- Time of past OR future Camino
- Francés, Norte, Salvador, Primitivo, Portuguese
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To me the question is not if groups like this need to stay together for educational reasons but if in case that is necessary walking a Camino is the right way to go.
I can tell you that they are not being supervised at all times.The kids have to be supervised at all times
I didn’t even know there was an overflow building! Where is it?Yesterday I stayed in the municipal albergue in Azofra, which is a hidden gem - all the rooms have only two single beds, and there's a nice courtyard with a fountain.
However, although it didn't seem full at all my friend and I were two of the last to get a bed in the main (nice) building, and they started putting people in the overflow building. This was fairly early in the afternoon, and thereaare 60 beds in the main albergue. Then a bunch of teenagers started arriving, and they obviously had beds waiting for them.
It turns out that this school group of 30 boys, plus five teachers had been allowed to reserve beds in advance, leaving everyone else in the two overflow buildings.
And they have also been allowed to reserve at the 38 bed municipal in Redecilla del Camino where I am today. (in a private albergue that I reserved by email last night)
I felt very badly for the pilgrims who actually arrived before these boys and weren't allowed a bed in the very nice municipal albergue.
Nope, not Spanish kids."Times are a changin' " and there is probably nothing that can be done about it. Many things on the Camino are evolving rapidly.
If they are Spanish kids, my opinion is that their families trump those of us who come from other countries to walk the Caminos.
Then that's a bummer for sure!Nope, not Spanish kids.
It's across the street, and there is an overflow for the overflow by the church.I didn’t even know there was an overflow building! Where is it?
Thanks, I never knew that!It's across the street, and there is an overflow for the overflow by the church.
Despite this annoyance - and I wasn't annoyed for myself, but for the others who missed out on staying in the albergue, I really enjoyed Azofra. It's a hidden gem with a well designed albergue, and a wonderful botanical garden where you are encouraged to walk barefoot on the cool grass pathways.
Yeah, so do I, but I think that it should have been organized in a way that's more respectful of the needs of their fellow pilgrims. We all know that municipal albergues have a no reservations policy - at least the two in question here do. If a group needs to make reservations they shouldn't ask for exceptions that other pilgrims are not allowed. They should stay in private albergues.I think its good kids are getting to enjoy the camino!! Installs a different holiday experience for them☺
I absolutely agree that if there are private albergues with sufficient capacity they should reserve there, instead. However, when I looked in my Wisely+ app for Redecilla, for example, there didn't seem to be a private albergue with 30 beds. That option doesn't seem to have been available.My issue is that there are private albergues that take reservations. They should be staying in those places. Municipals are supposed to be first come, first served.
On Gronze and other sites it says that these municipal albergues do not accept reservations.
I found out the group's next stages and planned ahead. I enjoyed hospitalero Jose's warmth and cooking at Essentia Albergue in Redecillo del CaminoRead this thread with interest. It appears to be one of those, many frustrating situations where I would would just offer it up, shrug my shoulders, while remembering what I have often been told: “But señor, this is Spain!”
Just let it be. Stay in private accommodations. Adapt and overcome. That is my advice.
This sort of thing is not going away and will get worse as the Holy Year comes in 2021, as many and varied civic and religious groups will do the same thing. We, the “onesies” and “twosies” do not have to like this sort of thing, but we do have to adapt to it.
Hope this helps.
I only have the capacity to deal with my own annoyance; I cannot start being annoyed about what someone else MIGHT be annoyed by!I wasn't annoyed for myself, but for the others
I understand that the camino is on their soil. But I do not see why their needs or wants should trump anyone else's from another country. I would have to say that the pilgrims who have walked from all over the world have done as much as the Spanish people to revitalize the economy along the Camino Frances. I have lived for 7 years as a guest in a foreign county and I have learned the customs and culture of my adopted country. I do not live in an expat conclave like so many do that live overseas. I live in and among the local people. I think in each country we should respect the host country. But to me all I have to do is look to my home, the United States, and see how America first is destroying us and that an American has a greater right to one of our natural resources then a foreigner. Foreigners are not taking anything from the Spain and as I said they make a contribution both economically and in words and experience. So I have to respectfully disagree that the kids come before anyone else. I always thought that one of the great lessons of the Camino is to teach young and old that we are basically all equal. I hear this sentiment echoed constantly and justifiably. We have different motivations to walk. Maybe those kids want to walk, maybe they see it as a holiday or maybe their parents are forcing them. Hopefully they will get something out of it. Maybe, maybe not. But they are no better or worse than any other Pilgrim."Times are a changin' " and there is probably nothing that can be done about it. Many things on the Camino are evolving rapidly.
