- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances: '22, '23, '24
Portugues: 23
Invierno: 24
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Thanks! Yup, I know that there is no electricity. Last Fall, my husband and I spent at least an hour there and it has stayed with me ever since. They don't take reservations, so I was hoping to find out how early one has to show up to get a spot.I would say you can probably get a bed. It is between two towns and not on a stage at all. I doubt they will take reservations and be aware that there is no electricity. If they are full, you can still probably take some photos and sit down and visit a moment with the pilgrims and hospitalero. If you don't get a bed, then you can just move on to Castrojerez.
What a cool coincidence! So late morning/early afternoon?When I stayed there last I arrived early. We had stayed the night in Hornillos and intended to walk to Castrojeriz, but when we peeked into San Anton at about lunch time we found the hospitalero was a friend from Australia so how could we walk on? We had a fabulous night.
Thank you!Well, keep in mind the hospitalera/o has to clean and maybe get groceries from town. I would say certainly no earlier than noon, but as @Flog mentions, 2 p.m. would probably be OK. Give the hospitalera a moment to eat lunch, etc. No opening time mentioned on Gronze.com
Thank you! Fingers crossed!I have lovely memories of it.. It's one of the special places but many walk on, put off by the basic facilities. If you arrive around 2pm you shouldn't have any problem finding a bed. If it doesn't work out, Castrojerez is less than an hour further on, with lots of choices.
Yes, I think about then.What a cool coincidence! So late morning/early afternoon?
I was a hospi there. No, we don’t go to town to buy provisions, Ovidio brings them to us from Burgos and Castrojeriz. However with only a tiny propane powered fridge almost everything we prepared was veggie, pasta and rice based. Sometimes a few bits of hard sausage. There are only 12 beds and they are all bunk beds. No way to make a reservation because there is no phone or Internet service. You could arrive anytime of the day but we did have to sweep the floors and clean the one room bath daily. If you want a beer, a snack or wine outside of dinner time, you need to bring it with you. Although, I know someone opened a bar across the street several years ago. Finally, there were nights in the middle of the summer when we had zero guests and others when we were turning pilgrims away at. 5pm and beyond.Well, keep in mind the hospitalera/o has to clean and maybe get groceries from town. I would say certainly no earlier than noon, but as @Flog mentions, 2 p.m. would probably be OK. Give the hospitalera a moment to eat lunch, etc. No opening time mentioned on Gronze.com
More than a generous donations is appreciated.I also was a hospi there!
(We should have a hospi reunion!)
I'd say get there around 12:30-1 pm and sit and read or watch pilgrims walk by.
We didn't open the gates until 2 pm, but there are only 12 beds (or were) so there could be a line.
FANTASTIC experience! You can see a million stars in the sky!
Good luck and if you make it in, report back!
PS: Please leave a generous donation!
Our reunion would be like the meetings of the 12 apostles.I also was a hospi there!
(We should have a hospi reunion!)
I'd say get there around 12:30-1 pm and sit and read or watch pilgrims walk by.
We didn't open the gates until 2 pm, but there are only 12 beds (or were) so there could be a line.
FANTASTIC experience! You can see a million stars in the sky!
Good luck and if you make it in, report back!
PS: Please leave a generous donation!
Thanks! This is helpful information.I was there for a week as the hospitalero in early May a few years ago. The most that stayed from memory was eight, so there were always beds spare.
By tradition, when there is more than one hospitalero, the albergue gates open at sunrise and close at sunset. As I was working alone, I closed the albergue around 0830 to walk into Castrojeriz, returning around lunchtime. The albergue was open whenever I was present until the gates closed at sunset. In 2022 the opening hours were listed as 0700 to 2100 on the San Anton website. They don't have 2023 opening hours up yet, and it appears they won't open until mid-May, but that detail hasn't been provided on the website yet.
The bar was closed down when we walked past there last May.I was a hospi there. No, we don’t go to town to buy provisions, Ovidio brings them to us from Burgos and Castrojeriz. However with only a tiny propane powered fridge almost everything we prepared was veggie, pasta and rice based. Sometimes a few bits of hard sausage. There are only 12 beds and they are all bunk beds. No way to make a reservation because there is no phone or Internet service. You could arrive anytime of the day but we did have to sweep the floors and clean the one room bath daily. If you want a beer, a snack or wine outside of dinner time, you need to bring it with you. Although, I know someone opened a bar across the street several years ago. Finally, there were nights in the middle of the summer when we had zero guests and others when we were turning pilgrims away at. 5pm and beyond.
Like Alan.I arrived at 2.30 PM in mid-May and I was the first to arrive
Dogs can climb trees?We would feed their hungry dogs left over pasta and stale bread, they were a weird lot of mongrels who spent most of their days literally hanging out in the upper branches of the trees in their courtyard. Bizarre, for sure!
Yep! just ask Oliver or other pilgs that served there.Dogs can climb trees?
And I got the primo bed by the door so I could see the full moon rising behind the ruins from my sleeping bag. Wow.
