14 pilgrims completed their training this past weekend in Victoria, and are now ready to serve as hospitaleros in France, Spain or Italy. As they find their posting, we will list their names on the hospitalero post page on this blog. And if you're reading this and haven't advised us of a posting, please do so. We have 31 people from Canada, serving this year!!
If you are interested in returning to the Camino to welcome and care for other pilgrims, this is for you. Our weekend training starts on Friday evening with a dinner and then continues on Saturday and Sunday from 8-4. We have a strong pilgrim community in Victoria and are happy to say that we can billet anyone who is coming from out of town.
If you are interested, please fill out the registration form and/or email Shannon (email embedded below) for more information.
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Thank you for your interest in training to be a hospitaler@. Over the past 18 years, we have trained over 450 hospitaler@s. This year over 50 positions on the Camino de Santiago have been staffed by Canadian hospitaler@s. We guarantee that the training will be a weekend of fun, learning, and reinforcement of all those things you learned and felt on the Camino. Some folks will be coming from out of town and will require accommodation. If you have room to billet a single or couple, please indicate below. You can have great fun reliving the camino!
The training you will receive is the same as is offered in Spain, the US, South Africa and Australia. The Spanish Federation requires that before you take the course, you must have walked or cycled one of the Caminos and have stayed in some of the Donativo, municipal or private albergues. Please indicate below which route(s) you have walked and please name 2 or 3 of the albergues in which you stayed. If you would like to comment on the kind of hospitality you received from these albergues, we would be grateful.
Please complete this form and email it to Shannon Buchan. The registration fee of $150 can be sent by etransfer to Shannon. This fee is used to pay for the all training materials and your meals from Friday evening to Sunday lunch (except Saturday night ). Any money left after the expenses for the weekend will be donated to the albergues on the Camino.
Name:
Address:
Telephone : email:
Will you require billeting for the Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights?
Can you provide billeting for the Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights?
Any food restrictions we should be aware of?
When did you walk/cycle the camino? Month and year(s) please.
Which route and departing from which town in France or Spain__________________________
Please list 2 or 3 Donativo albergues in which you stayed.
Why do you want to be a hospitaler@? (Take as much room as you need)
Are you prepared to volunteer for 15 days in 2026/27? The Federation books volunteers from the 1st to the 15th of the month of the 16th to 30th/31st. They are keen that as a trainee, you are prepared to serve sooner than later. To see where Canadian Hosptialer@s are serving this year, please go to our blog.
When I have received your registration, I will send out a detailed schedule and map.
Thanks,
Mary Virtue (Victoria) & Daphne Hnatiuk (Vancouver)
Shannon Buchan (Victoria) & Terry Ogilvie (Victoria)
shannon_buchan@hotmail.com
Laurel and Jim Kreuger sent this report:
After completing the hospitalero/a training in Saskatoon, which was hosted by the Saskatoon Chapter and ably facilitated by Tom Friesen of London, Ontario, we promptly applied to volunteer in an ostello (hostel) in Italy somewhere along the Via Francigena (the pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome). We had walked the route in 2022 and had a favourite ostello that we had stayed at — Casa del Pellegrino G. Mancino in Valpromaro, a small village located near Lucca, Tuscany. We were thrilled when we were assigned to serve there from April 19 - 27, 2024!
Upon our return to Valpromaro two things became clear. The community was not quite as picturesque as we remembered it and the hostel was not quite as beautiful. This prompted us to wonder why we both remembered it so fondly … upon brief reflection, we realized that it was definitely the two ospitalieras (hospitaleros/as) who had made our stay there so memorable. So it was with this in mind that we began our week as ospitalieras ourselves, aiming to provide kindness and nourishment to pilgrims walking the Via Francigena. As we are unable to speak Italian, we were fortunately partnered with Luciano, an ospitaliero from near Turin. Luciano is a retired musical instrument craftsman who spent his career building harpsichords in his own workshop. Together the three of us relied on smiles, charades, broken French, and Google translate (Italian-English-Italian) to communicate and coordinate our thoughts, plans, and cooking. We told Luciano that he is the “Generale” and we are the “soldati” (soldiers) in the ostello. We hosted pilgrims from Italy, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, Britain, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Denmark. It was wonderful to hear about their experiences on the Via Francigena and on the Camino de Santiago (as many have walked there previously or are on their way there next)!