If they are Spanish kids, my opinion is that their families trump those of us who come from other countries to walk the Caminos.
Just to be clear, these are not Spanish students.I understand that the camino is on their soil. But I do not see why their needs or wants should trump anyone else's from another country. I would have to say that the pilgrims who have walked from all over the world have done as much as the Spanish people to revitalize the economy along the Camino Frances. I have lived for 7 years as a guest in a foreign county and I have learned the customs and culture of my adopted country. I do not live in an expat conclave like so many do that live overseas. I live in and among the local people. I think in each country we should respect the host country. But to me all I have to do is look to my home, the United States, and see how America first is destroying us and that an American has a greater right to one of our natural resources then a foreigner. Foreigners are not taking anything from the Spain and as I said they make a contribution both economically and in words and experience. So I have to respectfully disagree that the kids come before anyone else. I always thought that one of the great lessons of the Camino is to teach young and old that we are basically all equal. I hear this sentiment echoed constantly and justifiably. We have different motivations to walk. Maybe those kids want to walk, maybe they see it as a holiday or maybe their parents are forcing them. Hopefully they will get something out of it. Maybe, maybe not. But they are no better or worse than any other Pilgrim.
No problem have a good day and it is just one step at a time for everything!@lt56ny, You make some valid points and I agree with some of them and respectfully disagree with others.
I cant read all the fine print haha. But that still doesnt change my opinion! But it is just my opinion. As my Jewish grandma told me once after I changed my opinion about, who remembers, if you get 10 Jews in a room and ask them their opinion you will get 50 answers.As Richard Pryor (I think) once said, thats my story and I am sticking with it!Just to be clear, these are not Spanish students.
So true! ☺No problem have a good day and it is just one step at a time for everything!
Saw the same thing in Logroño some years ago. A busload of young boys arrived just after us and right away the completo sign went up. It was a group from Ireland that had both Irish and Spanish exchange students. Walked with a couple of them the next morning, very nice kids, well teenagers. The bus picked them up at Navarette and we never saw them againYesterday I stayed in the municipal albergue in Azofra, which is a hidden gem - all the rooms have only two single beds, and there's a nice courtyard with a fountain.
However, although it didn't seem full at all my friend and I were two of the last to get a bed in the main (nice) building, and they started putting people in the overflow building. This was fairly early in the afternoon, and thereaare 60 beds in the main albergue. Then a bunch of teenagers started arriving, and they obviously had beds waiting for them.
It turns out that this school group of 30 boys, plus five teachers had been allowed to reserve beds in advance, leaving everyone else in the two overflow buildings.
And they have also been allowed to reserve at the 38 bed municipal in Redecilla del Camino where I am today. (in a private albergue that I reserved by email last night)
I felt very badly for the pilgrims who actually arrived before these boys and weren't allowed a bed in the very nice municipal albergue.
You probably feel that these foreign students had enough money to pay the flight and so they should pay now their expensenses as anybody else and not occupy the cheapest place in town (almost) completely. Depending on the flight costs that might be already a wrong thought. They don't need to be rich. With Ryanair the plane ticket might be the least of all costs. Even if they are rich(er), some part of the camino experience is about staying in these albergues.
On the other hand where are they supposed to stay? On the way to Fatima some pilgrims even sleep in the roadside ditch. Is this what you want for them? Should they occupy the sports ground? Should they spread over the whole village or even the next one because they can't fit together in one place?
I don't have the answer, but I don't see much difference in the provenance of them. Spaniards can walk there any time so tourists and guests should come in first place or shouldn't they?
PS: I like the idea of the double "rooms" but the beds in Azofra are too short for taller westerners.
Thank you. That's exactly what I meant. Many pilgrims arrived in the early afternoon thinking that since this was listed as a municipal albergue that did not take reservations, that it was first come, first served, only to find out that the beds were taken by pilgrims that had been allowed to reserve, but had not yet shown up.I don't think anyone, especially @trecile, is begrudging the students a place to stay. The way I read her posts was that private albergues - many of which do take reservations - can take on these big groups who need to book ahead. This setup would leave the municipal albergues - many of whom state publicly that they do not take reservations - to other pilgrims.
