Behind the Albergue Door: Inspiration Agony Adventure on the Camino de Santiago

occasionally
    Getting tired of sentences that start with “last time”. You start having nightmares about the Meseta a week before reaching it. You know the complete life story of three of their previous pilgrimage companions and have become Facebook friends with a fourth.
    The Hiker
    Recognizable traits
    Baffled looks every time a stranger talks to them. Stories about where their backpack has been. Leaning against things to stretch out their calves.
    Reasons they are great to have around
    The extra state -of-the-art-carabiners they can lend you. The detailed hike overview they prepare daily. An endless source of hiking advice.
    Why you might want to take a break occasionally
    Knowing how many ounces their sleeping bag weighs. They refer to rest breaks as “time theft”. An endless source of hiking advice.
    The Upper Class
    Recognizable traits
    Trying to pay for a café con leche with a platinum card. Peering at you from the window of a van during the difficult stretches. Their bags are waiting for them in their hotel room with a view of the cathedral.
    Reasons they are great to have around
    Unifying outrage toward them brings everyone in the albergue together. They can get you as many individual shampoo packets as you want. Feeling superior even while you are sobbing on the toilet.
    Why you might want to take a break occasionally
    They get upset when the bar doesn’t have a bottle of 2001 La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza in stock. The exhaust fumes from their passing van makes it hard to breathe on that steep uphill section. When they visit the albergue just long enough to take some photos of the “dorm folk”.
    The Breakup
    Recognizable traits
    A hang-dog expression and red-rimmed eyes. Stories starting with “When [blank] and I were still together…” Long hours spent on Facebook intently examining party photos for tell-tale gestures and dead giveaways.
    Reasons they are great to have around
    Wingmen always get free drinks. One word – rebound. They are used to splitting the cost of things.
    Why you might want to take a break occasionally
    Their schedule is based entirely on that of the cute guy with the hat that said hi to them at lunch. Weeping in the middle of the night. Asking you thrice daily what your take is on the “hottie situation”.
    The Biggest Loser
    Recognizable traits
    Noticeably overweight. Asking shopkeepers where they keep the celery. Drinking Coke Zero.
    Reasons they are great to have around
    They make you feel good about your slightly smaller paunch. The book of celebrity diets you can borrow. Every time you say “I had no idea how many calories were in just one cup of ice cream” they will give you theirs.
    Why you might want to take a break occasionally
    Repeatedly asking what you think about the girth of their thighs. Always mumbling “no more for me” with their mouth full. The way they leer at you while you eat doughnuts.



Spanish Culture
    One of the big draws of hiking the Camino de Santiago is the opportunity to immerse yourself in the authentic culture of Northern Spain. It offers an up -close and personal look at the lives and traditions of local people that is much harder to find in tourist enclaves such as Seville, Barcelona or the Real Madrid “Shower with a Famous Footballer” promotion. Even though the growing popularity of the Camino certainly lends an air of tourism to the experience and a large number of people you meet along the way rely on it for their livelihood, countless more are simply going about their day-to-day lives, endlessly encouraging and genuinely excited to see hikers from around the world taking an interest in their region.
    Starting in France, moving on through proudly independent Basque country, the infamous Meseta and then finishing off in rugged Galicia means there are plenty of differences throughout the hike itself, however, and I make no claims to any particular expertise in this area (unlike hair salons built out of Lego). But I do notice things. Interesting things, mundane things, racist things, you name it.
    Is the daily siesta a symptom of widespread narcolepsy?
    As logical an explanation as that seems, apparently not. Some people explain the daily siesta as a logical boon to efficiency, a widespread pause of commerce during the hottest part of the day when people are at their most lethargic and least likely to fuel the economy anyway. Others consider it a sort of bonus for how much work it is simply being Spanish, what with all the