I've seen mention in a couple of Camino books of an eccentric couple of guys who like to think of themselves as Knights Templar and they run an albergue. Has anyone here had experience with them? Are they still there?
One of the highlights of my first Camino.
Tomas IS a Knights Templar, in my book, and a wonderful person.
He treats the pilgrims with respect and offers them a bed and food for a donation.
The night I stayed there, when I first saw the beds, I was a bit put off, but we bucked up and stayed.
And I was glad I did!
It was wonderful!
That night, a young barefoot man wandered in as we were eating.
He did not speak and was quite ragged.
Several of us (including me) had first impressions that weren't so nice.
Tomas, on the other hand, welcomed the boy in with a hug, and sat him at the table.
Turns out it was a young man walking barefoot in silence.
Tomas recognized him as a "real" pilgrim, and welcomed him.
It was a good lesson for me in not being so damned judgmental.
There is no running water there, and so the bedsheets are not pristine.
Use your sleeping bag or sleepsack and don't worry.
Maybe it was too dirty for the bedbugs because nobody was bitten.
There is now an outhouse - when I stayed it was a simple hole in the ground.
I was thankful for toilet paper and recalled the days of my youth when we didn't have indoor plumbing. No biggie.
Kooky?
A Catholic Mass might be Kooky to a Pentacostal and vice versa!
Instead, we enjoyed wonderful hospitality, friendly conversation, a good night's sleep, and a big breakfast to get us out the door next morning.
I have nothing but good to say about Tomas and about his albergue.
If a person is too snooty to stay there, it's their loss, in my opinion.