There were only 5 of us that night. (No electricity seems to keep people away - an astonishing number of people just walked right by.)
Thanks for the info. It will be my first donativo albergue. What counts as a generous donation? (An honest question.)I also was a hospi there!
(We should have a hospi reunion!)
I'd say get there around 12:30-1 pm and sit and read or watch pilgrims walk by.
We didn't open the gates until 2 pm, but there are only 12 beds (or were) so there could be a line.
FANTASTIC experience! You can see a million stars in the sky!
Good luck and if you make it in, report back!
PS: Please leave a generous donation!
I stopped at the convent in March 2022 and it was locked up tight so I went on to Castrojeriz. Very disappointed, but I saw maybe 5 other pilgrims that day so not surprised. Hope to stay there some day.I was there for a week as the hospitalero in early May a few years ago. The most that stayed from memory was eight, so there were always beds spare.
By tradition, when there is more than one hospitalero, the albergue gates open at sunrise and close at sunset. As I was working alone, I closed the albergue around 0830 to walk into Castrojeriz, returning around lunchtime. The albergue was open whenever I was present until the gates closed at sunset. In 2022 the opening hours were listed as 0700 to 2100 on the San Anton website. They don't have 2023 opening hours up yet, and it appears they won't open until mid-May, but that detail hasn't been provided on the website yet.
Figure what you'd pay at a commercial Albergue and for a Menu Peregrino in a bar. Add €1 for luck and deduct 50 cents 'cos you couldn't charge your phoneThanks for the info. It will be my first donativo albergue. What counts as a generous donation? (An honest question.)
Yes to what @Tincatinker has said as a rule of thumb, with a quibble: I'd say that'd be a baseline donation since there are too many people who think donativo and free mean the same thing. They absolutely don't.What counts as a generous donation
The students and youngsters hardly ever had money and I have never begrudged them ever, so sometimes they would only put in a few coins into our donavivo pig. One older chap who we gave a bed to then had a fine salad and as much pasta as he could eat and copos of vino. The next morning my partner and I got up early and made coffee and a small breakfast. This person then dug into his pocket and pulled out a few thousand in cash and put €5 into our pig , I wish I had never seen that?Yes to what @Tincatinker has said as a rule of thumb, with a quibble: I'd say that'd be a baseline donation since there are too many people who think donativo and free mean the same thing. They absolutely don't.
So a generous donation? Take that rule of thumb and double it. For starters. The sky's the limit. As @J Willhaus said, balance your heart and your budget.
Generosity makes everyone happy, those who give and those who receive.
Greetings! If you are a day or two behind your schedule, my partner and I will be your hospitaleros at San Antón. We will be there for the first quincena of June. I also fell in love with the place when I walked the Camino in 2016 but didn't stay there. In 2019 Rosy and I biked the Camino and did stay there. It is completely magical. We have been wanting to go back and serve there and are delighted for this opportunity. When I have been there, it tended to fill up in the late afternoon, near suppertime. I wouldn't fret about it. If you do arrive early, it will be a time to relax and reflect. As you probably know it is a perfect spot for reflection, journaling, meditation. Not a great spot if you crave night life...Last Fall, I walked through San Anton and fell in love. Toward the end of May, I'll be walking through again and would love to stay in the tiny albergue in the ruins. Most of the posts I'm seeing are pretty old, but I'm guessing you have to be there pretty early to be able to stay there. Has anyone stayed there recently and can give me the details? I totally get that it's a "Camino provides" thing and if we don't get in, it wasn't meant to be.
Didn't know about the housing for hospitaleros. Thanks for that bit of news, Rebekah. I am so looking forward to getting there. And, to being there for two weeks.Don, as for the story about the guy who runs the bar being a descendant, and the family in the house next door, and Franco giving deeds to people? You must've been listening to Ollie after too many beers. It's total moonshine. But San Anton seems to generate all kinds of wild stories. (I could tell you a couple!)
San Anton's had a lot of positive changes in the last couple of years. It's now under control of a foundation (still run by Ovidio Campo) and the cranky old guy next door who kept the hungry dogs and shut off the water has gone to his eternal reward. The foundation has bought the use of the house next door, and hospitaleros now have a semi-civilized place to sleep at night, thank goodness!
The front gate is open now, the outer wall stabilized, and the old shipping container/hospi quarters is gone at last. San Anton is still run by volunteers, still donativo, and still must conserve water. The bathroom is still closed to people who are not staying overnight. It is still magical.
This is an older thread, but thanks to all who have provided input. Staying at San Anton is my biggest wish for my upcoming Camino; if my plans hold, I should be arriving at San Anton either on or very close to the full moon of June 3rd.And I got the primo bed by the door so I could see the full moon rising behind the ruins from my sleeping bag. Wow
This is what I am hoping for, BTW.If you want a special 3-some, spend successive nights in San Anton, San Nicholas, and Villalcazar de Sirga (the Muni) - you'll be missing the masses of people and staying in really special places.
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