Follow Your Arrow

For those of you who don’t know why I’m here in Spain or who’ve not read from the beginning of this blog, I’m here to be a “hospitalera,” a volunteer host, in an albergue along the Camino de Santiago. We hospitaleras are here to support the pilgrims walking a Camino – by offering them a welcoming place to rest for the night after their day of walking. Some albergues offer evening meals in addition to a bed. The albergue where I am serving – Elias Valiña in Canfranc – offers a bed, a simple breakfast and laundry. Having someone launder your clothes at the end of a day or several days of walking is really appreciated, and an unusual perk for folks walking a Camino. Our albergue does not offer a pilgrim’s meal for dinner, as some do, but we have a really nice kitchen where people can cook their own meals. That said, we have been offering Pilgrims some food at night becuase the only bar/restaurant in town is closed for two weeks. If you have not packed your own food, the only option for procuring food in Canfranc at this point is the gas station 800 m away, and their offerings are slim as you might imagine.

On our first night on the job, May 16, our albergue was nearly full, 15 of the 16 beds were taken. Once the pilgrims were out the door the next morning, I got to work laundering the bed linens. I’ve never mastered folding fitted sheets, so perhaps this is my chance. While I focused on the laundry, Dana worked on cleaning and organizing the kitchens. The albergue is now in tip-top shape. Almost.

Today I took the bus to Jaca, an easy 25 minute ride, to stock up on more food and supplies for the albergue. One of the women in the village, Maria, does a supply run once a week for the heavy stuff, such as milk, juice, fruit, yogurt, cleaning supplies, and cat food – because the local cats count on us to keep them happy too. But, we need food more than once a week, so trips to Jaca for provisions are needed. Maria speaks no English and my Spanish is weak, so we rely on Google Translate to manage shopping orders and other things.

Jaca is a small city with a compact old town and a Romanesque cathedral first built in the 11th century, with additions made over the next few hundred years. That breath of history is mind-boggling to a North American. I did not visit the cathedral today, but I’ve put that on the list of must-see places over the next couple weeks. So while I didn’t visit any cathedrals or the Citadel today, I did take in the lay of the land for Jaca, noting a few cafés and patisseries that will satisfy my sweet tooth one day.