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OBSOLETE COVID THREAD Helping cafes, bars, albergues and Camino businesses during COVID shutdown

OBSOLETE COVID THREAD
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[Moderator note: Several threads have now been combined into this thread.]

It's a sad day.
Amid the collective disappointment about our aborted pilgrimages...sparing a thought for all the good people out there who support the way, and we who walk it: the albergue and restaurant owners, the people in many little towns who offer services or who run shops - and the many memorable people, everyone from the nuns who open their chapels to us in the evening to the bagpipe players in Santiago.
Some we know, and many we will never meet.
Regardless, known or unknown...
Abrazos fuerte...may everyone have all the support they need in these trying times.

(Amongst many people who come to mind, I find myself thinking of the elderly gentleman in that shop in Castrojerez. May he be healthy!)
 
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Does anyone know of a way/place we can make contributions to help
I bet if all of us offered the cost of a few cafes there would be a sizeable kitty to use in support places and people 'on the edge.' Who'd organize that, how it would get distributed, and to whom is the complicated part.
But a lot of a little is a lot.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
(Amongst many people who come to mind, I find myself thinking of the elderly gentleman in that shop in Castrojerez. May he be healthy!)
Yes, he is SO in my thoughts these days:


I bet if all of us offered the cost of a few cafes there would be a sizeable kitty to use in support places and people 'on the edge.' Who'd organize that, how it would get distributed, and to whom is the complicated part.
But a lot of a little is a lot.
@Rebekah Scott comes to my mind... It is a very good thought, @VNwalking
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I am quite sure that his forum alone could sweep in a substantial amount (as a fund) to help sufferers in various villages along the Camino(s). (I am thinking here of small businesses who depend on us every year for their income, which will certainly not happen in 2020). I am reluctant to trust others than @Rebekah Scott in this matter, because of her dedication to all things Camino. It is my opinion that it would be in very safe hands with her hands at the wheel of such an operation. JMHO.
 
Rebekah is a great suggestion. I know some linked her here. I also messaged her. This is a huge aks of her as I agree that the amount of money could be a lot. How would it be distributed? Are there any Spanish groups that already have a system for providing such aid?
 
I am quite sure that his forum alone could sweep in a substantial amount (as a fund) to help sufferers in various villages along the Camino(s). (I am thinking here of small businesses who depend on us every year for their income, which will certainly not happen in 2020). I am reluctant to trust others than @Rebekah Scott in this matter, because of her dedication to all things Camino. It is my opinion that it would be in very safe hands with her hands at the wheel of such an operation. JMHO.
Maybe in the future when we are able to be on the Camino again we give a little more when we check into the albergue?
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I (of course) thought of Reb too, but chose not to put her on the spot. It's a big and complicated idea. And she will be dealing with her own fallout, whatever that is. And if for no other reason than to avoid interpersonal complications for her in the wider community - if this happens, it should come from us, outside.
 
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Indeed:
this will be quite devastating for many people, for many reasons.
I do feel so sad for those lovely people who have been so kind to me on previous Caminos. Some of these villages have six buildings: three are albergues and the other three are houses lived in by people who sell stuff to pilgrims staying in those albergues. A lot of people are going to become really very poor because of this. Not to mention the millions in the travel and hospitality industries who will lose their jobs.
One question that'd offer some focus would be to ask if there are any traditional albergues along varoous ways that would be endangered by losing a couple of month's-worth of support?
 
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The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Another way of keeping the Way alive is to be found in the service offered in the office of the Camino Society in Dublin. I will go today for my first time as a volunteer. Somehow, I do not expect to be too busy. I will report back.
edit: not a sinner, not a saint, not a scholar to be found in the Camino Society Information centre this miserable day. Town was like a ghost town, and was so bleak and God-forsaken that when I met a nephew and his wife afterwards I couldn’t leave them to wander around with nothing to do and nowhere to go. When they planned the weekend visit from Edinburgh they had grand hopes of a jolly pre Patrick’s weekend, Not so. We are facing more of the same as is happening on the continent. Will I be able to get out for a walk along the river??? I will keep you posted.
 
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It's a sad day.
Amid the collective disappointment about our aborted pilgrimages...sparing a thought for all the good people out there who support the way, and we who walk it: the albergue and restaurant owners, the people in many little towns who offer services or who run shops - and the many memorable people, everyone from the nuns who open their chapels to us in the evening to the bagpipe players in Santiago.
Some we know, and many we will never meet.
Regardless, known or unknown...
Abrazos fuerte...may everyone have all the support they need in these trying times.

(Amongst many people who come to mind, I find myself thinking of the elderly gentleman in that shop in Castrojerez. May he be healthy!)

Thank you for this important post @VNwalking. Perhaps now is the time to renew, increase or make y/our first donation to Ivar who has kept this forum running for so many years and enabled all the good things that have flowed from the interaction of past and future pilgrims. With a near lockdown, his luggage storage service and shop will be hard hit, affecting his income.
Also, as some of us may have more reading time available than usual, perhaps we could help Rebekah Scott by buying her books or making a donation to her Peaceable Kingdom projects at https://www.peaceableprojects.org/waystohelp

Finally, as smiles are needed more than ever, perhaps someone can find and repost the hilarious post from a former South African forum member, about what to do if you are back home and already missing the Camino 😁
 
I exchanged messages with Rebekah. To do something we need to have an approach That is organized and is respectful. I am wondering whether there is a Spanish organization that already does what we want to do. We could funnel contributions to it — do any of you know of such a group? The Spanish Amigos?

another thought is to talk to our National camino groups to see if they would be able to receive contributions and put them to work. I’m going to contact American Pilgrims on the Camino and CSJ . I’ll report back.

liz
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Indeed:
One question that'd offer some focus would be to ask if there are any traditional albergues along varoous ways that would be endangered by losing a couple of month's-worth of support? @Rebekah Scott ?

