39 new Hospitaleros

We have just returned from Winnipeg and Victoria and there are now 39 newly trained hospitaleros, many of whom will be volunteering in Spain and France during the 2016 season.

Winnipeg October 16-18

Victoria October 23-25

Hospitalero training

We are fully booked for the Victoria training, but still have spaces in the Winnipeg weekend, October 16-18. Thank you for your interest. This year we have 27 Canadian hospitaleros serving in Spain and France!!

Hospitalero training offered in Victoria and Winnipeg in 2015!

Many Canadians are on the Camino now and many more will continue to go in the coming months. For some, upon return, there is a yearning to 'give back' for all that they have experienced on their pilgrimage. For those who would like to return to the Camino as a hospitalera/o, we will be offering two courses this autumn, one in Winnipeg on the weekend of the 16th-18th October and one in Victoria from the 23rd-25th October. Please click on the city for the registration information.

Those people who participated in the Halifax hospitalero training are still in the process of applying for postings for this year, but, so far we have 25 people who will be serving in Spain and France in 2015. Laura is just finishing her fortnight in Ponferrada and Robin is about to start his on the 15th in Nàjera. For the up-to-date list, please clink here. For those of you who will be walking the Ruta de la Plata, it looks like we have Salamanca and Zamora covered for most of September and again for the first part of November. Remember to drop in, say hello and take your friendly hospitalero/a out for coffee or a beer!
Please let us know if and when you have a posting and I'll get it up on this site asap.

As Tom said in a recent email, he and I are so lucky to be able to flit around the country to provide the hospitalero training. Besides seeing the various chapters of the CCoP in action, we also enjoy high quality tapas and we meet the most incredible people who are willing to pay lots of money to fly thousands of kilometres, to smile at pilgrims and make them tea.....and more. We continue to thank you all for your commitment and we know that you are appreciated by the Spanish albergues and the pilgrims.

Many Canadians going to serve

The last training for the spring will be in Halifax in May and already we have many Canadians who have been posted to Spain......and two to France. 

From June 15-July 1, Barbara, Donna and Susan will be hospitaleras at the CSJ    albergue in Rabanal. This is known as Canada week and  sure the flag will be flying. If you are interested in volunteering in Rabanal next year, now is the time to apply. 

And elsewhere:

Peggy will be serving in Zamora from June 1-15.  Ingrid and Mary Lynn hopes be there from July 15-31. 

Ingrid will also serve in Miraz from August 12-28. 

From September 1-15, Sally will be in Zamora and Lily will be in Salamanca. Larry will follow Lily from September 16-30. 

Ron and Yvonne will serve in Bordeaux from September 21-28. 

And welcoming autumn/winter pilgrims to Salamanca from November 1-15 will be Dennis and Cindy. 

If you have friends walking at these times, encourage them to drop in and say hello. 

For anyone interested in a placement on the Caminho Portugese, Geof, from Nova Scotia, retired a few years ago, bought a wreck in Portugal, 9km south of Tui, Spain, fixed it up, and now welcomes and nourishes up to 16 pilgrims a night. All donativo. It's a terrific place and he could certainly use some help this season as his partner is recovering from a broken wrist. You can reach him at quintaestradaromana*gmail.com. I've substituted for the "at" sign to try and avoid spam. 

Buen camino all!

Hospitalero Training Schedule for 2015

If you had a wonderful time on the camino and are looking for a way to give back, we are again offering hospitalero training. What could be better than greeting pilgrims, making them comfortable, and helping them on their way the next day. It's a very rewarding experience and well over 100 Canadians have returned to Spain and France to volunteer. If you'd like to read a little more about this extraordinary experience, just scroll down the blog. Reports from the 2014 season have come in from Foncebadon, Pieros, Zamora and Nájera to name a few.

To register for the training in Calgary, March 20-22, you will find the registration form here. For Toronto March 27 - 29, click here.  And for training in Halifax from May 1-3, 2015, click here. There will be no training on the west coast this year until the autumn. Dates will for this will be announced later.

Tom will be conducting the training this year with help from experienced hospitaleros so there will be new stories and we guarantee and great experience. The weekends run from Friday evening, including a welcome Spanish dinner, to the closing on Sunday with members of the local community joining in.  Do not hesitate to contact Tom if you have any questions. His email is included on the registration form.