SANTIAGO'S ROAD
One of the strongest activities of the hostel is the attention to the pilgrim.
We think it interesting to see his birth and subsequent evolution.
In Güemes there is a medieval hermitage linked to the Camino de Santiago. There was even a pilgrim hospital attached to the same hermitage. It is located in the El Cagigal neighborhood, 1 kilometer from the hostel. And at 6 kms. of the Albergue there is the beautiful Romanesque church of Bareyo.
That is why we are in the middle of the Xacobea Route.
At the end of the last century the first pilgrims began to pass to Santiago by the so-called Camino del Norte.
Albergue la Cabaña del Abuelo Peuto was open for socio-cultural activities since 1982.
In 1999, some people linked to the Camino de Santiago asked that our Shelter be able to welcome pilgrims. In March of that same year the first pilgrim arrives here. From the beginning we intuited the importance of this meeting of two paths: 1) the Way to Santiago followed by the pilgrims and 2) "the other way" which runs through all the people who are already participating in the activities the shelter with a clear idea of coexistence and solidarity, especially towards the Third World.
And it is precisely at this moment that Ernesto, responsible for the Albergue, makes his own pilgrimage on foot from the Albergue to Santiago de Compostela with the idea of better identifying the Albergue's philosophy with the experiences of the pilgrims.
We did not know the future that awaited us or the scope that this adventure could have.
The first year, 200 pilgrims pass. The number continues to increase the next. It grows unexpectedly to the point that in the year 2012, almost 7,000 pilgrims from 70 different countries have passed through our hostel.
After many years of activity with the pilgrims we can say that the hostel brings them the experience and social wealth that is contained here and, at the same time, the hostel is enriched with the many values that bring those who travel the Camino de Santiago.
The shelter is maintained without subsidies of any kind. Thanks to the generosity of the volunteers (40-50 people take turns collaborating with the hostel) and the voluntary contribution of the pilgrims.
We do not like the word "donation" that is closer to charity or a charitable gesture. The pilgrims arrive, they try to be well received; They have good facilities; they receive a wide explanation of one hour of duration on the Way and the philosophy of the Shelter; Dinner is served and breakfast is served in the morning. We do not put a price on anything because it would carry the risk of commercialization. But everything has, however, a cost. The price is set by each pilgrim anonymously (it is deposited in a common box), free (if someone does not have money, nothing happens) and responsible (the hostel project is the property of all those who use it).
We are aware of the risk that this entails, especially when we live in a consumer society that has never educated us in freedom and responsibility. But until now we continue with this project that for some is a romanticism and utopia and for us it is a reality, difficult to maintain but rewarding for all. We usually say that, if one day you have to change your philosophy, it would never be because of the Shelter, but because of lack of commitment from those who participate in this activity.
The facilities have been expanded as needs demand. We work regularly with credits and with a large voluntary workforce. This allows the Shelter to gradually become a common project where everyone who has participated in something feels moral owner of everything. So that at this time, according to the statutes, the day that Ernesto's generation disappears, the relay must follow the same philosophy; and, if such a relief is not possible, we would have to rent the facilities or sell them, and everything that has to be destined to the Third World, because we, despite the crises we have, live well because others live very badly. It is a moral duty that we have to feel solidarity with the Third World, skillfully and dirty exploited by the First World.
The Shelter has been nourished habitually with voluntary people of the zone. However, as the number of pilgrims has grown, we received many offers from outsiders. This presence enriches the work of the people here: other cultural, other experiences, other experiences ...
We attach great importance to the testimony left by the pilgrims reflected in the book. In recent years we have a very valuable contribution: Edda, former pilgrim from Hamburg (Germany); speaks 5 languages (German, Italian, French, Spanish and English); She volunteered as a translator and we are now 3 years old (2,010-11 and 12) translated into Spanish. Many other testimonies we could provide as a reflection of the great wealth that the pilgrim contains.