This is from the original post:
.....the albergue and restaurant owners, the people in many little towns who offer services or who run shops - and the many memorable people, everyone from the nuns who open their chapels to us in the evening to the bagpipe players in Santiago....

We now seem to be talking about albergues and the official camino infrastructure only. This is not what VNwalking said in her original post. The people who run the little shops in small villages where the pilgrims provide their main income and even that not very much, I suppose! How to reach them? Local camino amigos?
 
This is from the original post:

We now seem to be talking about albergues and the official camino infrastructure only. This is not what VNwalking said in her original post. The people who run the little shops in small villages where the pilgrims provide their main income and even that not very much, I suppose! How to reach them? Local camino amigos?

Good point @pelerine. I remember with affection the tiny village of Calzadilla de los Hermanillos, with its homely donativo albergue, welcoming restaurants and tiny shop shop, run by an equally tiny man who, somehow managed to have everything a pilgrim might need. Perhaps we could, through groups or as individuals, adopt villages to support through the difficult time to come, but I lack the understanding of how to make this happen. Hopefully someone with a better brain for delivering aid could advise.
 
How to reach them? Local camino amigos?
Good question.
And it's really a mine-field. Any time there is money involved, it's a fertile field for the kind of petty jealousy and resentment that can split the population of a tiny village into warring tribes. Not being Spanish, we have no idea, so good intentions need to be tempered by caution and common sense.
And any support needs to be either fair across the board or limited in quite a specific way.
I have zero ideas but like where this is going.
 
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Good question.
And it's really a mine-field. Any time there is money involved, it's a fertile field for the kind of petty jealousy and resentment that can split the population of a tiny village into warring tribes. Not being Spanish, we have no idea, so good intentions need to be tempered by caution and common sense.
And any support needs to be either fair across the board or limited in quite a specific way.
I have zero ideas but like where this is going.
Thank you @VNwalking for highlighting what could be unwelcome consequences from naïve although well-intentioned interventions. Could we start by sending thank you postcards from our home cities/towns/villages to places where we have stayed via the local Amigo Associations to let people there know that we are thinking of them in these straitened times; that we will never forget their kindness and hospitality, and that we will return.
 
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When I sat and wrote emails to all the albergues cancelling my booking last week I also promised them that I would choose them again next year. A very little thing but I hoped it would give them a little bit of hope
 
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Just my humble opinion, would it be possible to establish a data base with all the private/danativo albergues and vulnerable businesses on the various routes and take this fund raising campaign from there.
 
would it be possible to establish a data base with all the private/danativo albergues and vulnerable businesses on the various routes and take this fund raising campaign from there.
If someone has the skills and connections and interest and sensitivity...why not?
 
It is always beneficial to replenish Rebekah's emergency fund at the Peaceable. That way she doesn't have to ask. I send a bit to cover the expense of helping stranded pilgrims who she so generously offered her home as a safe heaven until they are sorted out. Light and Love.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
No offense to those trying to organize a charitable money fund for those who may lose income due to pilgrim numbers decreasing due to the current pandemic, but even if this forum were to somehow miraculously gather a million euros in contributions, how would one possibly distribute it out to private businesses along the Camino routes. How would you do it fairly and see that it does indeed go to those who truly need it and is not embezzled? Mind you, the various private albergues, bars, cafes, restaurants, shoppes etc are private businesses. Not charities. Mind you, I do realize there are indeed albergues and such along the Camino that are not, but the overwhelming majority of them are.
Also, and as mentioned how do you avoid the local strife that handing free money to one business, but ignoring the one next door. Remember, most of us are short term visitors to all those places and do not truly know what goes on.
The idea is noble, the reality can be ugly.
 
It is always beneficial to replenish Rebekah's emergency fund at the Peaceable. That way she doesn't have to ask. I send a bit to cover the expense of helping stranded pilgrims who she so generously offered her home as a safe heaven until they are sorted out. Light and Love.

I just had a thought; could we also consider Ivar who's work allows us all to stay in communication. Especially those of us who are now in the 'postponed' ranks; Send Ivar the equivalent of 1 pilgrim meal (or more) to support the forum.....I'll start with me :) How about you?
 
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I just had a thought; could we also consider Ivar who's work allows us all to stay in communication. Especially those of us who are now in the 'postponed' ranks; Send Ivar the equivalent of 1 pilgrim meal (or more) to support the forum.....I'll start with me :) How about you?
I think before we start trying to name people to take on the task of helping organize a charity, we need to contact them first. I mentioned Rebekah but did not name her non profit on purpose, I have heard from her and she is over the top with trying to help pilgrims get out of the country before it is too late. That is on Monday, 2 days from now. Likewise Ivar has his hands full. So please before you start naming names talk to the "name" first to get their permission.
 
I contacted Rebekah. I’ll let her speak for herself but I suspect at this time her peaceable projects effort is how she will be involved. I am in the process of reaching out to a couple of contacts to see if we can identify an existing organization that supports camino businesses — my thought is something like a chamber of commerce. I’ll keep you posted.
 
