A Quiet Place on the Camino

For Thursday, 18 Apr. Day 4. A very pleasant surprise of an Albergue (that's a guesthouse on the Camino) offering a very different welcome than so far on The Way. Zabaldika has a well known 13th C church. On 15 Apr it opened a parish Albergue as well, operated by a volunteer Hospitalero, and supported by four Sisters of the Sacred Heart whose residence adjoins but who have no official responsibility for the Albergue. When we got there, up a high hill, we thought we haft to walk 3+ km more for a bed. Instead we were greeted by Maria, the Hospitalero, a retired Spanish school teacher, as her 5th & 6th guests. Later we were invited to the Sisters' evening mass in the historic church, and, after dinner, to join the Sisters' Night Prayer in their convent chapel. It was a very different evening from those we have experienced so far, which because of the many other pilgrims, tend to be on the loud side. Certainly a welcome reorientation to the spiritual purpose of the Camino.