As Wynette said we came early to avoid later crowds. We read a forum about all things Camino and everyone on the forum seems quite anxious to walk after a two-year hiatus. I expect there will be a huge number of pilgrims this year with the Holy Year and the post-covid surge. Hard to believe since now there are hardly any Pilgrims and many places are closed.
It is not like the Camino was free from crowds before the pandemic. The forum is filled with tales of people getting up at 5 am, walking some distance in the dark, and racing along in order to get a bed at the albergue for the night. We always thought this was sad. People did not stop and look at things. In a way this made sense because, for most pilgrims, the Camino is about doing the walking and socializing with other pilgrims.
Of course, the Camino will not be the only busy place this summer. I expect all the tourist sights will be packed and most are booked up for the entire summer.
If you want to see what the Caminoistas are talking about, take a look at Ivar’s forum at https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/
You said “We always thought this was sad. People did not stop and look at things. In a way this made sense because, for most pilgrims, the Camino is about doing the walking and socializing with other pilgrims.” Well… in the middle ages, the Camino was all about stopping and looking at things (though there was probably plenty of socializing too, probably even stretching the meaning of “socializing” to include “intimate things”) — the pilgrims stopped everywhere to pray and ask for help from various saints whose relics were in the churches. They certainly had to worry about getting fed, but I wonder, did they just sleep out under the stars or in churches under heavy blankets that they probably carried with them?