We all want to do something, anything..
So it's good, @ebrandt , that you're on it, with sensible suggestions. Maybe FICS would be a good channel? Chambers of commerce may be biased...

And reiterating what was said before, not to be discouraging, but rather as a caution:
I (of course) thought of Reb too, but chose not to put her on the spot. It's a big and complicated idea. And she will be dealing with her own fallout, whatever that is. And if for no other reason than to avoid interpersonal complications for her in the wider community - if this happens, it should come from us, outside.
Good question.
And it's really a mine-field. Any time there is money involved, it's a fertile field for the kind of petty jealousy and resentment that can split the population of a tiny village into warring tribes. Not being Spanish, we have no idea, so good intentions need to be tempered by caution and common sense.
And any support needs to be either fair across the board or limited in quite a specific way.
 
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And this is from another thread. These challenges are on the official radar screen:
don't know about Spain, but last night at midnight the Portuguese government announced a wide range of financial aids for small businesses, and their employees, to help mitigate the results particularly of decreased tourism, which is a huge part of each country's income--probably 2nd or 3rd source. Pilgrim revenue is part of general tourism in both, of course, but a bigger portion in Spain than in Portugal because of the popularity of the various Spanish routes over many years.

I hope and expect that Spain will be instituting similar supportive measures to those in Portugal; their social systems to support hard times in the population are similar, and fairly robust. Also, their small town residents are resilient, though this will be painful for some families' incomes, for sure. They are only a couple of generations away from tough times in the past and quite pragmatic and practical, in my experience.
 
The corona virus is going to be a financial disaster for all the albergues and cafes that would have housed us and fed us as we walked.

Does anyone have any idea as to how we could help financially? I was thinking of things like ‘booking’ a room or a meal and paying for it. And, obviously, not showing up! The albergue/cafe thus gets a few euros to help pay their bills.

The Camino seemed to me when I last did it (Frances in 2019) to be entirely cash based so I’ve no idea how I could make this work from the UK.

Anybody got any insight as to how we could help?

SAL
 
I undertand what you are thinking of.

I tried to stay mostly in municipales where you couldn't make reservations, so I don't know how they are handling the problem, probably just closing for the duration. Donativos, convents, monasteries may depend more on our donations. And private albergues, of course, will probably be hit the hardest. Some don't have email, and the route of the Camino occassionally changes, so an albergue you enjoyed on one trip may no longer exist for your next.

I live in a first-world country, and Spain is also a first world country. Nevertheless, I am all in favor of trying to find a way to help those little albergues and refugios which assisted me so many times on my solo trip across Spain. Perhaps the Confraternities have some insights?

At any rate, I am still doing my next Camino in the Fall, as originally planned.
Be prepared to be extra kind and thoughtful to strangers in the next few months, locally and internationally. We are a world-wide community.

And if anyone is hoarding toilet paper, please don't. 🙏
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Instead of giving money to the albergue why not simply give equivalent to charity of your choosing. The Camino has been around and will continue to be long after we pass. 2021 will be a bumper year and make up for any loss. If walking in holy year or future pay double for everything 🤠
 
And if anyone is hoarding toilet paper, please don't.
Please donate the surplus to your local food bank, homeless shelter, abused women’s shelter...

I do take the OP’s point. There will lots of newly needy folks, both on the camino and globally. Many who would have been able to donate to charity may find themselves unable to do so this year. I would think any reputable charity would be grateful for any extra we can send them.

Red Cross operates everywhere, including Spain - where they have a variety of health and wellness programs. Peaceable Kingdom is a US registered charity but operates on the Meseta.
 
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Instead of giving money to the albergue why not simply give equivalent to charity of your choosing. The Camino has been around and will continue to be long after we pass. 2021 will be a bumper year and make up for any loss. If walking in holy year or future pay double for everything 🤠
I fear that some of the albergues won’t make it. My daughter works in a successful cafe in Edinburgh. It’s uncertain if the cafe will survive the summer. And that’s in a major international city. On the meseta there’s nothing else going on. These people have bills and rents and mortgages. I want them still to be there in 2021...
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I fear that some of the albergues won’t make it. My daughter works in a successful cafe in Edinburgh. It’s uncertain if the cafe will survive the summer. And that’s in a major international city. On the meseta there’s nothing else going on. These people have bills and rents and mortgages. I want them still to be there in 2021...
This was brought up in another thread. My response was that even if you were able to scrounge up a million euros in donations, how would it ever be fairly and legally distributed?
They will be ok. I am sure they will still be there when this bad time ends.
 
The corona virus is going to be a financial disaster for all the albergues and cafes that would have housed us and fed us as we walked.

Does anyone have any idea as to how we could help financially? I was thinking of things like ‘booking’ a room or a meal and paying for it. And, obviously, not showing up! The albergue/cafe thus gets a few euros to help pay their bills.

The Camino seemed to me when I last did it (Frances in 2019) to be entirely cash based so I’ve no idea how I could make this work from the UK.

Anybody got any insight as to how we could help?

SAL

For a good proportion it’s capitalism, sometimes you win - sometimes you lose.

For the donativos and municipales, perhaps we might recall that they generally deserve more than typical residents see fit to contribute. Those who see it as a virtually free holiday are unlikely to change their behaviour, but those who see the greater value might choose to contribute a few euros more.

