Inside Albergue Life

Today, walking in the rain, I decided I wanted to share albergue life in more detail.

One of the things that surprised me most about the Camino was how quickly strangers start to feel familiar. There's something about walking all day that removes a lot of the usual walls between people.

I've stayed in a mix of places along the Camino — big dorm rooms with rows of bunk beds, smaller rooms with four or six beds, and mostly private rooms inside albergues. I've learned that no matter what kind of room you have, you still end up sharing part of the experience with everyone around you.

The dorm rooms are exactly what you would imagine. Backpacks lined against walls, clothes hanging everywhere to dry, the sound of zippers opening before sunrise, and someone always trying to quietly organize their things in the dark with a headlamp. Ear plugs become very important. So does patience. But there's also something comforting about it. Everyone is tired. Everyone is trying. Everyone understands.

The smaller shared rooms feel calmer and a little more personal. The private rooms give you a chance to exhale and rest your body after long days of walking. I've appreciated all of them for different reasons.

I've learned that the 20-40 age groups tend towards the big dorm room as they are very inexpensive. The over 60 opt for the private rooms with their own bathroom. The 40-60 group uses a combination of both.

I can say that I have tried all options because I felt that community rooms of any size are a huge part of the Camino and I did not want to miss that experience. I will admit I prefer private rooms though.

But honestly, some of the best parts of albergue life happen around the dinner table.

The pilgrim dinners are one of my favorite parts of the Camino. Long tables filled with people from all over the world who, just hours earlier, were strangers passing each other on the trail. By dinner, you're sharing bread, wine, stories, blisters, laughter, and advice about tomorrow's walk.

The meals themselves are usually simple — soup, salad, bread, pasta, chicken, potatoes, maybe dessert and wine. Nothing fancy. But after walking all day, it tastes wonderful. There's a kind of gratitude around the table that's hard to explain unless you've experienced it. There's no menu to choose from. You just eat what is put in front of you and each meal tastes like the best thing you have ever eaten.

Some dinners are loud and joyful. Other nights are quieter, with tired pilgrims speaking softly in different languages. Sometimes people sit together even when they can barely communicate verbally. The Camino has a way of making conversation happen anyway.

I've noticed that people open up quickly here. Maybe because everyone is away from normal life. Maybe because walking strips things down to what really matters. Whatever the reason, conversations often become surprisingly real.

You can arrive at an albergue feeling completely alone and leave the next morning feeling connected to people you may never see again. That's part of the magic of the Camino.

The albergues seem to have a staff of three people at the most and they are the friendliest, most helpful and happiest people ever. Imagine that you are one of the staff in an albergue. Between noon and 4:00 you are inundated with pilgrims arriving. You have to check everyone in, fill out information from their passport, try to communicate in multiple languages using hand gestures or pointing at signs or even miming. At the same time the other staff is trying to fulfill food and drink orders for one pilgrim after another, because everyone is hungry when they arrive, again in multiple languages. Once the rush dies down then those same two or three staff start preparing the pilgrims dinner which is usually served about 6:00 — cook, serve and clean up. And I am quite certain that these same people are the ones cleaning the rooms after the pilgrims leave in the morning and then repeat the whole process over and over again.

These are extremely hard working people and I have grown to admire all of them.

Nothing is fancy on the Camino. If you are in any kind of multi pilgrim room you are handed a sealed bag with a paper sheet and pillowcase at check in. It is up to you to provide your own sleeping bag or, in my case, sleep liner. The beds in the private rooms are already made with normal linens. The private rooms are not fancy. My room tonight is 139 square feet but has everything I need — a single chair in addition to the one twin bed, hangers on a small metal clothes rack so I can hang my clothes to dry, shower, sink and toilet. What more do you need?

If the albergue offers breakfast, again it is a pilgrims breakfast. No menu but a buffet which typically includes sealed yogurt cups, cellophane wrapped muffins, hard boiled eggs, bananas and coffee. Maybe fresh squeezed orange juice because that seems to be a thing on the Camino.

The albergues are typically on the main street in these little villages. As soon as you enter the village you just start looking for yours. Many pilgrims have no reservation and just go albergue to albergue until they find a bed. The big dorm type rooms go for about 10 euros per night. Smaller community rooms with four beds go for 15-20 euros per night. And then there are donotivos and you pay what you can. Of course, private rooms are more expensive — usually about 40-50 euros.

Just like everything on the Camino, it's all very simple.