The two top priorities for pilgrims on the Camino to
Santiago are how to find their way on the route
and how to find
accommodation.
First priority: the route is very well waymarked indeed.
Although I used the Eroski walking notes I could easily have walked by just
following the yellow arrows and waymarks. However I like to know what’s coming
and the distances involved. For those new to the Via de la Plata I say set off
without fear. The locals know the route and I found they were very willing to
help.
Second priority: there are many more options for decent
accommodation nowadays than ever before. I had a list of the accommodation
available along the way and planned my stages accordingly. But it was obvious
to me that the economy of the camino is changing as the market becomes more
competitive. Let me give a brief overview:
In Seville although there is no municipal albergue there is a huge number of options from very cheap hostals to expensive hotels. Usually I
simply use
www.booking.com I have found some real bargains over the
years. This time I stayed in the heart of the Barrio Santa Cruz right in the
centre of Seville. I booked the
Hotel Murillo. The reviews said it was cheap
and clean in a fantastic location. It proved to be all of these things.
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| Albergue Guillena |
From Seville we walked to Guillena here on my first Camino
there was a horrid, dirty little albergue. Now the town boasts a private
albergue which charges 12 euros and a new municipal albergue which charges 10
euros. We slept in the latter and the dead of night it was bitterly cold.
Winter pilgrims need good gear and I was snug inside my sleeping bag.
However even on this first stop it struck me how the economy
of this route has changed. Guillena is a small dormitory town of Seville with
less than 10,000 inhabitants. It is a 23 kms walk from Seville. It now has
three choices for pilgrim accommodation: the municipal albergue which costs 10
euros and the private albergue which costs 12 euros – both with beds in
dormitories with no sheets and towels. The local Hostal Francés has twin rooms
with en suite bathroom, sheets, towels, heating and food available(but not
included) for 15 euros each. It emerged
this was the case all along the route.
Take Monasterio for example. This town is 103 kms from
Seville. It has a number of hostals, a hotel, and a couple of years ago the
local parish church opened a new albergue. Even this Albergue Parochial has a set charge of 10 euros. I visited it to
find it was very well appointed but had no heating. On the wall beside the
poster was a recommendation for the Menu del Peregrino in the local Hotel Moya.
The Menu cost 9€. So the cost of sleeping in the albergue plus dinner was 19€ +
the cost of breakfast the next day. Just
a few yards away the Hostal Moya was advertising “oferta del peregrino” 25€ for
a single or twin room + dinner + breakfast.
For those pilgrims on a budget such as young people there is
no doubt that a basic albergue is great value especially if there are cooking
facilities which they can use. However my experience on this camino is that the
hostelaria market is changing to meet the needs of pilgrims and becoming
increasingly competitive.
“But what about the communal experience of a group of
pilgrims sharing the same albergue?” I
hear people ask. In my youth I did more than my fare share of youth hostelling, camping and sleeping in bothies in the mountains of Scotland . I loved all
of it. However nowadays sharing showers, toilets and dormitories unless it is essential
holds little attraction. That doesn’t mean
the communal spirit is lost. For example by the time we arrived in Carñaveral, 328 kms
from Seville, we had met 6 other pilgrims. The albergue there closed some years ago and
so we all checked into the into the Hostal Malaga. For a twin room it was 15 euros
each for a bed and for a triple 12 euros. We were altogether for dinner and
breakfast but enjoying privacy of showering and sleeping not to mention sheets,
blankets, pillows, fresh towels and heating.
I really do hope that municipal albergues survive these
changing circumstances. However they have to up their game. They have to be
clean, provide comfortable beds with hygienic covers and provide for basic
needs such as toilet paper and some heating when it is freezing.
For pilgrims, especially in winter, it is very economical to
walk with a companion and share hostal accommodation. I also think that
increasingly pilgrims will meet up with others on the way and decide to share
the costs of a twin or triple room. Perhaps there is the need for an internet
matching service for pilgrims before they leave?
Whatever the economic aspects of accommodation much more
important is the human kindness and hospitality provided by many people along
the Camino routes whether they work in public or private albergues, hostals or
hotels.
On the day we walked to Torremejía, 195 kms from Seville, it
started to rain heavily in the last hour. It was a 28 kms stage and we were
tired by the end of the day. We battled through the rain and arrived slightly
bedraggled. We were walking along the main street looking for accommodation when
a man approached, “You’ll be the two Scottish pilgrims” he enquired. I was
astonished. “How do you know that?” I asked. “In winter there are few pilgrims.
Yesterday an Italian told me that there were two Scottish guys coming behind”. “Can
you recommend a place where we can stay?” I asked. “Yes in my albergue” he
replied. “Just come with me”. At that he walked us to his car, introduced us to
his wife and drove us to the local Albergue Turistico which he and wife run.
It
was a beautifully renovated historic building. "Beds for 12 euros", he said,
showing us where the lights were and checking the water was piping hot. He gave
us keys and explained he had to go because his father was ill. “Is there somewhere
we can eat?” we enquired. “Everything is closed in the evening at this time of
year...but I tell you what, have a shower, get changed and I’ll come back a
little later and we’ll see what can be done.”
On his return we again got in his car and we drove to the main street
where he parked outside a restaurant. “This is my family’s place” he explained,
“we’ve opened for you.” We were only two
customers. We had a drink before dinner, a sopera with as much soup as we could eat,
roast chicken with chips and salad, fresh fruit and ice cream for dessert plus
coffee and a liqueur. Well it had been a hard day. He presented the bill for 23
euros. Of course we paid more which he accepted reluctantly. Thank you to Alonso and his wife Fernanda
because of them and people like them we can all truly praise decent
accommodation.
Next ...In praise of lentejas!
