Not exactly breaking news, as such, but I thought I’d mention two bits of news:
At Madrid airport, the ALSA (and other) buses used to leave from outside terminal 4 – T4 – and you could sit in the café/bar inside until 10-15 minutes before the scheduled time. I have written a step-by-step guide to getting to T4, and it took us – with hand luggage only, no delays and a brisk pace – less than half an hour to get from the plane to T4 to get on the bus. This is no longer the case. Our man on the ground, David from ClearSkiesCamino, tells me the buses are now leaving from a separate building at T4 and it takes an additional 10 minutes to get there. He even posted a video explaining how to find it! Have a watch before you go, but don’t cut it too fine, give yourself time to get there and find the right bay and bus. No point in starting your camino all stressed out!
At Santiago airport there used to be a rule that pilgrims (or anyone, for that matter) could bring their poles on the flight for free, though they’d need to check them – rule of thumb is you don’t take hiking poles into the cabin, no matter how rubber-tipped or folded up they are; check the airline’s policy before you go. That rule has changed. Apparently when they took the poles for free they became liable for damage and loss costs incurred, which happened in quite a few cases, so hiking poles are now officially classed as ‘extra sports equipment’ and incur quite a hefty charge – €35. If you were planning to buy poles when you got there and then take them home for free, be aware that you will now face the choice between paying to check them in, or leaving them there. (I’ll say nothing about the wasteful practice of buying and disposing of poles.) So, if you have come to love your poles, check them in – check the bag, why not, you are on the way home now – or if you don’t need them, see if the pilgrim office or Pilgrim House would take them and pass them on to other pilgrims.
For UK travellers I also have to retract my gold standard tip of sending your poles to the first accommodation by recorded mail, which used to be cheaper than checking them in – especially if you need more than one flight to get there – and then mailing them back to yourself when you are done (see photo for oddly shaped Pacerpoles packed in orange binliner).
Since Brexit, this has changed, as it would. It is still possible to send them, safely and at about the same price, but you will have to gamble on delivery time. Items can and will be stuck in processing centres for a good while, so please send them in plenty of time!, and you also now have to pick them up from a Spanish post office, which may or may not be open when you need it, and pay the same amount again to the Spanish Correos for their handling within the EU. So it’s twice as expensive and takes at least twice as long. I have started taking mine in the pack and checking it, taking only a few things into the cabin – my sidebag with documents, money and mobile, of course, some water and snacks, and also a change of underwear and a clean top in case the pack goes missing.
Hope this helps, buen camino to all who are on their way!
Somewhere Slowly 