Although long and tiring, our days at Valpromaro went by quickly. After learning the routines, we appreciated the peaceful regimen: clean, cook, host, repeat.
6:30 a.m.: make coffee and set the table for breakfast (bread, jam, fruit, and hard-boiled eggs)
7:00 - 7:30: pilgrims’ breakfast
7:30 - 8:30: the pilgrims depart
8:30 - 10:00: clean the hostel
10:00 - 11:00: shower and do laundry (hang it outside)
11:00 - 1:00: prepare bread dough, collect pine cones for the fireplace, fill acqua frizzante bottles, etc.
1:00 p.m.: ospitalieras’ lunch
1:30 - 2:30: riposo (rest)
2:30 - 5:00: welcome new pilgrims
3:00 - 7:00: prepare supper (soup/salad, bread, main dish, and cake)
7:30 - 8:30: pilgrims’ supper
8:30 - 9:30: wash dishes, clean the kitchen, and visit with pilgrims
9:30: bedtime
With no local store and Luciano without a car, we ospitalieras worked with the ingredients on hand in the hostel cucina. Luciano determined the menu and cooked the main dish, while Jim prepared the soup or salad. Laurel quickly found her groove as the ostello baker and experimented daily with the different flours she found in the cupboard. Breads, buns, and cakes soon filled the pantry and our bellies. Dissatisfied with the quality of the bread that she was turning out, Laurel researched the proper Italian flour for bread and learned it to be “Farina Manitoba” — upon her request, the local committee sourced some. Our meals now included cinnamon buns and focaccia.
By the end of the week we were exhausted, but sad to leave Luciano behind. Hugs and last minute photos almost made us miss our bus to Lucca.
From Shannon Buchan, Victoria BC, currently in Salamanca:
I am half way through my volunteer time here in the beautiful city of Salamanca on the Via de la Plata and other routes as I have discovered. The albergue is a small one with only 16 beds. I have had as few as two pilgrims one night to 12 on one occasion. I had been nervous as my Spanish is so basic but of the 53 pilgrims this week only 22 were Spanish. The rest have come from all over the world. Surprisingly no Canadians or Americans have come.
I have learned all the basic phrases I need to know to explain the workings of the Albergue and have created a couple of signs in Spanish. For all the other pilgrims it’s a combination of Google Translate and charades.We had a very busy and fun Hospitalero training session in Victoria, the weekend of September 13-15. As well as the regular curriculum, we were able to speak, via WhatsApp video, to Judy from Victoria and Janine from Sydney, Australia, who were nearing the end of their service at Guacelmo in Rabanal. Our group in Victoria were just finishing their breakfast and Judy and Janine had finished serving cake and tea in the garden of the albergue and would soon be on their way to a celebratory G&T at the bar. If you'd like to ready about their time there, you can read Judy's blog: https://throughourlookingglass.ca We also had a presentation from Calvin and Jeannie who had served in Villalcazar de Sirga, in 2016. They have such wonderful memories and in their presentation covered a couple of topics: Getting along with the townsfolk and Providing a warm welcome at the albergue, as well as some interesting adventures. Unfortunately, this albergue is no longer on the list of those at which we volunteer, but I believe it is typical of albergues in small towns on the Meseta.
Below is a photo of the new hospitaleros with trainers Mary, Terry and Shannon. Thanks to all for making this such a great weekend.
Last year well over 40 postings were attended by Canadian trained hospitaler@s. We posted the first name and location of those we knew about and are aware that other experienced hospitaler@s went back to serve in Spain, France, Portugal or Italy.
As of this writing there are over 30 “destinos” which will be attended to by Canadian hospitaler@s in 2024. If you are serving this year, can you please contact Mary Virtue (maryvirtue(at)shaw.ca) or Tom (tomfriesen50(at)outlook.com) We will put your first name, location and dates on this blog. This may aid in knowing who is serving at the same time. Some hospitaler@s have managed to meet, debrief or support each other in this way.
Last year we designed a t-shirt to be given to hospitaler@s. It is available free of charge to those who will serve or have served. Contact Tom if you would like one. Please give me your size and the address to mail it to.
We offered a hospitaler@ training in Gatineau in mid-January and were gratified that more than half of the participants have already been assigned a hospitaler@ posting. There are more training courses planned for Fredericton, Kelowna and London. Follow this space for notice and to register. To receive an application to register, please contact Mary or Tom.
