Easter on Camino

[Richard Ferguson]

I was walking the Camino during Easter 2002.  In fact, I arrived in Sarria on the afternoon of
Easter, having been to midnight mass in Samos.  There were a lot of students on the camino
the week before and the week after Easter.  We even joked about two organized groups of
students, the "good" students and the "bad" students, with the difference being the attitude.
However, even the "bad" students were not actually a problem.   The refugios were full, but I
never had trouble getting a bed in a refugio when I wanted one.

Note that students only have a limited vacation, so it is possible that they would be mostly
doing the later stages of the Camino.  My guess is that there would be fewer students, just like
there are fewer other pilgrims, the further that you were from Santiago.  The impact of students
might be very low if you were 500 km from Santiago that week, as I think that would be too far
to go during the Easter Holiday.

Easter was earlier that year, I think March 30, but I only had 3 days of rain out of 14, and
reasonable weather.  However, I did speak to a bicyclist who crossed the passes after I did
who got snowed on, so snow at higher elevations is possible in early April, be prepared.

One disadvantage of arriving after Easter is that you will miss the processions, special
masses, and other events.  One of the highlights of my pilgrimage were the Palm Sunday
processions in Astorga;  I stayed an extra night in Astorga to see them, well worth it.

However, the fly in the ointment may be the 2004 Holy year, which is expected to dramatically
increase the number of pilgrims, so your milage will probably differ.

Richard