This is my pet peeve in general on the forum!right now but I'm utterly annoyed by the forum members that doesn't pay attention to what was written. It seems like they just read the OP and then the rant start
IS there such a person, overseeing Pilgrim matters in all of Spain? What jurisdiction would they have in enforcing such a change? Despite the frustration caused by this issue (group reservations, limited beds in albergues), surely the prospect of vocal, outraged visitors attempting to impose their views on the hospidaleros of Spain is far worse?This is my pet peeve in general on the forum!
I think we all know what the standard on Municipals is and Trecile has adapted by learning the stages that are planned for the group. I am glad to hear that at the least, the kids are well-behaved.
What I'm curious about is what can be done about it with the Holy Year approaching. Should we start a position on Change.org to whoever oversees pilgrim matters as a whole for the country? I would definitely sign it.
No ONE oversees pilgrim matters as a whole for the country, the non-private albergues are administered by the ayuntamientos, local parishes, pilgrim organizations, etc. and such a petition wouldn't be worth the paper it's not written on.Should we start a position on Change.org to whoever oversees pilgrim matters as a whole for the country? I would definitely sign it.
Thanks. I don't mind being defended.Sorry @trecile, I know you can "defend" yourself but I was really annoyed with those negligent readers/posters.
Of course not. There is no person or institution “overseeing pilgrim matters in all of Spain”. Azofra is in La Rioja and Redecilla del Camino is in Castilla y Leon. Both regions have legal dispositions about albergues turisticas and albergues del Camino de Santiago. And each albergue can have their regimen interno.IS there such a person, overseeing Pilgrim matters in all of Spain? What jurisdiction would they have in enforcing such a change? Despite the frustration caused by this issue (group reservations, limited beds in albergues), surely the prospect of vocal, outraged visitors attempting to impose their views on the hospidaleros of Spain is far worse?
I wouldn’t get too worked up about the Holy Year 2021. Galicia is going to promote it like mad, Galicia has been preparing for it already and continues to do so, and Galicia hopes to see a significant increase in the numbers of visitors including pilgrims on foot. So that’s the last 150 km of the Camino Francés for example. The impact in the other regions will be less. Bear in mind that only a minority of foot pilgrims starts in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or in Navarra or La Rioja (Spanish regions at the beginning of the Camino Francés).What I'm curious about is what can be done about it with the Holy Year approaching.
There was a party of 30 Portuguese 10 11 yr olds in Azofra on April 6 this year.Sigh. I’m of course guilty of widening the door to a discussion about the year 2021 by picking up one comment and replying to it. As to the actual topic: school groups in municipal albergues on the Camino Francés - are there many such groups outside of Galicia? I’ve never noticed a single one.
Taking this into consideration I just looked up the albergue at Azofra and yes, they take reservations!
Interesting. I got my information from Gronze, which I suppose, isn't infallible.I would have been annoyed and confused in the first place, too. Having learnt that municipal albergues (usually!) do not take reservations.
But today, when helping a pilgrim who inquired about accomodation just outside Pamplona that would take reservations, I learnt that there seem to be exceptions. The municipal albergue at Villava takes reservations
and there may be others.
Taking this into consideration I just looked up the albergue at Azofra and yes, they take reservations!
And then I came to remember, that the yellow german list of albergues which was published by Jochen Schmidtke (Paderborner Heft) informed already in 2006/2007 (when I was doing my first camino) that groups larger than 5 should phone the albergue in advance. So I guess, that in some cases it is possible to do reservations for religious groups or school-classes doing the camino and that accepting such a reservation is at the discretion of those who run the albergue.
BC
Alexandra
Having had a good read of all the posts on this thread and others about the Holy Year and it's consequenses I don't think I'll have the least inclination to walk in the Holy Year.
It is certainly a cause for celebration and everybody would like to join in but my misgivings are founded on 'when does a celebration become a part-ay'?
Anyways it's not my worry, to quote a previously mentioned mantra - not my monkey, not my circus.
Good word 'circus' isn't it? Lots of uses.
I just might consider doing that - just so long as I'm still upright and breathing and as you know, two out of three ain't badI invite everyone who is inclined to NOT walk during the 2021 Holy Year due to concerns over crowding, or for any reason, to join me in working as a volunteer to help welcome pilgrims. This can be done as a hopitalero/hospitalera at an Albergue, or at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago.
Search the forum for my “Volunteering for Dummies” post. It is entitled: “How to Volunteer at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago.” The OP and ensuing dialog will explain the entire process.
Contact your national pilgrim association for advice on how to proceed with volunteering at albergues.