I hope that I remember my current thoughts in due course.,
 
Perhaps, if you have a favourite albergue, or one which provided you some special support when you needed it, why not send them a donation directly? If they don't have paypal or something similar, write to them to get their bank transfer number, and then pop them twenty or forty or fifty euro.
 
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I've heard that loads of people from Madrid and other cities have fled the city and gone 'home' to the villages and summer homes on the coast. And a lot of people disagree with that, as it puts the elders at risk (then again, the elders are probably happy to see their family members). So money will be going to bars and shops in villages at this time. For how long, I don't know.


huyen - flee
 
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I fear that some of the albergues won’t make it. My daughter works in a successful cafe in Edinburgh. It’s uncertain if the cafe will survive the summer. And that’s in a major international city. On the meseta there’s nothing else going on. These people have bills and rents and mortgages. I want them still to be there in 2021...
Instead of F.E.A.R believe in Hope. Its the last thing you lose. I lived and worked in Edinburgh. The rent and rates are destroying business and a comparison is not the same. The Meseta business I expect are more resilient and these pilgrims understand how to make the most out of less. It might say more about your fear, false experiences appearing real. The Meseta has more going on than whats on the surface. Pilgrims like Monia and Mau know how to survive and live in hope and love 🤠
 
Instead of F.E.A.R believe in Hope. Its the last thing you lose. I lived and worked in Edinburgh. The rent and rates are destroying business and a comparison is not the same. The Meseta business I expect are more resilient and these pilgrims understand how to make the most out of less. It might say more about your fear, false experiences appearing real. The Meseta has more going on than whats on the surface. Pilgrims like Monia and Mau know how to survive and live in hope and love 🤠

Our fears are usually based in our own experiences of life. While we need to be sensible, we should look toward where hope can take us. So perhaps both @Derrybiketours and @sal777 agree with each other.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Don't want to get diverted into a discussion of the merits or otherwise of capitalism! I just want to give some money to help the good people of the Camino...

I'm unfamiliar with how albergues are organised eg municipal vs Catholic vs private etc. Would the Catholic church have some central contact via which one could give to the albergues in say Bercianos (which I think was run by the church) or Logrono? Are there any similar centralised organisations that you know of? Forgive my ignorance!
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
And it should be remembered that in the history of pilgrimage how many fell sick and were taken in by the monasteries, hospitals (original meaning), and were looked after by the monks, nuns and many other people who showed great compassion - often at great personal cost. Remember the monuments along the way to those who died? Maybe it's time for those who walked or rode or... the camino in recent times to remember those who ran their establishments and gave us great hospitality and pleasure as we followed our own pilgrimages of whatever form they may have taken or for whatever reason we may have followed them. Let's be overwhelmingly generous
 
Our fears are usually based in our own experiences of life. While we need to be sensible, we should look toward where hope can take us. So perhaps both @Derrybiketours and @sal777 agree with each other.
We don't not agree with each other and thankyou for your intervention but excuse my ignorance but I have no idea what your point is that hasn't already been made 🤠
 
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St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Dear generous people, I am now receiving some very generous donations for a rather vague "project." I prefer to fund well-defined and concrete entities, preferably non-profits, so this puts me outside my expertise and comfort zone.
I am talking now with a friend of impeccable integrity who knows the caminos and albergue owners like nobody else, I will take his word on who is most in need, and split this money evenly among them. If you are thinking of donating, I ask you to either donate direct to the place you have in mind, or WAIT until this crisis follows its course and we have a better idea of the outcomes. Right now it's just moving too fast to make solid decisions, and I do not like to leave money sitting in the account.
 
My opinion is that of someone who has spent a year and a half inside the world of albergues, and another year and a half before opening a albergue but knowing this world, and has had to suffer things that I do not want to tell here and to fight against people and circumstances that I do not want to tell publicly.

I find the idea very generous, but quite useless. The only option I can think of is to donate to albergues that need it, for having a really worthy project. Only Rebekah Scott comes to mind, I read her projects a few days ago, and I admire her.

There is talk of municipalities. The reality of the municipalities is that they belong to the city councils, and a large part of them are rented to a person who receives it, pays an unknown amount a year, and receives all the benefits. They are therefore private, what is called “privately managed”. Increasingly their prices equal or exceed those of the private ones. The private expenses are much higher and they pay taxes, the municipal ones do not, and they receive aid, the private ones do not receive it. Municipal and donations may have volunteers, private ones cannot.

Among the donativos, you have to know them from the inside, because the benefits they get can be enviable, taking into account that they pay much less taxes than private ones, and that the rules that regulate their activity are very basic.

Among the private there is everything. Many of them are owned by people who live in the town, that the house is their lifelong property, the albergue is often just a new business, so they do not have to pay mortgages or loans, and the benefits that They get are, from what I know of those I know, more than enough to spend months. Frequently the wife runs the hostel and the husband works in something else, or they have a albergue, two hostals, a pension and a rural house, and all that in the same town, I know very well.

It is certain that among the albergues there are quite a few who will have a hard time, if this lasts more than two or three months. But we are not going to have a worse time than other people on planet Earth.

Only on the French Way there are almost 500 hostels, if I take the figures I know, a private albergue that is paying a loan to the bank, that has to continue paying taxes for work, and electricity, water, and heating bills can already reach 1.500 or2,000 euros a month. I do not include food, schools, clothes, gasoline, or vacations.