30th August, 2023.
Polo de Allende, Spain.
Only 4 hours after we arrived at Polagrino Albergue, Camino Primitivo, we leapt into action to serve 15 pilgrims for dinner.
We were expecting maybe 6 pilgrims to come, but people kept coming because of the rain. By 8, we had 15 very cold and hungry pilgrims waiting to be fed, a full house.
At this albergue, we are not only doing the usual house keeping duty, we are also need to cook vegetarian meal for whoever want to join in.
We arrive the day during a switch over day, so luckily other hospitalerors quickly brought us up to date. The house keeping part isn’t tough, normal task one needs to do at home.
If you are stationed at an albergue that needed to cook for a large crowd, work out a menu that is delicious and easy to put together. Our to go menu is: mixed salad, lentil soup, bread and vegetable pastas. Salad and soup can be made ahead. Pasta can be boiled ahead to al dente then rinsed with cold water to stop it continuing to cook. Sauce also can be made ahead and keep it warm. About half hour before dinner, warm up the sauce. Boil a big pot of water and once the water is hot, put to pasta back in for a few minutes to warm up, then serve. To save time, we always use the kettle to boil the water.
Don’t make everything last minute. Makig food ahead of time can save a lot of stress when 15 hungry mouths are waiting. Also you can visually portion everything when they are cooked ahead of time. In case you need more food, add stuff to your salad, like canned corns or canned white beans. We always make more so we can have the leftover for the next day, if there is anything left.
This albergue has an instruction sheet on all tasks, make it very easy for referencing.
Be prepared to have a lot of downtime. You aren’t working all the time at the albergue. Bring a book, learn Spanish, do a painting. You need something to occupy your time as some albergues are located at tiny villages with not much to do, like this one we are at.
Divide tasks in among of hospitaleros. If you can’t cook well, try food prep and let someone else who can cook well to do the cooking. Or stay out of the kitchen and do clean up instead. One person can do changing of bed sheets while the other one mops the floor. It creates less conflict when tasks are divided.
Spend time talking to pilgrims. Everyone brings something unique to the table. Some people aren’t the chatty type, respect that and give them space.
Bring something that you think will be nice addition to the albergue. We brought Canadian pins to give out. I brought Montreal Steak spicy for cooking. Previously I have brought curry powder to make curried potatoes. We also brought heavy duty house gloves for washing dishes and cleaning yucky stuff. Not every albergue stocks gloves. Leave them for the next crew.
A warm welcome and smile goes a long way.
Dennis Tam
You have walked the Camino de Santiago and enjoyed staying at donativo albergues. They were usually located in "quaint - older" places but you enjoyed the convivial atmosphere among pilgrims that made you feel mentally refreshed in the morning when you left.
This just in from Caroline Laing, one of our newest hospitaleras:
Happy Easter!! 😄✨🌸Sent from my iPhone
We will be offering Hospitaler@ Training in Halifax, London and Victoria on the following dates. If you are interested in the training so that you can return to Spain and serve other pilgrims, please contact Tom Friesen or Mary Virtue. They will then send you an word.doc application to fill out and return.
Halifax, NS May 19-21 Tom Friesen
London, ON June 23-25 Tom Friesen
Victoria, BC September 1-3 Mary Virtue
The training starts on a Friday evening with a Spanish meal and introductions and then continues on Saturday and Sunday from 8-4 each day. We try our best to find billeting for those from out of town. Cost for materials, food, etc. is $125 or a donativo.
There have been some changes in the steps to take when applying to serve at an albrgue overseen by HOSVOL. The coordinator in Spain is now Manual Oliva. Manuel wants all initial applications for service (in a HOSVOL albergue) to come through Tom Friesen tomfriesen@hotmail.com). An application from you will consist of an email to Tom, with the choice of month that you are free to serve and a choice of albergue from the HOSVOL list. Tom will forward on your information (application and passport photo page) including your offered time (first or last half month). If you are restricted to a specific first or last half of a month, please do indicate this. And if you don’t have a preference for an albergue you could perhaps indicate city or rural. With this kind of information, it makes it easier for Manuel to respond and offer you a specfic albergue.
Also, for this summer, two albergues, which are usually very busy will be posting for shorter periods of time.
Estella will change hospice every Saturday in July, Aug, Sept, so only serving 1 week, not 2.
Ponferrada will have 10 day postings in July, Aug, Sept.