I tried very hard to pay attention to what was written. I don't think I denied that the three points were made as expressed above. However, one can understand, and even sympathize with or personally agree with the first two points without necessarily accepting them as an incontrovertible objective truth.I'm not on the Camino (or in Azofra) right now but I'm utterly annoyed by the forum members that doesn't pay attention to what was written. It seems like they just read the OP and then the rant starts.
ad1: Municipal albergues SHOULD NOT take reservations. And that's what @trecile wrote time and time again.
ad2: IF the municipal(!!!) albergue would by any chance take their reservation why weren't THEY put in the overflow as they came later than many other pilgrims (which were directed to overflow when the main building was still more than half empty!!!)???
ad3: The kids were NOT of Spanish nationality (it was repeated several times!!!) and hence from where we all come doesn't matter at all because the rules about municipal albergues are very clear and whether your parents (as Spanish residents) are paying taxes makes no difference to what you are entitled to in case of munis.
Sorry @trecile, I know you can "defend" yourself but I was really annoyed by those negligent readers/posters.
I hope this is the thread you mean Tom.I invite everyone who is inclined to NOT walk during the 2021 Holy Year due to concerns over crowding, or for any reason, to join me in working as a volunteer to help welcome pilgrims. This can be done as a hopitalero/hospitalera at an Albergue, or at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago.
Search the forum for my “Volunteering for Dummies” post. It is entitled: “How to Volunteer at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago.” The OP and ensuing dialog will explain the entire process.
Contact your national pilgrim association for advice on how to proceed with volunteering at albergues.
Thanks for your respond but both posts you are referring to were posted after mine.I tried very hard to pay attention to what was written. I don't think I denied that the three points were made as expressed above. However, one can understand, and even sympathize with or personally agree with the first two points without necessarily accepting them as an incontrovertible objective truth.
As Kathar1na points out in post #43 "each albergue can have their regimen interno". As she points out in post #50, there are clearly municipal albergues that do take reservations (even to the point of being on Booking.com!). And as Via2010 points out, according to Eroski, the Azofra municipal albergue does take reservations.
While you and I and Trecile may fervently believe that municipal albergues should not take reservations, we are not the bosses of the albergues. The hospitaleros are. And if some do not take the first two premises above as gospel but instead try and look at why the hospitaleros may have behaved as they did, I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing nor do I think it is negligent. You may certainly have a different opinion.
This is so beautifully and respectfully written, Kathar1na, and it may allay the worries of some concerned but less-informed pilgrims (or prospective pilgrims). We must avoid making judgements without full awareness of the situation. We are walking in a country/countries where people have walked as pilgrims for centuries. I feel such gratitude to the communities who support the infrastructure of the Camino.This may be related or not to @trecile's recent observations in Azofra and Boadilla:
An online article from 2011 on the Mundicamino website reports that 25 secondary school students, in the 14-16 age bracket, walked three stages of the Camino Francés in the region of La Rioja. This is based on a formal agreement between the regional administration's department for education and the Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago (this is not the national umbrella organisation for Spain but one of the regional camino associations that have been instrumental in reviving the historical caminos some 40 years ago or so). The students' trip started in Logroño at the seat of the association - so they were sending them off - and they stayed in municipal albergues in Navarrete for the first night and in Azofra for the second night. A second group of students were due to start at a later date. Another article talks about school trips in the framework of international exchanges between secondary schools of La Rioja and other European countries.
I've read some postulates (for lack of a better word) in this thread. I often notice that one element is excluded from what makes walking a camino as it is regarded as a "tourist" activity of minor value: experiencing el patrimonio. I don't want to bore you with my views. I do think - I even know for certain - that this aspect has been important to those who helped to create today's camino infrastructure that has significantly contributed to its current global success. This infrastructure was created through voluntary work (mostly local) and public money (local, regional, national and EU). And, btw, they actually had their young people and their learning very much in mind. ☺
To me, all this is an indication that the Azofra school group and the municipal albergue may have had the blessings of those "in charge" of the camino in La Rioja and of its public/municipal albergues. And that may not change ....
I do, however, take exception to the situation at Roncesvalles, where the abbot this year made a deal to "set aside" 60 pilgrim beds in the monastic albergue when busloads of tourigrinos from three selected travel outfitters are in town.