It is not reasonable to think of donating 3.000.000 or 5.ooo.ooo euros so that the French-only hostels survive three months. It is impossible. And unfair, because it is very possible that the most needy did not receive anything, generally in this life the one who needs it most is the one who does not ask ... another of the great injustices that I have seen for many years.

I have already learned how to remove labels from albergues. I have known too much. Now, for me, only the albergue that is capable of passing a strict control of Google reviews, Gronze, and other apps is worthy of respect, because there you can see the reality and the true human quality of a albergue, and there are quite a few albergues that are run by truly wonderful people, and most of them private ... And I know very well that there are all kinds of comments about a albergue, but when you read all of them, you can see a very precise image of reality.

In summary, what I have been seeing for months is:

There are very generous and fantastic private ones, and there are terribly bad.

There are excellent municipalities, as in Castrojeriz, and there are often unimaginable, because their reality is only hidden and does not come to the surface and there are wonderful donations, and there are some that are a business without financial problems, set up as an investment. And what I say is because I have seen it, lived it or suffered it.

There is a fourth category, in my opinion and experience the best, and that is that of private albergues that are owned by former pilgrims. I can guarantee that they are the most recommended. I saw it on my previous caminos, and I still see it, and hear about the pilgrims. Every day I listen to many personal stories inside the albergues ... and it does not fail, the private ones of old pilgrims are a guarantee to 100% of spirit and generosity. Or municipal ones if they are carried by old pilgrims, like Paco in Castrojeriz.

Since I do not want to demystify the Camino de Santiago, I do not go into details or give specific names or places. I'm just saying that anyone who donates to someone with a guarantee like Rebekah Scott, or that they do it to albergues that are in Ivar's guide to recommended albergues, I have taken the work to read them all and they are all the best, in terms of effort and feeling for the pilgrims.

But even better, to donate, in the name of the Camino to people close to you, anywhere in the world.

The Camino will survive, some albergues, we too, will very possibly have to close. It is life, and life is often very unfair. But, while we are still alive, we can only think with optimism and a spirit of struggle and survival, and try to adapt to the circumstances, and the people of the villages of the Camino are not the ones who are going to suffer the most from the consequences of this crak that looming.
 
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Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Instead of giving money to the albergue why not simply give equivalent to charity of your choosing. The Camino has been around and will continue to be long after we pass. 2021 will be a bumper year and make up for any loss. If walking in holy year or future pay double for everything 🤠
Exactly !, the Camino will survive, and in times of scarcity and spirituality, the Camino always survives better than the others. Hope, patience and optimism to those around us, that we all have to do.
If I want to give energy, I have to keep what I have, and not lose it with fears of what there is not yet.
 
Exactly !, the Camino will survive, and in times of scarcity and spirituality, the Camino always survives better than the others. Hope, patience and optimism to those around us, that we all have to do.
If I want to give energy, I have to keep what I have, and not lose it with fears of what there is not yet.
An important insight about our universal energy. It's a cup and I don't release it until it overflows then its time to share. A person who gives with a depleted cup will be vulnerable too and their energy will be taken but not reciprocated and it will take much longer to refill 🤠
 
A couple of other worthy Camino related websites to donate to in addition to Peaceable projects...
*Egeria House/Anglican Chaplaincy-
www.paypal.com/paypalme2/EgeriaHouseSantiago
*Pilgrim House-Santiago-
www.pilgrimhousesantiago.com/support
*Pilgrim Forum-
You are already here...just go to the donation button!
I agree that these are very worthy endeavours. But have you obtained permission from these people to promote their websites? It is not reasonable to impose on them if they are not in a position to responsibly use a sudden surge of donation. As Rebekah said in the post before, perhaps it is better to either donate direct to the place you have in mind, or WAIT...
But even better, to donate, in the name of the Camino to people close to you, anywhere in the world.
I agree with this sentiment! Surely this is more important than donating to maintain a network of albergues that mainly serve our own purposes as foreign visitors to Spain.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I agree that these are very worthy endeavours. But have you obtained permission from these people to promote their websites? It is not reasonable to impose on them if they are not in a position to responsibly use a sudden surge of donation. As Rebekah said in the post before, perhaps it is better to either donate direct to the place you have in mind, or WAIT...

I agree with this sentiment! Surely this is more important than donating to maintain a network of albergues that mainly serve our own purposes as foreign visitors to Spain.
No I have not. I thought all websites were open to the general public. Feel free to delete my post if you feel it infringes on the privacy of these establishments...I only meant well. I was not asking them to burden themselves to take in donations to distribute to other needy causes.
Those were the direct places I had in mind to donate to.
 
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I thought all websites were open to the general public.
Yes, they are open to the public. It is not so much the privacy that I was thinking of. Rather I was thinking that people may rush to donate money without thinking about whether those agencies really want to be handling those donations at this time. It is a responsibility! Over the next few months, many worthwhile efforts will get organized and we should be ready to respond to their thoughtful plans.
 
Municipales are likely the ones that will open first. They can store everything, shut off the water and electricity and lock the doors till it is time to open again.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
The corona virus is going to be a financial disaster for all the albergues and cafes that would have housed us and fed us as we walked.

Does anyone have any idea as to how we could help financially? I was thinking of things like ‘booking’ a room or a meal and paying for it. And, obviously, not showing up! The albergue/cafe thus gets a few euros to help pay their bills.

The Camino seemed to me when I last did it (Frances in 2019) to be entirely cash based so I’ve no idea how I could make this work from the UK.

Anybody got any insight as to how we could help?

SAL
I have been sitting here thinking the same thing!
 
