Robert C. Deming
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Francais 2017, Portugues 2018
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) |
---|
Hahahaha, I agree. Some street-wise knowledge always come handy. Happened to me in albergues in Estella, Ourense and in places I won't mentionYes, you will occasionally run into albergues like that. Fortunately all the ones I stayed in that had locked doors, but upon closer examination of the doors I (and a couple of other pilgrims) saw that they could easily be forcibly opened if need be. In fact one morning, the hospitalero was running late, just about everyone was up and ready to leave and the doors were still locked. We were all standing around the door and we started to exam them and saw that they could swing backwards a bit (double doors with a hasp on other side). We teamed together, pulled them in and someone reached in with a pocket knife and unlatched them. Out we streamed, into the courtyard area just as the hospitalero was arriving and he had a "what the heck" look on his face, ha ha.
If there was a fire we could have just shoved them open, breaking the hasp.
Is this common, do any of you know what is going on, should I be picky about which albergue to stay in?
From a current Camino Facebook post:
“I’m on day 14 of the Norte and stayed at Santa Marina Pilgrims Hostel in Buelna last night.
Albergue was average but the albergue owner locked everyone in the upstairs until 8:20am this morning.
Pretty unusual by itself but if there had been a fire there would have been NO way out. Windows have bars over them so no way out“
Ha ha...I hear you.Hahahaha, I agree. Some street-wise knowledge always come handy. Happened to me in albergues in Estella, Ourense and in places I won't mention
Nobody will deprive me of that last before the sleep cigarette!!! Never! Nobody! Nowhere!
OK, cancer might
I endorse this. We see tragic stories often in the media describing the consequences of fires in locked buildings. Does anyone have to be one of the the next victims? Report it to the police if you encounter it.This topic has come up on the Forum a few times and it has been established that it is totally illegal to lock people in at night so they have no way of getting out (This earlier thread is one of the discussions on the topic). Different from locking doors to prevent more people entering after a certain hour. If you come across an albergue which locks pilgrims in and has no emergency exit (this may be away from the main doors), please report them to the authorities. This is a very dangerous and, as I say, illegal practice which is thankfully rare now but still seems to happen occasionally.
Is this common, do any of you know what is going on, should I be picky about which albergue to stay in?
From a current Camino Facebook post:
“I’m on day 14 of the Norte and stayed at Santa Marina Pilgrims Hostel in Buelna last night.
Albergue was average but the albergue owner locked everyone in the upstairs until 8:20am this morning.
Pretty unusual by itself but if there had been a fire there would have been NO way out. Windows have bars over them so no way out“
How can they be that inconsiderate and still be nice?Nice young people.
That is too controlling for my taste (and dangerous and illegal). It is one thing to have a rule that no one rises before a certain hour (Ruitelan has such a rule, and it is one of the pilgrim favorites), but obstructing exits is another. Go elsewhere; vote with your wallet, I say.Albergue was average but the albergue owner locked everyone in the upstairs until 8:20am this morning.
I must have been extremely lucky or very unobservant. In many walks on the Spanish caminos spread over a period of 28 years I cannot recall ever being locked into a building overnight without some fire escape route available. If I did find myself in such a situation I would not only "vote with my wallet" but I would have no hesitation in posting a warning here and in other pilgrim forums and also reporting the matter to the local and provincial authorities. Starting with the albergue's own hojas de reclamaciones if it ran to such a thing. I am very much in favour of simple basic accommodation and I am opposed to much of the recent trend towards tighter regulation and official oversight of pilgrim albergues by provincial tourism boards. But jailing people in a potential death trap is a step too far even for me.That is too controlling for my taste (and dangerous and illegal). It is one thing to have a rule that no one rises before a certain hour (Ruitelan has such a rule, and it is one of the pilgrim favorites), but obstructing exits is another. Go elsewhere; vote with your wallet, I say.