Here, here!For myself, I feel that this particular question of an albergue which I think is reserved for individual walkers pre-booking rooms to groups is another aspect of the lack of control over many aspects of daily life that I have to accept while walking caminos. When I find myself into obsessional planning, as at present, I know that this is in order to try to create an illusion of control in an environment over which I have very little control. Furthermore, I am going on pilgrimage in Spain largely so that I will have no control, but rather open myself to the experiences which will come as I live a way of life very different from how I live at home. I don't really know what I will do "IF". The last thing I want, as a pilgrim, is to discover what it may mean to live in faith. But I will continue to go on pilgrimage until I get better at it. And maybe even after that.
Groups of kids should be reminded to pick up after themselves until it becomes habit. As for groups of adults leaving trash for others to pick up, have some compassion, as they are obviously orphans.my biggest grouse with big groups of young people (and big groups in general) is their tendency to leave large volumes of trash in their wake. The kids may assume their parents or minders are following along behind them, picking up their juice boxes and candy wrappers... the adults may assume they´ve paid for a tour, and the tour operators can follow along behind them picking up cigarette butts and energy bar wrappers.
But truly, I think they´re all having such a jolly romp they don´t think at all.
I found this group to be very respectful.my biggest grouse with big groups of young people (and big groups in general) is their tendency to leave large volumes of trash in their wake. The kids may assume their parents or minders are following along behind them, picking up their juice boxes and candy wrappers... the adults may assume they´ve paid for a tour, and the tour operators can follow along behind them picking up cigarette butts and energy bar wrappers.
But truly, I think they´re all having such a jolly romp they don´t think at all.
(Not addressed to anyone in particular) I understand that this school group was not from La Rioja. However, there is a current agreement between the regional Department of Education and the regional Amigos de Caminos de Santiago, see here, and I still wonder whether it was organised in this context. In particular, this initiative includes an activity that "allows students in secondary education to live the experience of the Camino de Santiago" and "the Department of Education contributes 6.000 EUR to this activity". It doesn't say who gets the money - the Amigos or the schools. ☺I found this group to be very respectful.
I’m a slow walker on the Camino. I arrive late in the day and at this point in my walk, there are no rooms. I can either book a pension or hotel or taxi to the next villa. This is not how I imagined my Camino. It’s getting very difficult. I agree that times are changing in the Camino. I wished I knew this before I went on my walk.
There was a party of 30 Portuguese 10 11 yr olds in Azofra on April 6 this year.
If one is arguing that these groups of children (students, whatever) be able to experience the Camino, shouldn't that also include the way in which the Camino is actually experienced? In other words, in alburgues which do not normally accept reservations and are 1st come-1st served, shouldn't THAT be part of the experience for students, too? Of course you need to plan a structure fro food and lodging for groups like this, but that can occur in accommodations which DO allow reservations. So, if the students do not arrive in time to secure an alburgue bed, then have a Plan B ready at reserved lodgings. Or use lodgings that always allow reservations as Plan A.
I do not disagree with the notion of students, either in singles or in gaggles, being able to 'experience the Camino', but creating an artificial bubble of an environment which is insulated from what is real for most pilgrims, seems to create an oxymoron. Sort of like expecting a child to understand wilderness backpacking within the confines of a summer camp.
I agree to what you wrote, @gerip, but it was a group of 30 boys + 5 teachers or other monitors and 60 beds in the nice part of the Azofra albergue. So some pilgrims did get a bed there, including @trecile and her friend, while other pilgrims had to be content with the overflow building. (I had to go back to the start of the thread to see how it all beganThirdly, it’s difficult as hell to make separate arrangements for a group of 60 or so kids, they would have to be all in the same place. I can’t even begin to imagine the logistics of bringing a group like that on the Camino, more power to the educators at that school!
I understand that the camino is on their soil. But I do not see why their needs or wants should trump anyone else's from another country. I would have to say that the pilgrims who have walked from all over the world have done as much as the Spanish people to revitalize the economy along the Camino Frances. I have lived for 7 years as a guest in a foreign county and I have learned the customs and culture of my adopted country. I do not live in an expat conclave like so many do that live overseas. I live in and among the local people. I think in each country we should respect the host country. But to me all I have to do is look to my home, the United States, and see how America first is destroying us and that an American has a greater right to one of our natural resources then a foreigner. Foreigners are not taking anything from the Spain and as I said they make a contribution both economically and in words and experience. So I have to respectfully disagree that the kids come before anyone else. I always thought that one of the great lessons of the Camino is to teach young and old that we are basically all equal. I hear this sentiment echoed constantly and justifiably. We have different motivations to walk. Maybe those kids want to walk, maybe they see it as a holiday or maybe their parents are forcing them. Hopefully they will get something out of it. Maybe, maybe not. But they are no better or worse than any other Pilgrim.
