A Special Albergue

We have stayed in a variety of places. Tonight we are in a room with 20 bunk beds and we all got top bunks. But...last night was special. The albergue didn't look like much as we walked to the door. The hospitalier greeted us, checked us in and carried our bags  to the attic room. The albergue is called San Francisco De Asis and is a former rectory. The attic room is where the pilgrims sleep-on mats on the floor. (We did it the night before too in an albergue in Granon.) The hospitalier is appropriately named Santiago!  He speaks only limited English so it was tricky trying to communicate, but an English girl and a Russian girl helped. We helped with meal preparations and cleanup and then we were invited to a little prayer room for an evening prayer service. There were only 6 pilgrims staying in the place and everyone attended. There's so much more, but no way I can express the feeling. Santiago has walked the Camino 10 times! He volunteers at the house to care for pilgrims and give back. I asked if he chose to work at the St. Francis house and he said the house chose him! A cool fact- there is a famous Spanish basketball player named Pau Gasol who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, Mona's favorite team. (Mona has a t-shirt with his name on it too!) When Mona said she was from Texas, Santiago mentioned Pau. Go Spurs Go! Anyway, it was another perfect Camino experience and we we'll remember it, and Santiago, fondly.

We are in San Juan de Ortega tonight and the WiFi is barely working so I can't attach any pictures. Maybe tomorrow. (And maybe we'll be working better too!)

One last thing we are open for questions and more comments! If you can't leave a comment due to technical difficulties please call Chuck, Amy or Amber at the Lebanon Library (448-2459) for help.