Yes I stayed there also but there is a way out from one of the back doorsIn Terradilla at Albergue Templarios, I stayed in a private room. I decided to leave early in the morning, 6am, only to find that the private room 'wing' was locked with no way out.
Thankfully it was on the ground floor. I left via the window !
This topic has come up on the Forum a few times and it has been established that it is totally illegal to lock people in at night so they have no way of getting out (This earlier thread is one of the discussions on the topic). Different from locking doors to prevent more people entering after a certain hour. If you come across an albergue which locks pilgrims in and has no emergency exit (this may be away from the main doors), please report them to the authorities.
Yes I stayed there also but there is a way out from one of the back doors
In my experience, meal times in Spain can represent a cultural challenge. On a recent pilgrimage, I decided one evening to eat in a nice restaurant with a friend. The meal was expensive, the dinner hour late, and the service not very rapid. We ate fast, and still had to skip the postre to get back to the albergue before the doors were locked. As someone whose body is used to eating a main meal in the evening, and because I do not want to look for a restaurant and stop for my main meal of the day halfway through my day's walk. I need a substantial meal in the evening. But the hours kept at pilgrim albergues and the hours kept at Spanish restaurants are very different. Not being young, and not being on my first camino, I knew that I needed to juggle restaurant times and albergue times. Young persons on their first pilgrimage may not be as well informed, or perhaps as reluctant to sleep on the street.How can they be that inconsiderate and still be nice?
I stayed in quite a few albergue that supposedly "locked" doors. In fact, in each of these I was able to open from inside. In Najera, for example, I had to go outside for fresh air as I began to feel a bit claustrophobic. Not sure if an alarm would go off, I hesitated before I turned the lock set. Eureka! There I was. Stepping outside. I had a similar experiences in Foncebadon.Is this common, do any of you know what is going on, should I be picky about which albergue to stay in?
From a current Camino Facebook post:
“I’m on day 14 of the Norte and stayed at Santa Marina Pilgrims Hostel in Buelna last night.
Albergue was average but the albergue owner locked everyone in the upstairs until 8:20am this morning.
Pretty unusual by itself but if there had been a fire there would have been NO way out. Windows have bars over them so no way out“
Is this common, do any of you know what is going on, should I be picky about which albergue to stay in?
From a current Camino Facebook post:
“I’m on day 14 of the Norte and stayed at Santa Marina Pilgrims Hostel in Buelna last night.
Albergue was average but the albergue owner locked everyone in the upstairs until 8:20am this morning.
Pretty unusual by itself but if there had been a fire there would have been NO way out. Windows have bars over them so no way out“
I helped younger pilgrims who stayed beyond curfew back in.
I would have stayed out of courtesy
Yes, I stayed. Just needed to fill my lungs with fresh air. Made a huge difference.Not if you have a touch of asthma
Hmmm....definitely a place I want to avoid, and the cat smell, gross.My wife and daughter ended up in one of these places in SJPP in 2014. One of the ones right neat the Pilgrims office. They referred to it as the Cat Lady's place. Not only can you smell the cats at the door but she locked the Pilgrims in their rooms without access to even the bathroom overnight. I almost ended up there myself in 2015 fortunately she did not have space. I was letting the Pilgrim office help me find a place and as we walked to the door I could smell what my wife and daughter had described. I would have stayed out of courtesy to the volunteer but I was relieved when she said she did not have a room.
Stephan, you might find the current thread on this topic of more value: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/fire-safety-in-albergues.72360/Who would you report this to in Spain? I would be quite angry if this happened to me . And I found this old thread because I came upon this when reading some Camino blogs. It’s never happened to me.
In my country the regulations regarding doors in lodging comes under the control of the fire department. I would probably try the local police department, though. I guess if I was really worried, I would call our 911 emergency number. The police or the fire department would probably come if I made such a call. It would be quite dramatic.
But in Spain? There seems like there’s six different police forces. You would actually want someone to come by and unlock the door. I guess 112?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?