>>1193302pretty much got it in one.
I cycled the Camino Mozarabe starting in Córdoba up to Finisterre, then continued alone the Camino del Norte the "wrong way", heading towards France. It was empty and super fun, although we didn't follow the route faithfully. I found the "pilgrims" I met along the way to be very snobbish, I was frequently told I wasn't doing it properly. When I took my camino passport to the final office in Santiago de Compostela, they refused to give me the final stamp, saying I hadn't stayed in enough Albergue's to be sure I did it properly.
Overall, I found it to be very disappointing, snobby and pretentious. It's a business; very few of the albergue's are free and the ones we did stay in were awful; overcrowded, absolutely swelteringly hot to the point where I was just lying down on my bed sweating so much I couldn't sleep and was dehydrated in the morning before we'd even gone anywhere. Better to just wild camp wherever you want.
Spain is a beautiful country for hiking and travelling. I would avoid doing the Camino officially, but the route is nice. Remember that Santiago de Compostela isn't the end of the camino; traditionally Muxía or Cabo de Finisterre are the ends. I went to Finisterre because I thought it would be cool to cycle to "the end of the earth".
Pic related is Finisterre.
