a portela

On the way to Santiago, I slept in A Portela. I still remember exactly how I arrived there and immediately felt that this was a proper hostel, a hostel that was there for the pilgrims and brought them together. When they I left in the morning, I received a message from the owner asking if I wanted to stay longer and help out in the albergue. I didnt answered, because I had already moved on. Yesterday I felt that I have to go on, so I wrote him to ask if he needed anyone and he was very happy about my message.

this morning i took the bus to santiago de compostela and then to a portela. After a 6 hour bus ride I arrived exhausted and fell asleep quickly.😴

About two weeks have passed and I have become immersed in the routine as a hospitaliera.

☀️daily routine☀️
The day begins with a coffee, and if Maria doesn't come, I start cleaning, making the beds fresh... everything that is necessary so that I can welcome the new pilgrims. Around 12 I get the reservations from Jorge, so I know approximately how many people we will be in the evening. However, you never know exactly, sometimes many come, sometimes fewer. When I am ready, I open the hostel, usually around 3:00 PM, and start with the check-ins. Gradually, the house fills up. At 6:00 PM I start preparing dinner. I cook the eggs, heat the soup, cut the bread... At first, I thought I would be cooking, but over time I was glad that I got the soup from Maria, because it would have been a huge challenge to cook without knowing how many people would come. At 7 we all eat together, and sometimes Leo has come by and played music. The pilgrims usually started washing up themselves, which was very nice, so I did the rest and prepared everything for breakfast. After that, we sat there and let the evening fade away.

The hostel has 16 beds and 23 mattresses spread over 2 rooms. I sleep on one of the mattresses or in the hammock, in the tent... whatever I feel like. It happened that I had a room to myself and that I slept in the room with 11 bells, depending on how many pilgrims arrived.Læs mere