For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
I cannot speak Spanish, so when I was a hospitalera and a guest only spoke Spanish, there was always someone - a guest or the other hospitalero/a - who could translate or explain when necessary. Often, by the time the pilgrims reach your albergue, they are familiar with the routines and don't...
I have stopped there often for a coffee and/or lunch break. It's not really a 'cute kitty' kind of place, but the food is good, and there are a few rooms upstairs available for an overnight stay. Jose Ramon is a friendly host and I always enjoy the stopover.
I have walked the Camino Frances from mid-September to late November a few times and there was very good weather in September and October--warm and sunny--but as soon as November 1 arrived, so did the cold, wet, rainy weather, and many albergues were closed, even though they were listed as Open...
I agree and say that when I walked my first Camino in 2011 when I was 65, all went well physically, except one small blister due to the seam on a sock. When I got home, I saw my chiropractor to make sure everything was in place after carrying my fully loaded pack.
All was well, but he said that...
A few years ago, I arrived at the Cruz early morning—no one was there except me and the man driving the bulldozer, collecting the stones and dumping them into a bin to be hauled away. It was a very strange experience.
In 2017, I stayed overnight in Burgos and in the morning I left the Municipal Albergue, turned right onto the Camino which goes past the albergue door and headed down the path toward the Arch of San Martin, where royalty entered the town when they visited Burgos. It was a beautiful morning with...
I was a hospitalera at San Miguel in Estella in June 2015. The priest came every few days to count the donations, and your money-counting routine sounds familiar. It was a nice Albergue in an interesting town. I am sorry that I never met Fernando.
In the spring of 2012, on a day just like this in the photo, and on this part of the trail, I had a brief 'visitation' by a friend who had died four years earlier; he had walked the CF in 2004. The experience was very strange, but reassuring.
This site is run by Ivar at in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon