Hospitalera
Report from Loretta
I
served at the municipal albergue “Domenico Laffi” in El Burgo Ranero (between
Sahagun and Leon) the last two weeks of Oct 2012. I arrived by train from
Madrid Chamartin Station to Palencia and then a regional train to the village.
It was a short walk from the station on a gravel bumpy road where I immediately
fell on top of my suitcase when the wheels got stuck. We had many comical
experiences here, like the electricity going out, the roof leaking, the water
stopped running, a bedbug incident, nearly running out of fire wood when it was
ever so cold .... lots of troubleshooting to do and looking for solutions to
problems. El Burgo Ranero village has a population around 800 people. There is
a church, a school, a town hall (very helpful municipal staff for problems and
supplies), a tienda, farmacia, medico, 2 bars/restaurants/hostals and two other
privado albergues (which were closed at this time of year). The local folk were
very friendly and interested in the comings and goings at the albergue. Many
stopped by to say hola. Our albergue was a donativo albergue and it had 28 beds
and we were full nearly every night and the overflow had to go to the private
hostals, often grudgingly. It is
unusual but at this albergue the hospitaleros sleep in a room at the back of
the building next door in an add-on room.
So every night at 10 pm we would close and head to our room. Over there
we had all the supplies for the albergue, like firewood, toilet paper, cleaning
products etc. Our albergue had a wonderful well equipped kitchen with many
dishes and pots and pans, a washer and dryer and free internet. There was also free
wifi at one of the bars and the school. Our wonderful fireplace kept our pilgrims happy and warm.
Often we had communal meals in our lounge where people contributed what they
had to the meal or pilgrims took a collection to buy food to cook for the group.
The atmosphere was always welcoming and friendly. There was a lot of fun and
fellowship.
Sometimes we went to the restaurant and bar with the pilgrims to
eat, watch soccer and socialize, extending our closing a wee bit. The church
had Mass nearly daily at 11 am or 12:15 pm on Sundays. The village not only had
a regional train station but an Alsa bus stop, so sometimes our pilgrims who
had to move on with transit were able to get on their way when tired or
injured. Many interesting things happen while serving. One day we had a Korean
choir arrive for the night (we were told of this group in advance by the Amigos
del Camino de Santiago) and they, with costumes and musical instruments, put on
a concert at the albergue for the pilgrims and some of the villagers.
Another
time, some members of the Amigos del Camino de Santiago arrived to say hello.
They were the group that cleans up the litter on the camino and were in our
area to do their work. A Spanish hospitalero serving in Calzadilla de los
Hermanillos came by and took us for outings on our time off, once to Sahagun on
market day and another time to Bericanos to visit hospitaleras from Italy and
Canada serving there.
Overall,
with the daily routines of cleaning, registering and problem solving ... it was
a very pleasant but tiring experience. This was my second hospitalero
experience and I am thinking about number 3 in two years time again.... Loretta
I'm spreading the word amongst the PNW pilgrims...have a great training!!!!
ReplyDeleteRuss and I will be hospitaleros in El Burgo Ranero the first half of May 2013. I love seeing Loretta's report and photos!
ReplyDelete