I agree that these are very worthy endeavours. But have you obtained permission from these people to promote their websites? It is not reasonable to impose on them if they are not in a position to responsibly use a sudden surge of donation. As Rebekah said in the post before, perhaps it is better to either donate direct to the place you have in mind, or WAIT...

I agree with this sentiment! Surely this is more important than donating to maintain a network of albergues that mainly serve our own purposes as foreign visitors to Spain.
Agreed. Ditto x 100.
Sounds like that's going straight over some people's heads.
 
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Municipales are likely the ones that will open first. They can store everything, shut off the water and electricity and lock the doors till it is time to open again.
This may not be today's reality in Spain. News: The Xunta of Galicia has made the facilities of the pilgrim albergue located in Rua da Barreira available for the municipality of Ourense to be used if necessary [...] In addition, the Ourense municipality will open a third facility in the old [former?] San Francisco pilgrim albergue which has 12 places.

None of this is for the use of pilgrims right now, it for their own use.
 
As the OP let me add to my original post...

it looks like the answer to my question is “no, there isn’t a (simple) way of assisting albergues/cafes in financial distress”. I thank @gmag for their informative post.

And apologies to @Rebekah Scott if I’ve accidentally caused her a financial headache! :rolleyes:

I would take issue with some other posters who imply that wanting to help albergues/cafes is somehow inappropriate in the current circumstances, and that we should keep our assistance, literally, closer to home. I dispute that. This isn’t an either/or situation. I can and will do both. The need of my ‘neighbour‘ on the Camino is as real as the need of my neighbour up the road.
 
I have walked different caminos since year 2000 when I walked camino frances with my son 14 years old. Lifechanging for the both of us.
At the moment the Covid-19 makes all the caminos bleed. No peregrinos, no albergues, no money in for the people making it possible for us peregrinos all over the world to walk every year. Alberguepeople,restaurantowners,we carry your backpackpeople and lots of more people who have there income from the caminos.
Lets take the thinking of our own situation and forget about it. after all we have money to pay for airlinetickets and other expencies for caminowalking.
I red about a man that had his reservations be reservations and didn´t cancel them as a nice gesture to the people running the albergues.
Think about albergues that you liked and book or send money for a night. I think they would love it.
Excuse me for bad english/ Roger from Sweden
 
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I had intended to send Spouse on his second camino this year, but it's not possible. Instead, I am sending one days' budget to a favourite private albergue. Western Union will do it for a small fee. I am choosing a private location rather than a public or parochial one that has a chance to rely on larger infrastructure support. Others might choose differently.

Imagine if every pilgrim who had intended to go this year but isn't sent 30 euros to a favourite business, or to one they had hoped to see.

at 350,000 pilgrims using an average daily budget of 30 euros as the suggested donation that would be 10.5 million euros injected into the area.

We won't have much of a camino to return to if we don't help keep things going for those who run the tavernas and allergies, the little mercados, etc.

Just a thought.

I am sending my money for a booking I could not make this year at a favourite albergue in Hospital de Orbigo.
 
Yesterday I was watching the Pope‘s Urbi et Orbi and tears came to my eyes to think about Spain and its unimaginable losses. My dear, dear Camino country and people. I felt I just had to do something, so I went to Booking.com and booked 2 bunk bed for that night in the last albergue that I stayed during my recent last Camino section in February 2020: Albergue Luz de Fromista. I remember calling them, already past 4 pm from Boadilla del Camino in my rusty Spanish : “Soy una peregrina, tienes una litera para esta noche?” I was answered in my native language on the spot: Do you speak Dutch? And so Anita, who walked the camino with her Spanish husband, came to greet me, walking her dogs on the canal on the final way to Fromista. So I let them know I would only virtually stay with them that night, with all the good memories of their prior hospitality.

I have seen on this forum other calls on how we can support the Camino albergues and infrastructure. Professionally I have seen the destruction and loss of viable businesses in which blood, sweat and tears were invested, in two earlier crises. I do not want that to happen to the Camino Frances. I think I spent my happiest moments walking into Roncesvalles, Pamplona, Burgos, Formista etc.etc. and settling into a caring albergue. So I just want to share my idea of booking and paying for a virtual night in your favourite CF albergues via Booking.com

if Ivar c.s. could come up with a direct, well governed and transparent, way to donate to the albergue’s, I myself and I am sure many others Camino friends would be happy to donate. We all share such happy memories of the Camino and the way we were welcomed and cared for. In the picture the beautifully restored Albergue Luz de Fromista.
 

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St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Yesterday I was watching the Pope‘s Urbi et Orbi and tears came to my eyes to think about Spain and its unimaginable losses. My dear, dear Camino country and people. I felt I just had to do something, so I went to Booking.com and booked 2 bunk bed for that night in the last albergue that I stayed during my recent last Camino section in February 2020: Albergue Luz de Fromista. I remember calling them, already past 4 pm from Boadilla del Camino in my rusty Spanish : “Soy una peregrina, tienes una litera para esta noche?” I was answered in my native language on the spot: Do you speak Dutch? And so Anita, who walked the camino with her Spanish husband, came to greet me, walking her dogs on the canal on the final way to Fromista. So I let them know I would only virtually stay with them that night, with all the good memories of their prior hospitality.