Ah, the multi-faceted Camino forum threadsThis entire thread reminds me of the Rolling Stones song "You can't always get what you want..." The song goes on... "But if you try real hard, you just might find that you get what you need..."
Point, set, match... Mick Jagger...
What’s wrong with the overflow building. Sincerely asking?I agree to what you wrote, @gerip, but it was a group of 30 boys + 5 teachers or other monitors and 60 beds in the nice part of the Azofra albergue. So some pilgrims did get a bed there, including @trecile and her friend, while other pilgrims had to be content with the overflow building. (I had to go back to the start of the thread to see how it all began).
Is it the decision of the hospitalero? I have never done this, so I don’t know; but I do know that they have training and I’m sure they have to comply with the rules for municipal and parochial albergues. The older or physically challenged pilgrim walking further doesn’t seem right. I don’t think The organizers took enough into consideration! What will be, will be.I absolutely agree that if there are private albergues with sufficient capacity they should reserve there, instead. However, when I looked in my Wisely+ app for Redecilla, for example, there didn't seem to be a private albergue with 30 beds. That option doesn't seem to have been available.
Ultimately, I don't think it is my place to tell hospitaleros how to run their albergues. If they want to run them with reservations or without or if they want to make exceptions for reasons that seem sufficient to them, I will try and accept it with good grace. If individuals or groups want to ask for special treatment, that's okay, too, so long as they abide by the decision of the hospitalero on the matter.
Great reply lizlane,makes a lot of senseHmmm you know well my reservations in general about pre-bookers but you and many others also helped me to see the necessity.
I'm wondering if special consideration was not given because of the fact that these bookers are in fact children getting an educational experience that cannot be learned in the classroom. It would make sense that such consideration be given because of the supervision needed for such a group. If one of these children were your child, would you want them split from the group? A six to one ratio for supervision doesn't sound like much but the adults can't really split off with the six in their charge. They have to take showers in shifts, go to the market in shifts. The kids have to be supervised at all times, they are still minors and likely their first and maybe only Camino experience.
I will pray for you. Maybe your mantra as you walk can be Love and Tolerance, Love and Tolerance, Love and Tolerance. Be well and maybe take a taxi a couple of towns ahead if this continues to bother you.
Probably not. I think it would be an arrangement made with the albergue manager, who might be someone working for or having the authority of the Ayuntamiento de Azofra in this case.Is it the decision of the hospitalero? I have never done this, so I don’t know; but I do know that they have training and I’m sure they have to comply with the rules for municipal and parochial albergues.
@Sparrow in Texas: You noticed it, too?I do not understand
Yesterday I stayed in the municipal albergue in Azofra, which is a hidden gem - all the rooms have only two single beds, and there's a nice courtyard with a fountain.
However, although it didn't seem full at all my friend and I were two of the last to get a bed in the main (nice) building, and they started putting people in the overflow building. This was fairly early in the afternoon, and thereaare 60 beds in the main albergue. Then a bunch of teenagers started arriving, and they obviously had beds waiting for them.
It turns out that this school group of 30 boys, plus five teachers had been allowed to reserve beds in advance, leaving everyone else in the two overflow buildings.
And they have also been allowed to reserve at the 38 bed municipal in Redecilla del Camino where I am today. (in a private albergue that I reserved by email last night)
I felt very badly for the pilgrims who actually arrived before these boys and weren't allowed a bed in the very nice municipal albergue.
Ernesto.IT is entitled to his emotional reaction to our posts. He hasn't written anything insulting, disparaging, or uncivil in response. All he has done is click a little angry face. Who knows the source of his anger? When I write that I strive to accept with good grace the decisions of those in charge of the albergues who provide me hospitality, maybe he had a traumatic experience at an albergue once and this provokes rage. I also strive to accept with good grace the emotional responses my postings here provoke in others.@Ernesto.IT , perhaps your finger slipped. I do not understand why you would react with anger to a few posts on this thread that were sincerely given with good will. We all do not have to agree but we almost always are civil.
I've seen signs in dorm rooms that said it is against Spanish law for minors to sleep in dormitories. I know it happens that minors sleep in them, but no school group would be able to book a dorm where children and strangers mix.Perhaps they thought this was better than an albergue with a large bunk room where pilgrims and kids would all be together?
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