👣 Noire Pilgrim: Casa de America

An American on the camino

A Casa de America or America’s House in Spain… on the camino? I never heard about it until I arrived in a small town at the end of a walking stage on the way to Santiago de Compostela. I cannot count the number of times that I have been greeted by an albergue host exclaiming that I am the first American who stayed at the place. Are they joking with me? “No, no joke”, they say. I just cannot believe it. Maybe this is true for this camino, the Mozárabe, but not for the busier northern caminos of Frances and Norte, surely.

Fuenterroble de Salvatierra

On this day, I made my way on the camino to Fuenterroble de Salvatierra, a town in the mountains. Santa Maria is a religious donativo hostel located in the middle of town. It was a welcome sight because rain was starting to fall. The trek up the mountains was threatened by rain much of the afternoon. Suddenly, the sky darkened, the wind whipped round, and the temperature dropped signaling an imminent storm. I needed to get to shelter before it began.

Santa Maria parish hostel

As I got closer, the door to the hostel was open already. That meant that other pilgrims arrived shortly before me. I entered and met a fellow peregrina from Korea who I had already spent a handful of days with in other albergues. A few more pilgrims arrived during the evening.

The entry hallway.

The hostel is exclusively for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago who present a pilgrim’s passport or credential.

Dedication

An offer I could not refuse

The women’s bunk dorm was on the second floor of the hostel. Our host mentioned the “America’s House” as an option for bedding down for the night. Before agreeing to stay there, however, I wanted to see it. I hoped it was not full of cliches and stereotypes.

It was not.

Earlier we were informed that the heating system was under repair and not working! The cold, rainy night was not making my decision easy!

It would not have been an issue if it was warmer outside but the rain caused the temperature to drop. It felt even colder inside.

I went outside around the back of the hostel and entered the America’s House. It was attached to the hostel but there was no direct access. There were two rooms, stark but cozy. One room had a double bed, “for couples”, I was told jokingly. The other room had four bunk beds. Between the rooms was a bathroom with a shower.

It was cold here too since there was no heat. There were plenty of blankets. I decided to spend the night so that I could say I did. Of course, I chose a bed in the bunk room and left the double bed for the lovers on the camino!

I went back to the hostel to get my backpack and returned with linens to set up my bed.

Then it was time to return, again, for the communal meal in the hostel dining room. Then I came back to my room to do my usual ablutions and get a good night’s sleep.

I had the place to myself and slept well. And despite the rain and cold, I was warm.

After the Night comes Morning

Sunrise…

The air was fresh after the night’s storm.

I was ready for another day of walking on the trail as the sun competed with the clouds to provide a beautiful sunrise.

The trail was leading higher up the mountains.

And as always, it was hot during the day in spite of the clouds.

Crags caused by mountain water runoff mark much of the trail.

Refuge is in sight.

As a treat to myself, I reserved a room for Saturday and Sunday at a quiet casa rurales or guesthouse in the next town. I was lucky to find it. It was closed for the weekend and open only for clients and pilgrims (like me) who made advance arrangements.

Baadaye and Buen Camino

Shirley J ♥️

This and several posts this summer will chronicle my pilgrimage in Spain where I will walk the 1400 kilometer-long camino Mozárabe. Read my announcement here.