Albergue in Alcuescar

[Stephen]

Does anyone know where this is? Is it near the church?
I ask because the town is deserted at the minute. Siesta time, I guess.

 

[peregrina2000]

Does anyone know where this is? Is it near the church?
I ask because the town is deserted at the minute. Siesta time, I guess.

Hi, Stephen, hope you are enjoying the Vdlp.

Take a look at Eroski, you will see that the albergue is inside the Casa de Misericordia.

http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/casa-de-beneficiencia-de-los-esclavos-de-maria-y-de-los-pobres

It is on the Calle de Extremadura, near an intersection with a couple of bar/restaurantes, NOT in the center of town. Hope you find some resident to help you out. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Magwood]

It is locked up for siesta time. I think between 14:00 and 16:00.

 

[peregrina2000]

It is locked up for siesta time. I think between 14:00 and 16:00.

Oh, yes, of course you are right about that. Stephen if you are hanging around with time on your hands, take the lovely 3km walk to the stupendous visigothic church of Santa Lucia del Trampal. It is well worth the stroll along a one lane unused road.

 

[Stephen]

I'd found the church in the centre if town but could see no sign of an albergue. I eventually decided to see what booking.com had and booked with them. When I arrived the proprieter told me they were fully booked and drove me to the albergue.
It all turned out well in the end.
Thank you for the prompt help.
This Camino is certainly different from the Frances. You've space to walk alone and at the minute there are far more beds than pilgrims in the albergues at night.
It's what I think a Camino should be.

 

[Magwood]

I thought that albergue was quite a strange experience on many levels. You have some beautiful stages coming up...I'm looking forward to walking some of them again next year.

Buen camino!

 

[hel&scott]

This Camino is certainly different from the Frances. You've space to walk alone and at the minute there are far more beds than pilgrims in the albergues at night.
It's what I think a Camino should be.

Exactly! It's a beautiful walk and much more in keeping with the Camino experience many of us crave. Wishing you well for the rest of it.

 

[alansykes]

I thought that albergue was quite a strange experience on many levels. You have some beautiful stages coming up...I'm looking forward to walking some of them again next year.

Buen camino!

I agree that the albergue in Alcuéscar can be a little disturbing and was not entirely surprised to find that there had been abuses, some of which must have occurred only a few months before my first visit there. Which is not to say that almost all of the staff and volunteers in this slightly depressing place do not act with Pistis, Elpis, and Agape (faith, hope and love/charity) towards the unfortunate residents.

http://www.elperiodicoextremadura.c...oso-alcuescar-abuso-discapacitado_639516.html

 

[peregrina2000]

I agree that the albergue in Alcuéscar can be a little disturbing and was not entirely surprised to find that there had been abuses, some of which must have occurred only a few months before my first visit there. Which is not to say that almost all of the staff and volunteers in this slightly depressing place do not act with Pistis, Elpis, and Agape (faith, hope and love/charity) towards the unfortunate residents.

http://www.elperiodicoextremadura.c...oso-alcuescar-abuso-discapacitado_639516.html

That is a very sad newspaper article. When I was there, we were totally separated from the residents, though one person reported seeing some of them during the afternoon. I was out, visiting Santa Lucía so I never got a sense of who they were. From what I was told, though, this is a home for men with disabilities and with no families to take care of them. The volunteer hospitalera told me she had no contact with them either. and at meal time we were also in different rooms.

 

[alansykes]

On my two visits it was expected that the pilgrims (two of us on one occasion, and me alone on the other) attended mass (and receive a blessing in front of the congregation) which involved going through the residential area of the place. I am not an expert on physical or mental disabilities, but it did not seem to me that the inmates were being treated in a way I would expect to see in a first world country (I don't know how to put that more tactfully). I hope things will have improved when I pass through this November, and will certainly post my wikiloc trail to glorious Santa Lucía de Trampal on my way there.

 

[Magwood]

When I was there in 2015 there were probably twenty pilgrims. We were invited to attend mass and were given a thorough tour of the facilities, which I thought was rather odd. I felt very uncomfortable, as if I was gawping. The only highlight was when one of the patients suddenly appeared at my side in his wheelchair and held my hand for the remainder of the tour.

We ate a communal supper in a room under the dormitories.

It is certainly a place I won't forget.

 

[Stephen]

When I was there in 2015 there were probably twenty pilgrims. We were invited to attend mass and were given a thorough tour of the facilities, which I thought was rather odd. I felt very uncomfortable, as if I was gawping. The only highlight was when one of the patients suddenly appeared at my side in his wheelchair and held my hand for the remainder of the tour.

We ate a communal supper in a room under the dormitories.

It is certainly a place I won't forget.

I found it very moving. Two close family members are in similiar situations back home in Belfast. My sister is suffering from dementia and her son suffered catastrophic head injuries in an accident more than 10 years ago. Initially he was in a home for physically disabled people but his 'challenging behaviour ' towards staff members, and then other residents, meant he had to go. The only other place available for him was in a secure ward in a mental hospital.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

There is another albergue in Alcuezar, right in town, as you come up the hill. It’s actually two bedrooms in a flat owned, and lived in, by a German lady. The only sign of it is a shell by the door bell. Her name is Dorotea, the flat is almost directly in front of the town’s water fountain and plaza.

The flat has a lovely sunny balcony and wifi when the owner is not home.

 

[steppingpono]

I'd found the church in the centre if town but could see no sign of an albergue. I eventually decided to see what booking.com had and booked with them. When I arrived the proprieter told me they were fully booked and drove me to the albergue.
It all turned out well in the end.
Thank you for the prompt help.
This Camino is certainly different from the Frances. You've space to walk alone and at the minute there are far more beds than pilgrims in the albergues at night.
It's what I think a Camino should be.

That's good news about walking alone. Are you posting on FB or a blog at all - would like to follow. I am not sure whether I can do the whole Vdlp solo (female 66yrs old) but might tackle some sections. Gathering info.Buen Camino

 

[Stephen]

I'm posting on Facebook. Stephen Devlin should find me. Also on FB page, Slow strollers on the Camino.
I'm 70 years old and am coping. I started on 20th September and it was, and is, still quite hot. With hindsight I'd look for a time when it was cooler.

 

[sharon w]

April is wonderful.