos for a while and to be honest, as a previous donating member of your Camino Forum, your forum website has become almost unusable. I cannot see where you have removed ads. Especially on a mobile device using the forum is impossible. In other words, taking donations to make something usable is in my eyes not fair. An albergue donativo is always usable, welcoming and friendly no matter how much a pilgrim can donate. Perhaps something you want to re-think in regards to monetising your forum. ❤
Hi there, I am open for suggestions... how to make a living off a forum without ads or donations... ideas?
Hi Wewalknow. I found that if you are logged in there are no adds Sometimes my login is kicked off but I just log back in. Hope this helps.
@@taliwalters7757 if you are a donating member and log in, you will see no ads.