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ou have walked the Camino francés. Perhaps you've walked one or more of the other routes as well. The Camino is in your blood and you're now trying to think of what the next stage of your Camino life could be. Have you considered giving back to the Camino as a volunteer hospitalero albergue host)? Those who have gone on from walking the Camino to serving as hospitaleros say that this experience is in every sense a Camino of its own. We offer on this page a number of items related to hospitalero service:
General information about serving Many walkers on the Camino carry a strong sense of being part of a stream, a stream of humanity or even a flow of history, moving ever westward. As an hospitalero you become a rock in that stream. The rock stays in place and a drop of water hesitates briefly and then moves on, leaving the rock to interact with the next drop and the next and the next. You provide the resting place where fellow pilgrims can stop and renew themselves in body, mind and spirit. Generally speaking those responsible for albergues look for volunteers who have walked the Camino and who have taken an hospitalero training course. There is a preference for persons with serviceable Spanish language skills—and ideally another language as well (thankfully English will serve very well for that!). But having said that, there are exceptions. Some albergues find themselves with a gap in their schedule or occasionally an hospitalero must leave due to an emergency; your willingness to give back to the Camino through enthusiastic volunteering may be your most important skill.
Hospitalero Training through American Pilgrims Hospitalero training offered through American Pilgrims is conducted in conjunction with its annual Gathering of Pilgrims and on other occasions during the year. A weekend of training has been scheduled for October 15 - 17, 2010 in Seattle, Washington. And there will be a session immediately prior to the March 2011 Gathering in Santa Barbara, California! Check back here from time to time for further information about both of these opportunities. For some insight into the sense of fulfillment, there is an interesting YouTube video about volunteer hospitalero service that has snippets of interviews with the late Don José María of San Juan de Ortega, Don Jesús Jato of the albergue Ave Fenix and the Confraternity of Saint James' Marion Marples. If you are interested in learning more about the experience of hosting an albergue, the Confraternity of Saint James has made its training workshop presentation (
If you would like to contact American Pilgrims for more information about becoming a volunteer hospitalero or if you have specific questions about our training, please contact our hospitalero training coordinator by e-mail . The Hospitalero News The Hospitalero Training committee of American Pilgrims publishes the Hospitalero News, a periodic newsletter with information about training and service on the Camino. Hospitalero News, April 2010 (1.1 MB) |
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Among the various Camino sites and forums there are some hospitalero-related areas: • Pilgrimage to Santiago: As of October 2008 an Hospitalero area has been added to this very active forum. * An Innkeeper's Guide: Volunteering on the Camino de Santiago: A blog by Brett Stuckel which contains a very frank, insightful and comprehensive overview of the toil, joys and tribulations of being an hospitalero. * The Confraternity of Saint James has a short but informative article by a first-time hospitalero. * A delightful description of a first-time hospitalero's exciting first day. |
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Hospitalero training through other organizations In addition to the training offered by American Pilgrims in conjunction with its annual Gathering of Pilgrims, training is available in other countries. See our International Events page for more information about these opportunities. We know that we have not listed all available courses here and we would like to be apprised of others. Please contact our webmaster. • Hospitalero training in Canada: Training courses which have been approved by the Federación Española de Asociaciones de Amigos del Camino de Santiago are regularly offered in Canada. Please see our Local/Regional Events page. • Federación Española de Asociaciones de Amigos del Camino de Santiago: The umbrella organization of the Spanish Associations of Friends of the Camino has information and a regular calendar of courses. There are courses for first time volunteers and further courses for veterans (including basic English for use in albergues!). (Spanish) • Moratinos on the Camino: Rebekah Scott, who lives in Moratinos, 375 km from Santiago just east of Sahagún, periodically offers an English-language version of the Spanish Federation training at her house in Moratinos. Her curriculum is fully reviewed and approved annually by the Federacion de Amigos. This may be the most "on the ground" training offered anywhere as it actually takes place on the Camino and often involves input from pilgrims walking through. The schedule is determined by demand. For further information about scheduling and cost, please contact Rebekah at rebrites@yahoo.com. • The Confraternity of St. James: The Confraternity offers training but, as they operate their own two refugios in Rabanal del Camino and Miraz, the training is oriented toward these facilities and their villages. Nonetheless their training is broad enough that it should be accepted by the Federación Española for service in their facilities as well. For further information contact the warden coordinators at r-wardens@csj.org.uk or m-wardens@csj.org.uk. • The Confraternity of Saint James South Africa: The South African Confraternity offers hospitalero training in different regions of the country as demand requires. Anyone interested in this service should contact the CSJSA directly. |
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What is it like to volunteer as a hospitalero? Your most important duty will be to serve as host to a steady stream of peregrinos. This will involve providing a warm and sincere welcome to all pilgrims. Sometimes it will involve listening, sometimes conversing. It will mean being a resource for advice on such matters as first aid or other medical care (not necessarily actually dispensing care), knowing where to buy supplies, when and where church services will be held, what lies ahead on the trail. You may find yourself in the role of confessor, psychologist or advisor to the lovelorn. You may become responsible for organizing evening meals for any number of hungry pilgrims. You will be up with the peregrinos in the morning and you may turn out the lights in the late evening. And there will of course be washing sheets, cleaning toilets and showers, mopping floors, sweeping outdoor areas. You may be the one to order propane and cleaning supplies, or to do the accounting—you may feel like you are running a small business. You will certainly find yourself part of a local Spanish community or village, and community relations will be important. Most formal hospitalero assignments are for a half month; informal ones might be only for a few days. You will likely have little time off during your tenure. In short, this will probably be one of the most intense, and intensely gratifying, experiences of your life! Still sound like something you'd be interested in? 
3.1MB) available to us. Although not all albergues are run like the Confraternity's Refugio Gaucelmo in Rabanal del Camino, this presentation will give you an idea of the toil and rewards of the experience, as well as some of the practical matters.