My Friend Emilio

Midway along the Camino I ended up in a rather strange little albergue (hostel) for the night.   It was a sort of hippy set-up complete with tee-pees and rather cold, sketchy dormitories. My companions and I had walked around 26 km and the next town was an hour away, so as it started to rain it was an easy decision.  Luckily it was not large and the dozen or so pilgrims there that night were good company.

Part of the ambiance was Emilio the donkey who stood under the open roof attached to the bar and joined us while we chatted before dinner. The stamp on the drawing is from the Albergue.  Each alberge has its own stamp, which is used to record where a perigrino has stayed in order to apply for the compestella certificate at the end of the journey in Santiago de Compestella. Many churches and restaurants also offer stamps, particularly in the last 100 km.