Please click on the link to your right to see where Canadian Hospitaler@s have been posted so far this year. The photos below are from the albergue in Salamanca, February 2019.
I know it seems a long way away, but albergues are already trying to schedule for next year. Please remember that to volunteer at those donativo albergues scheduled by HOSVOL, you must contact Anai Barreda at hosvol@caminosantiago.org .
For Grado (Camino Primitivo), Nájera (Camino Francés) and Canfranc (Camino Aragones), please contact Rebekah Scott
Miraz, on the Camino del Norte has just posted the times when they need volunteers. As you can see below, there are a few weeks already booked, but much is still available. If you are interested, please get in touch with Pricilla White
1 Arrive: Wednesday 29 March - Depart: Thursday 13 April - taken
2 Arrive: Wednesday 12 April - Depart: Thursday 27 April
3: Arrive: Wednesday 26 April - Depart: Thursday 11 May
4: Arrive: Wednesday 10 May - Depart: Thursday 25 May - taken
5: Arrive: Wednesday 24 May - Depart: Thursday 8 June - taken
6: Arrive: Wednesday 7 June - Depart: Thursday 22 June - taken
7: Arrive: Wednesday 21 June - Depart: Thursday 6 July
8: Arrive: Wednesday 5 July - Depart: Thursday 20 July
9: Arrive: Wednesday 19 July - Depart: Thursday 3 August
10: Arrive: Wednesday 2 August - Depart: Thursday 17 August
11: Arrive: Wednesday 16 August - Depart: Thursday 31 August
12: Arrive: Wednesday 30 August - Depart: Thursday 14 September
13: Arrive: Wednesday 13 September - Depart: Thursday 28 September
14: Arrive: Wednesday 27 September - Depart: Thursday 12 October - taken
15: Arrive: Wednesday 11 October - Leave: Depart: Thursday 26 October - taken
We are delighted to announce that we will be offering a hybrid Zoom/in-person training session for those past pilgrims who are eager to return to the Camino and serve their fellow pilgrims.
This training will be a mixture of an initial Zoom meeting with those in your geographic vicinity during the first week of April. That date will be decided by the trainer in your area. The second part will be 2 Zoom sessions on April 9 and 10th and all the trainers from across Canada will be in attendance to not only offer sections of the training but to provide a depth and breadth of experience that cannot be offered in an in-person training. Each day will be about 3 hours in length with a bio break.
The times for April 9th and 10th will be:
10am. Pacific
11am Mountain
1pm Central
3pm Maritime
As spring comes to all of us at different times, the last day of training will be an in-person one on a day in your area that allows for an outdoor option.
If you are interested in serving in France or Spain in 2022 or 2023, please fill out an application. But first, have a read through the FAQs , below:
1. What is the goal of the Canadian Hospitalero program?
We want to inform, train and place well-trained, compassionate hospitaleros on a Camino, in albergues or gîtes in Spain, France, Italy or Portugal. If you are a woman, you become a (h)ospitalera voluntaria and if you are a man, you will be a (h)ospitalero voluntario. The H is spelled but not pronounced in Spanish and the second last vowel is stressed.
2. What are the requirements for taking training as a hospitalero/a?
The person taking training should have walked as a pilgrim. Occasionally a spouse or other relative who has not walked but wishes to serve, has taken the training. We do not require that you have stayed in gîtes or albergues but this will aid in your ability to understand and apply the training.
3. Does the training have a time limit/expiry date?
No. Taking the training once will allow you to serve in multiple places and times. We hope that people who train this year will plan to serve within the next year or two.
4. What are the benefits of service?
You are given a safe and secure space within the albergue. You have the opportunity to meet and interact with pilgrims at a time when they are "in a thin place, needing help and support to walk their pilgrimage. It is a wonderful opportunity to experience the culture and community of a town or city in Spain, France, Italy or Portugal. Friendships are likely to develop that will last a long time.
5. What are the duties of a hospitalero/a?
The tasks can vary with the services that the albergue provides. In most albergues there is a requirement for cleaning after the pilgrims leave. As the pilgrims arrive, we welcome them, register them and orient them to the albergue and the community services. In some (mainly parochial) albergues, there may be a pilgrim communal meal served and the chance for pilgrims to attend an optional vesper service conducted by the hospitalero/a. The hospitalero/a is expected to solicit a donation but never give a set amount and is expected to treat all guests the same, regardless of what they donate, without discrimination or favour. The pilgrim is considered a guest in our "home" and we train hospitalero/as to keep this in front of mind.
