The Camino de Santiago in winter: a way of discovering Galicia at another time of the year, avoiding the crowds

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, 30 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Pilgrim flows during the winter months are gradually recovering and approaching the figures prior to the pandemic, which stopped the upward trend in the number of people who in recent years chose the low season to walk to Galicia, an attractive option for those who want to avoid the influx that is concentrated in the central months of the year.

If in the month of January 2021, marked by the strong restrictions imposed to stop a health crisis that pinned its hopes on a vaccination campaign still in its infancy, little more than pilgrims arrived in Santiago, that number almost doubles daily in the start of 2022, the second year of this biannual Xacobeo.

Walking alone for kilometers, enjoying the winter landscapes and being able to interact more closely with the pilgrims with whom they meet on the routes are the reasons that Francesco, Carlo, Jueun, Hyien or Koen point out, some of the people who this month of January walk to Galicia.

"The pilgrim who chooses winter wants to have contact with nature, tranquility and that the Camino is not overcrowded. He is an international pilgrim who has different holiday seasons and they are organized differently from Spanish ones. The season does not scare him winter because perhaps they are used to much harsher weather", summarizes the director of Tourism of Galicia, Nava Castro, in statements to Europa Press.

After a very difficult winter, the influx of pilgrims is gradually recovering, although it is still far from the pre-pandemic figures of a record 2019 in which 15% of pilgrims did the Camino in low season.

"Generally, it tends to be a type of pilgrim who comes from abroad. Before, many Germans, French, and Americans used to come; although with the pandemic fewer are coming. It's a much calmer part of the year, which attracts a little older people than in summer", points out Mari Carmen Pampín, a worker at the Ribadiso shelter, an old medieval hospital on the banks of the Iso river, in Arzúa (A Coruña), converted in the early 1990s into accommodation for pilgrims.

In the year prior to the outbreak of the health crisis caused by covid-19, the number of pilgrims in the low season increased by 15%, according to figures from Turismo de Galicia, which is confident that the good evolution of the data from 2021, with a "historic" second semester after a "chaotic" first half of the year, continue throughout this recently started year.

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"People want to walk, to come to Galicia to enjoy what is offered to them, which is what they are looking for in the pandemic and this post-pandemic stage: contact in the open air and a safe environment", highlights Nava Castro, who points to the changing landscape of autumn and winter as another of the attractions offered by the low season for pilgrims.

"AT THE BEGINNING WE THINK, FIRST AND LAST TIME"

Jueune Kang and Hyien Shin are two friends from Seoul who are living the last stages of an experience that began at the end of December in Saint-Jean-Pied -de-Port, France. Taking advantage of the holidays, they embarked on a winter adventure along the Camino Frances that, despite a difficult start, they would be willing to repeat. "At first we thought: first and last time. But now we are convinced that we could repeat it," sums up Juene Kang, who works in the big data sector in the South Korean capital.

The popularity of the Camino de Santiago in the Asian country has grown exponentially over the last 20 years, a phenomenon largely explained by the success of a literary phenomenon started by the writer Kim Nan Hee in 2006. Two years earlier, there were 18 the pilgrims from South Korea who completed the Camino. In 2010 almost 1,500 did; in 2018, more than 5,500 and in 2019 they already represented the eighth country on the list of origin of walkers, with more than 8,200.

The volume of South Korean pilgrims becomes more noticeable during winter, a time that attracts travelers from the Asian country, who enjoy a vacation period at this time. This is the case of Jueune and Hyien, who admit that what they are enjoying the most about the experience is the closeness with other people. "Since there are few people, we can be closer to each other," the friends point out.

GRANDSON AND GRANDFATHER SHARING EXPERIENCE

Saint-Jean was also the starting point for Francesco Baiguini, a young Italian from the town of Lóvere, located on the shores of Lake Iseo, on the outskirts of Bergamo . He began his solo journey on December 29. His grandfather Carlo Cadei was waiting for him on the 21st in Sarria (Lugo) to share the last 100 kilometers of walking to Santiago.

"My grandfather is a special person in my life. To end this experience, which is very important to me, is the best thing one could want. It is a very special occasion, it is incredible", says Francesco with his grandfather in the vicinity of the bridge over the river Iso, barely a couple of kilometers from Arzúa, the penultimate stop on his journey.

The pandemic cut short the plans of this young Italian, who had in mind to do the Camino in the spring of 2020. "I thought, as soon as I can, I'll start it. And doing it in winter was a good decision because it is a very particular time There aren't many pilgrims and you have time to think, to walk, to stop and look", points out Francesco, who values ​​the fact of having done stages on the Camino Frances in which he did not meet any pilgrims.

CLOTHING, AN ELEMENT TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT

Those who embark on the adventure of the Camino this January are enjoying an unusual month due to the benevolence of a time that has left little rainfall and days with skies clear, although with low temperatures that stain the fields and roads white during the early hours of the day.

Something that for the pilgrims consulted by Europa Press is not a big problem, beyond having to resort to jackets, thermal shirts, gloves or hat; garments that they go without once the day progresses and kilometers accumulate on their legs. All this, added to the fact that rainfall must be taken into account, makes the winter pilgrim's backpack heavier, so they recommend being especially careful to adjust the load to each one's possibilities.

"I wear several layers of clothing: pants, inner tights, thermal shirts, several jackets. The key above all is to wear layers, but once the sun comes out I can take them off," says Koen at the exit of Arzúa in the direction of O Pedrouzo --O Pino (A Coruña)--, where he will spend the night before arriving at the Obradoiro.

This Dutchman recommends the Camino in winter for those who want to escape the high summer temperatures, something that Roberta agrees with, an Italian pilgrim who shares the experience with her daughter and who chose January precisely to avoid the inclement sun .

Thus, the pilgrims consulted coincide in warning about an issue: the pandemic, added to the low season, sometimes makes it difficult to find open establishments, especially bars or supermarkets in some points of the Camino.

On this matter, the head of Tourism of the regional Administration points out that some businesses take vacations after Christmas and highlights that, in any case, there are public hostels and the Xunta maintains contacts with the town halls to facilitate " minimum services" for pilgrims.