alansykes
Veteran Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Except the Francés
I am hesitant to post this, but I have stayed three times in the last three years in the lovely albergue at Ourense, and on each occasion the hospitalero has been the worst one on each camino.
So I thought I'd check here whether other people had had similar experiences before writing to the xunta to complain.
When I say it was the "worst" one on each camino, I mean the only one that was an unpleasant experience. The hospitalero/a is usually a pilgrim's first important point of contact in a new village/town/city: a sort of ambassador for the place. Normally they are utterly delightful, giving advice, information and chat after what has often been a long day. They come from disparate backgrounds, providing the passing pilgrim with an amazing cross-section of Spanish society - in the last year I've met hospitaleros who were tourism officers, sports hall janitors, a mayoress, student volunteers, monks, parish priests, nuns, a police chief, ayuntamiento officials, bar keepers, a crown prosecutor, somebody from the protecion civil and a gaita expert. All of them were polite, interested and helpful.
In Ourense, three years running, I have met (different) hospitaleros who were brusque to the point of rudeness, utterly indifferent and largely unhelpful.
I wouldn't be posting this if it was just me, but the Sevillano couple I stayed with in Ourense earlier this month were also shocked by his bad attitude, saying he was also the worst they'd ever come across, having made their first camino in the 2004 Holy Year.
So I thought I'd check here whether other people had had similar experiences before writing to the xunta to complain.
When I say it was the "worst" one on each camino, I mean the only one that was an unpleasant experience. The hospitalero/a is usually a pilgrim's first important point of contact in a new village/town/city: a sort of ambassador for the place. Normally they are utterly delightful, giving advice, information and chat after what has often been a long day. They come from disparate backgrounds, providing the passing pilgrim with an amazing cross-section of Spanish society - in the last year I've met hospitaleros who were tourism officers, sports hall janitors, a mayoress, student volunteers, monks, parish priests, nuns, a police chief, ayuntamiento officials, bar keepers, a crown prosecutor, somebody from the protecion civil and a gaita expert. All of them were polite, interested and helpful.
In Ourense, three years running, I have met (different) hospitaleros who were brusque to the point of rudeness, utterly indifferent and largely unhelpful.
I wouldn't be posting this if it was just me, but the Sevillano couple I stayed with in Ourense earlier this month were also shocked by his bad attitude, saying he was also the worst they'd ever come across, having made their first camino in the 2004 Holy Year.