6. Do I get a choice of where to serve?
There are only certain albergues (about 35) that we have contacts with, but of course a trained hospitalero/a is welcome to go wherever they wish. The coordinators (in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal often give choices when no preference is expressed.) The vast majority of our trainees work in donativo albergues.
7. Is there pay or support to arrive at or serve at my posting?
As hospitalero/as, it is our responsibility to pay for our transportation and expenses to arrive at the albergue the day before our "shift" begins. In a parochial albergue where meals are prepared, we do not normally contribute (except for our own supplies, wine or spirits). In albergues like municipal albergues where the pilgrims buy or bring their own food, the hospitalero/a also buys their own food.
8. Do I have to administer first aid?
As a condition of insurance, you are asked NOT to provide first aid unless you are a trained medical professional. Of course, you can be proactive by hydrating pilgrims, providing first aid supplies and support for blister prevention and treatment, etc.
9. Do I have to take charge of the money donated?
The conditions in the albergues vary greatly and some albergues provide the hospitalero access to the donations box to use for staples in the albergue, the rest being deposited into the bank. In other cases, there is a local supervisor who will take care of the money.
10. What happens if there is a problem that I/we are unable to solve?
You are given the name and contact of an albergue supervisor whom you may phone or email to help make decisions that are beyond your control.
11. What can I do to prepare to serve before my posting place and time arrives?
Make sure that you are in good health. Work on your language skills (although you will hear us ask what language you smile in). We have some materials that we will share as well as recordings of hospitaleros taking about their service.
12. What is it like to have to observe Covid protocols in the albergues?
The protocols are in transition but generally there is a reduced capacity, temperature checks to enter, social distancing, less access to kitchen the normally provided and possibly no food provided to pilgrims. Also, masking while indoors.
It's been awhile since there has been anything posted on this blog because there has not been anything to post. However, now that Spain and France are opening up again and pilgrims are walking the Camino, hospitaleros are needed. If you are itching to go and serve, please contact Tom or Mary.
We had about 55 people attend the two Zoom meetings on the weekend and the discussion was lively. We were very lucky to have Rebekah Scott sit in on both meetings and Guibert Fortin and Herman Velvis (from the Netherlands) attended as well. Guibert has served in Zamora in June see below for their protocols for both pilgrims and hospitaleros), and will be at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago in August. He had some interesting things to say about specific Covid procedures. Herman also had some very useful tips for all prospective hospitaleros and these are all on the video. Please click here to see the video. The passcode is: J3SYFuD!
We talked about the the various organizations who are providing hospitaleros for albergues on the Camino. Many of you know of HOSVOL and our contact that is Anai Barreda. We will be posting an updated list of albergues as soon as it's available. Meanwhile, we have the general protocols from Hosvol and also the specific protocols for the albergue in Zamora, which is multilingual. These are all at the bottom of this page.
Another organization is ACC, Acogida Cristiana en los caminos de Santiago, which accepts volunteers to work at the Pilgrim office in Santiago de Compostela. We've had a number of volunteers work there and it's hard work, but the stories are wonderful.
The Confraternity of Saint James in London, UK, posts volunteers to Albergue Guacelmo in Rabanal del Camino and the Albergue de Peregrinos in Miraz on the Camino del Norte. These two albergues will remain closed for the season and they plan to reopen April 2022.
Rebekah Scott is on the board of the FICS (Fraternidad Internacional del Camino de Santiago) and they are now renovating and finding volunteers for 3 albergues: Grado on the Camino Primitivo; Canfranc on the Camino Aragones; and Nájera on the Camino Francés. Grado is staffed for the season, but volunteers are still needed for Canfranc and Nájera. Any queries can be sent directly to Rebekah.
The FFACC Fédération Française des Associations des Chemins de Saint Jacques de Compostelle has now centralized all hospitalero matters with one person, Gilbert Planchat Any interest that you have in serving in France should be directed to him.
Protocols for pilgrims arriving at the albergue in Zamora.
Protocols for hospitaleros serving at the albergue in Zamora.
HOSVOL Protocols for hospitaleros & Pilgrims
HOSVOL Protocols for the albergue
The following was posted by the American Pilgrims on the Camino and give us an idea of what the current state is for the training and serving at albergues in Spain.
