Day 5
The first 4-5 days are always hectic and it can be challenging to unwind and sleep. The previous night, I was able to fall asleep but woke up at 3am and could not return to slumber. Too many things to think about!
We’re starting to refine our job duties: Leila and Jose Luiz handle downstairs: breakfast, cleaning, laundry, folding. I handle upstairs; cleaning and sanitizing bedrooms, bathrooms and showers. With music and my portable speaker (that straps to my fanny pack) I’m able to turn the task into a fun challenge. It’s physical, I’m moving and I’m seeing the results of the work. It goes from a messy albergue to a clean albergue – ready to receive new pilgrims. The task-based nature of the work and the immediate results are something that I cherish. In my normal “work” life, I sit on a computer screen and press buttons. The results, the purpose, the change I make – it’s hard to see it sometimes. When working at an albergue, I see the smiles, hear the thanks, experience the feeling of a clean albergue – it is all so much more tangible and real.
After chores, we count and record the money and then have a “reunion”, a team meeting to discuss the previous day and talk about outstanding tasks. We got into the tradition of passing around a candle; whoever has the candle can talk about whatever they want, bring up issues, ask questions, share feelings. It worked well to get everything out in the open and provide everyone with a chance to vent, ask questions, propose ideas. I enjoyed the collaborative and communicative nature of the team – I often brought up ideas, ways to improve things or proposed plans – and they were nearly all well received and listened to. It felt great to be on a team, make changes together and work as a unit.
Today was a lower energy day. I started being more conservative with my energy. Only say what is required. No need to check in with every pilgrim you see. If a pilgrim can do a chore, ask them to do it, don’t try to do it yourself.
I wore the ‘vegan’ pin on my shirt which is a great way to meet other vegans and make pilgrims aware that we have plant-based options for dinner. It led to some nice conversation during dinner for the reasons we decided to be vegan. We commiserated about how hard it is on The Camino and I shared my tips and tricks for making it work. (It’s not that hard, just requires a lot of preparation, planning and patience).
I met an American pilgrim that had been planning to do The Camino for years, but it was always challenging to take enough time off. He finally had a chance to do it when he found a new job and negotiated more vacation time. It made me thankful that I have this flexible lifestyle and work situation.
A funny moment was when Leila comes charging into the registration room and yells “HELP!” in English. Oftentimes, we communicated with gestures and a look – that was enough. I could understand her portuguese if there was context, but oftentimes I would be a bit lost. She understood my Spanish perfectly. That made it extra hilarious when she yelled for help in English. Turns out there was a bit of a conflict in the kitchen between two chefs. In the end, they worked it out – as pilgrims do! That’s something I learned, just let the pilgrims figure it out. We’re there to facilitate and answer questions but it is the pilgrims that create their own experience. We are simply facilitators and guides.
A pilgrim from Aragon stood out to me. He arrived late in the afternoon, limping, exhausted – yet full of frenzy and worry. He realized that he was at the wrong albergue and he had to backtrack 3km to go to the one he wanted to. He was extremely upset and frustrated. He had walked nearly 50 km and looked destroyed. I gave him time to process and didn’t immediately tell him “just stay here, dude”. He figured it out for himself. I’ve been there, you have a plan in your head and you want to execute on that plan. But in the end, there’s no right way to do it. Why does he have to go to the other albergue? For what purpose? Just to execute on the plan? No, just stay here. And he did. He later opened up to me about things happening in his life. He’s low on funds and looking for odd jobs on The Camino. His Mom is sick. He’s estranged from his wife and step-children. He’s doing the Camino to help process everything. He had a genuine likeability to him. He was just being honest with me, pouring out his heart as I shared my frutos secos (mixed nuts) with him. Even though he came across as a bit brash and intense in the beginning, it was clear he had an open heart – just trying to figure things out in this complex world. Later on, he was in a great mood – helping people cut vegetables, chatting with fellow pilgrims. I saw him off the next day and he said his injuries were all gone and he was in great spirits to arrive to León. The humanity of the Camino. Everyone has a battle they’re fighting which is invisible to the naked eye.
Day 6
Big shopping day. We went to the fruit and vegetable wholesaler and bought several giant trays of carrots, avocados, onions, peaches, leeks, peppers and more. I felt like a kid in a candy store – or someone doing supermarket sweet – those old game shows where you ran around the grocery store finding the right items to win the contest.
As we checked in pilgrims, there was quite a name coincidence. Tom, Joe from the US. A Patrick from Germany. Another Tom from Australia. The same exact names as myself and my siblings.
The “welcome” routine continues to be refined and improved. The structured way of doing it works well – only allow 4-5 to enter at a time, give drinks, introductions, explain concept of albergue donativo. We felt like seasoned veterans already.
Lower energy levels today. Luckily, we found a pilgrim to run the kitchen. Tom and his crew did everything, we just supervised. It was a more sustainable way of running the albergue – the hospitaleros must conserve energy – 15 days straight with no breaks.
It was a third of the way through and it’s starting to feel more sustainable. “Why not do this every 6 months?” I thought to myself. “It would be cool to come back to Bercianos in October next year – make it an annual thing.” We’ll see if I have the same thoughts after all this is over.
Fun group of pilgrims. Lots of smiles. Variety of ages. People seemed to all know each other and make fast friends. Young people outside playing guitar, drinking beer.
Pilgrim T, walking to make the transition from working to retirement. “It has been so much more than I could have expected. I made it through Biblical rain in Pamplona.”
Pilgrim J, walking to grieve his wife’s sickness and passing. He took care of her for the last 5 years as she slowly got sicker.
Day 7
It was a Camino miracle. After 6 straight days of more than 35 pilgrims a day, we only had 7 pilgrims lined up at 1:30. By the end of it, only 18 pilgrims. We jumped for joy when we realized it would be a quieter day. We jokingly said we would put up a sign “FULL” to be sure that no big groups showed up at the last minute.
Everyone was friendly and eager to help. There was a crew of 18 year olds – recent high school grads – from Oakland. They exuded young, hippie, carefree vibes. Most had long, frizzy hair, big smiles and a silly, loving nature. There was an 87 year-old Australian. A few Canadians, mother and son. Germans. Brits. A man from Singapore. Everyone worked together and helped out with cutting veggies, preparing the salad and cleaning up afterwards.
It was finally the time for coconut curry. It was a smaller group and there were several vegetarians. My moment had come. I laid out all the ingridients and they promptly became chopped. I put on music, closed the kitchen except to fellow hospis (and Emilio), put on some music and proceeded to COOK! Leila was my assistant as she wanted to understand how I created it. Jose Luiz and Emilio got a kick out of my methods; listening to music, dancing, throwing in spices like a madman. Emilio brought in a special liquor, Oruzo, and we all said “cheers” with smiles on our faces. It felt great to be supported by the team, to be able to be myself and create a culinary treat. Another day in the books – now let’s eat!
The curry was a smashing success – most went for seconds and there was not a scrap of food leftover. Even Emilio, a farmer by trade and local to the town, ate everything and said it was delicious. I worried that it would be too exotic for him, but he proved me wrong.
A highlight from the sunset was that no one watched the sunset. Nearly all the pilgrims went crazy playing on the exercise equipment instead of paying attention to the sun. It is fascinating how each group would react differently to similar set of circumstances.
