Albergues

I'm currently on the Camino Del Norte (or the Northern Way). Janine is on the Camino de Frances (the French Way). The vistas here are hard to beat, but I'm a beach freak - I'm assuming if you loved endless wheat and corn fields (and lots of little villages) you might prefer the French Way. But one thing I definitely like about the traditional Camino better than my current route are the housing options: More frequent towns, more choices, wider range of prices. On the traditional way there is usually a town every 5 km and usually some place to stay in most of them, often an Albergue.

El Albergue de Abeulo Pueto

The Albergue is essentially a hostel for pilgrims. Often you can't get in unless you have a credential ( a pilgrim's passport with stamps from various churches and stopovers along the way). They are often full late in the day (2 nights ago I slept in the garden). They usually charge 15 Euro at the high end (if private) and 5 at the low end (if municipal). Some are strictly donation. Janine tends to not like Albergues with good reason: we're often in a large room with 14 other people, 5 of them with severe sleep apnea. The common showers are often a little gross and out of hot water (last night). But occasionally they are amazing, such as the one I am in tonight.

I've met several travelers going backwards on the Northern trail - they all said "Make sure you stay in Guemes, it's really special". It is.

Father Ernesto, after traveling the world in his Land Rover, returned to his birthplace to rebuild his family home and start good works in Spain and abroad. About 18 years ago, he saw the opportunity to help the pilgrims and reach some like-minded folks. The place has a dozen or so rooms and can sleep about 70. It's the first Albergue I've been to that serves three meals a day - I made it in time for lunch which was just as delicious as dinner. It's run by a small army of volunteers including a Californian and a young women from England who translated from Spanish to English the talks given by Father Ernesto and his helpers about the history of the Albergue and the Camino.

Father Ernesto is a proponent that the struggles and joys on the Camino are a metaphor for life. The real secret is not so much to make it to the end but to help each other along the way.