Hello hospitaleros,
All of you have completed the hospitalero training program of American Pilgrims on the Camino, which follows the training curriculum of the Federación Española de Asociaciones de Amigos del Camino de Santiago (the Federation). Many of us are eager to know whether serving on the Camino might be possible in 2021. On December 12-13, 2020, veteran hospitaleros who volunteer through the Federation held their annual encuentro on Zoom. Anai Barreda, the volunteer who has coordinated placement of hospitaleros in the network of Federation albergues for many years, addressed some of the most pressing questions in the following remarks, which have been translated from Spanish and paraphrased for clarity. Bottom line – patience and hope.
The American Pilgrims Hospitalero Training Team
January, 2021
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When registering for this encuentro, some hospitaleros expressed interest in the Federation’s plans for 2021. Many others outside our group who are interested in the Camino de Santiago are watching us as well.
As is the case in our respective countries, we do not know what awaits us in the coming months. The Federation Hospitalero program has assumed that we are willing to serve pilgrims as was done in some albergues during 2020, but it is also clear that we have to wait. The hopeful news about vaccines against Covid19 allow us to hold some expectations but everything is still uncertain.
Will we be able go to the albergues? We have had excellent experiences in 2020 in 4 albergues -only 4 albergues- that were opened to serve pilgrims. All the others remained closed and, at the moment, we do not know what their owners are thinking about reopening. These decisions will be made at the beginning of the year; we believe that more albergues will be motivated to open but perhaps others will decide to wait even longer. As we continue to be interested in what they are thinking as well as their fears and needs, we must be very patient and we hospitaleros must not put any pressure on these owners who have many other responsibilities. They know (because we have informed them) that we are ready to reopen and have had experience with receiving and welcoming pilgrims in other places in spite of the coronavirus and that the results have been good.
How many hospitaleros will we need? This is a question that we can’t answer now. We aren’t concerned because our group of Hospitaleros is a force of volunteers like nowhere else on the Camino. But the reality is that the uncertainties facing us present a barrier to adding new hospitaleros to the extent that we have up to now.
How many new hospitaleros can the organization “absorb”? Two questions affect the answer to this question. One, what will be the need for hospitaleros at albergues when we still do not know if they will open or not. Another is whether it is possible to offer training courses for new hospitaleros.
Will it be possible to conduct training courses in person? If we offer courses in person, it will be necessary to find places that allow distancing in the classroom and in the sleeping and eating areas. All of you who are present at this encuentro know that the characteristics of hospitalero training courses and the content itself are completely opposite of what health measures require in the current situation. Social distancing is not a part of hospitalero practice; neither among those who attend the courses nor when we welcome pilgrims. Our practice is to receive and welcome pilgrims with closeness and personal contact. That’s why the relationship of hospitaleros and pilgrims has been difficult this year. Those of us who focus on the organization of the courses and their delivery do not see a possibility of online courses because the uniqueness of our training can’t be communicated from the solitude of our homes.
Will the contents of the workshops change? Again, difficult to answer. It is evident that as long as we do not fully return to normality, and until Covid19 is a globally controlled disease, we will have to continue imposing distance, prevention and disinfection measures and these things will be added to the course. But - and this is the most worrying thing - everything related to our way of welcoming that based on closeness and physical proximity will be prohibited until further notice. How can we explain that listening and hugging are fundamental parts of our style of welcome (and a fundamental part of the success of our program of Hospitaleros on the Camino) but now we can’t do any of that?
Do we search for another different approach? We think not. After the holidays, the situation will have to be faced. We will see what we can add to our course that complies with health regulations, but communicates to new hospitaleros that a traditional reception on the Camino is still possible in spite of current difficulties because the attitudes expected of a hospitalero continue to be valid. However, we have to find a way to substitute other “charms” for a time. Perhaps some of the hospitaleros who have served during this year’s lock down can give some advice.
Will hospitaleros be asked to be vaccinated against Covid 19 in order to serve at an albergue? Will the pilgrims be asked? Vaccinations in Spain are not mandatory according to current laws, so we will not ask any hospitalero for a certificate showing that they have been vaccinated against Covid19, nor will we ask the same of any pilgrim that we welcome while we serve. However, we do recommend vaccination to avoid Covid 19 similar to other vaccinations against diseases that are available in the Spanish healthcare system