I have seen on this forum other calls on how we can support the Camino albergues and infrastructure. Professionally I have seen the destruction and loss of viable businesses in which blood, sweat and tears were invested, in two earlier crises. I do not want that to happen to the Camino Frances. I think I spent my happiest moments walking into Roncesvalles, Pamplona, Burgos, Formista etc.etc. and settling into a caring albergue. So I just want to share my idea of booking and paying for a virtual night in your favourite CF albergues via Booking.com

if Ivar c.s. could come up with a direct, well governed and transparent, way to donate to the albergue’s, I myself and I am sure many others Camino friends would be happy to donate. We all share such happy memories of the Camino and the way we were welcomed and cared for. In the picture the beautifully restored Albergue Luz de Fromista.
Madeleine, this sounds like a wonderful idea. Would like to hear any reasons why this would NOT be a good plan...
Thank you for posting. I had been thinking about Rebeka Scott at Peaceable Kingdom <3
Andrea
 
Madeleine, Walter, thank you very much !!!, for us, in these difficult times (as for everyone ...), your reservations are what can fill us most with hope, and make us feel that we are not alone and that the Camino It is what we thought it was from our first Camino, a great family, a good reason to start a new life, and to open the door to each pilgrim as the door is opened to a friend, literally.
We look forward to seeing you again at the hostel, Madeleine, and you Alex, we hope to meet you in person soon.
Anita and Gabriel
 
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I am going to send a donation to my favorite albergue in order to help fund them through the Coronavirus epidemic. If you can, may I suggest you do the same to help them through this difficult time for small businesses?
 
I love this idea. I just reached out to a couple special ones to ask how I can donate online. It may not help a lot, but perhaps the gesture is just as valuable. Thanks for suggesting it, Mary M!
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
To organize this in any kind of formal way is an impossible task IMO, which Camino do you choose, which country. The best way to approach it in my opinion and has been suggested above, is to make reservations for next year, or cancel this years reservations but leave the refund, or if any individual wants, make a donation to your favourite albergues/hostals, or make a donation to Peaceable Kingdom.
There is a great outpouring of generosity from the members here but I would suggest to do it as individuals.
 
Mistress Cantinho da Matriz and her wonderful mother from Viana do Castelo, the talkative and inquisitive owner of the Hospedaje Bahía de San Simon hostel, the owner of a small cafe in A Coruña, where the most wonderful coffee! I hope they are doing well! And I hope to go from Lisbon to Porto! Health to all!
 
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I booked a bed for Sunday in Ventosa, will not show physically but will enjoy remembering my stay virtually. I did send them a note explaining.
 
A good cause indeed!
But do not forget to support your local businesses too when you live in a country that is affected by Covid-19.
I agree that supporting our neighbors who live next door need just as much support as an albergue owner. The level of financial stress is usually impossible to measure. Help when and where you can but somehow I personally feel reaching out to the homeless in our towns, the poor who live near us, all those in our own communities that are in dire need deserve our attention just as much. In my mind, and this is just my opinion, or even more. Our albergues are wonderful and some need help more than others. We cannot measure anyone else's pain or suffering because this is not measurable. But I do know that the most neglected populations before this horrific pandemic are still the most neglected during the pandemic.
 
(Amongst many people who come to mind, I find myself thinking of the elderly gentleman in that shop in Castrojerez. May he be healthy!)
I consider him as my friend. I am very worried. He is close to 90. However, the last time I saw him (last spring), he was running at high speed across the plaza. No tired bones there.

I have phoned other of my Spanish friends and they are all OK, thank God. But then again, I feel for the Spanish people as a whole, as so many of us do in these times.

Edit: It is of course a good thing to support our local businesses. I do. But I cannot help thinking about the rural Spain, through which we all have walked, some many times, and how they depend on the Camino business. I have therefore decided that I shall walk the Camino on Google Earth this spring, and book a virtual bed once every week, in albergues who have received me friendly as a pilgrim from a foreign land. I will continue to do this until I can return to my Camino. Not that I am rich, but I can afford it. If more pilgrims do this, then maybe we will have some albergues to come back to when this is over.
 
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Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I just got a note from @Juanma, formerly of the albergue(s) in Ponte Ferreira (where many Primitivo pilgrims ate their paella and enjoyed their albergue, one of which is now run by @Thomas1962). Last year they moved to Cirauqui on the Francés and took over the Maralotx. Like many small albergue owners, they have invested heavily in improvements and upgrades and are in financial straits. Juanma has an offer on his website — book and pay now, get your room in 2021 or 2022. And he will give you a few euros back when you actually show up.

https://www.alberguecirauqui.com/help-us-stay-here-for-you
 
I just got a note from @Juanma, formerly of the albergue(s) in Ponte Ferreira (where many Primitivo pilgrims ate their paella and enjoyed their albergue, one of which is now run by @Thomas1962). Last year they moved to Cirauqui on the Francés and took over the Maralotx. Like many small albergue owners, they have invested heavily in improvements and upgrades and are in financial straits. Juanma has an offer on his website — book and pay now, get your room in 2021 or 2022. And he will give you a few euros back when you actually show up.

https://www.alberguecirauqui.com/help-us-stay-here-for-you
Thank you for that!
 
My Camino should start this year on Friday before Pentecost and lead me from Bayonne via the Camino de Baztan and the Camino Frances to Leon. My sister wanted to join me after one week and the meeting point should have been the Albergue Casa Maralotx in Cirauqui.

There I had already booked a room and got a lot of help from the owner with the question of the journey for Petra from the airport Vittoria to Cirauqui.

A few days ago I looked on the website of the Albergue again. There is a notice that the Albergue is closed until further notice and that Juanma and Paloma don't expect that there will be guests for the whole year.

In order to have at least a small chance to get through this time economically, they ask to pay the planned stay already now and to get a voucher for the time after Corona.

I think this is a great idea. So I contacted them and yesterday I paid my double room in advance.

Everybody knows from his pilgrim paths an Albergue, where he has experienced unforgettable hours. All this should be over now, because there will be almost nothing left of the network of Albergues until we can make our next pilgrimage?

I also know that there are safer investments than this voucher, but how should all these people survive, which are completely dependent on the pilgrims' money.

What do you think about browsing a little on the websites of your favourite Albergues to see if similar activities have been started there.

If everyone could support one or two Albergues with the price of a normal night in a dormitory, a start would be made and who knows, perhaps a worldwide network of "Pilgrims for Albergues" will gradually be created.

Stay healthy.

Michael
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
This just in — as many of you know, dear forum friend @LTfit officially took over the Albergue in Villares de Órbigo just one day before Spain shut down. She is hanging on and hoping for better times, but if anyone is moved to help out — she has added a separate option to her buff page. You can contribute to the new bedsheets the albergue needs or buy a buff or just make a donation.

Lee has sold those beautiful buffs for years, not as a money makes, as a forum service, so there is a way to help out and get one too! I bought one years ago before my first Camino Olvidado with another forum member and promptly lost it. I am hoping to personally pick up another one the next time I pass through Villares de Órbigo.


P.S. I’ve gotten a question about how to use this link to help Lee. If you would like to donate, you just click on the “buy” button for the buff and a few options appear.
 
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Cycling Rentals in Portugal has launched a Go Fund Me page. I rented from them one year and they offered excellent service to deliver my bike to Pamplona and collect my bike. in Santiago. A small donation is all they are asking for or "poof" there goes another valuable Camino resource. More places need to be doing the same so they are there for us when this thing turns around.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I consider him as my friend. I am very worried. He is close to 90. However, the last time I saw him (last spring), he was running at high speed across the plaza. No tired bones there.

I have phoned other of my Spanish friends and they are all OK, thank God. But then again, I feel for the Spanish people as a whole, as so many of us do in these times.

Edit: It is of course a good thing to support our local businesses. I do. But I cannot help thinking about the rural Spain, through which we all have walked, some many times, and how they depend on the Camino business. I have therefore decided that I shall walk the Camino on Google Earth this spring, and book a virtual bed once every week, in albergues who have received me friendly as a pilgrim from a foreign land. I will continue to do this until I can return to my Camino. Not that I am rich, but I can afford it. If more pilgrims do this, then maybe we will have some albergues to come back to when this is over.
Alex,

I live in Castrojeriz in Albergue Orion. Just wanted to let you know, the lovely gentleman was in the little shop on Plaza Mayor last Thursday. He is OK.

Sam
 
As the COVID-19 ruined this year's Camino season I was wondering if there is a way to help financially to keep the awesome Albergue/Bar/Cafes/Pubs/Offices/Restaurants... infrastructure alive for the upcoming seasons. I was supposed to be walking the Camino Primitivo these days and now I am planning my next year pilgrimages.

I can see how businesses our struggling in my country and we only have couple thousands infected and quite stable economy. Yet, Spain is unfortunately a completely different story. Vast majority of Camino related businesses still think of pilgrims in the first place and then they think of making profit. So, I wanted to ask if there is a running crowdfunding campaign or if there is a will to start one and help those who need it the most - independent entrepreneurs that are trying the best to make our Camino experience as awesome as possible.

Thanks and I wish you all the best!
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
In another thread I have described a way to help the hostels:


Normally I don´t book Albergues in advance, but for my Camino in June, I needed a place to meet with my sister, who wanted to join me after the first week, so I booked in January a room in the Albergue Casa Maralotx in Cirauqui.
A few days ago I looked at their website and they started a campaign of booking in advance for the time after Corona. They asked the pilgrims to pay now and get a voucher and during your visite a little discount to the normal price. Maybe there are also other Albergues with the same idea.

I know that there are safer investments, but I hate doing nothing. If the Albergue do not survive this difficult time, the price for this one night stay, which I have now paid in advance, will not ruin me. Now the risk must be spread over many shoulders,

And if many pilgrims help many Albergues in this way, I´m sure we can achieve a lot
 
Regarding this thread, I often think of the kindnesses along the way; one being the wonderful gentleman and his wife at the cafe in Padron, right near church ( can’t recall cafe or man’s name. Both times that I walked, he helped me find a bed when most were filled up. The cafe opened before dawn and they saw pilgrims off on their last day before Santiago.
Another place that is close to my heart is Vinoteca & Hostal Maracaibo in Porrino. Again, we were able to find a bed there the first time my sister and I walked from Porto, and the second time, was during 2018 Spanish heatwave. We are up there in age, and despite all precautions, things became quite dangerous for us that one day. Luckily, we made it to a gas station, called a taxi, and remembering the Maracaibo from the year before, drove that 2 miles there. A wonderful young woman, Luz, the daughter of proprietor, anchored us in the cafe area that had air conditioning, plied us with ice, water and salty olives until we felt more human. I just sent a message to her via Facebook yesterday, concerned for their health both physically and economically. The dear girl answered,saying they are well, but of course, struggling.
so if anyone is passing thru Porrino, keep them in mind 💚
 
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