Yesterday was one of those rare days, for this time of year when the sun was shining and the sky was a gorgeous blue. So I went for a walk through town to take some photos …
Allotments, town hall and cathedral.
As I walked I noticed how quiet the city has become again. There are many reasons for this:
Perimeter Confinement Like in many other parts of Spain, non-essential travel in and out of Santiago isn’t allowed anymore. This means that there aren’t any tourists and other visitors coming into the city. The only ones allowed to travel to/from Santiago are people that work here and live somewhere else or vice versa, need to visit a doctor, an office, schools, and other educational institutions. As for …
Rua do Villar, only us locals around.
Pilgrim Numbers There is one exception to the ‘no non-essential travel rule’ and this was made for pilgrims that started their Camino before the 30th of October and can prove this with stamps in their pilgrim passport. These pilgrims are allowed to continue to Santiago, collect, if they wish so, their Compostela, and then must travel home. And no, they can’t continue to Fisterra and/or Muxia. That means that pilgrim numbers have dropped considerably, the last few days <50 pilgrims arrived each day and the number is dropping each day more. For the moment the Pilgrim Office is still open, but Pilgrim House has already closed for this winter.
Nobody is waiting before the Pilgrim Office.
Nightly Curfew From 23:00 to 06:00 we have now a curfew, meaning we all need to stay at home unless we have an essential reason (health, work, care for others, and the like) to go out. That is the one restriction that affects me the least, in these times and with our winter weather, I prefer anyway to stay home in the evenings.
Closure of Bars, Cafes, and Restaurants Whilst albergues, hotels, and pensions are allowed to stay open but have very few clients due to the travel restrictions, all bars, cafes, and restaurants are closed until, at least, the beginning of December. They are only allowed to offer take-away and home delivery services. Needless to say, that will be a death blow for many of the smaller ones that have already suffered so much.
Many places decided to close (left), whilst others decided to offer take-away (right).
No Socialising That is the hardest one for me, as I am living alone. Officially we aren’t even allowed to meet up with someone, that doesn’t live in the same household, for a walk. No idea how that can be controlled but that are the rules. Visits to each other’s homes are also prohibited unless you provide care for an elderly relative and similar cases. With Pilgrim House now closed for the winter, my real-life interactions are pretty much reduced to chats with the neighbours from my balcony and chance encounters in the street. As much as I appreciate Zoom and similar platforms, it is simply not the same.
Other Restrictions There are some more restrictions in place like the number of people allowed in a shop at the same time, for example, but all non-essential shops and services are, at the moment, allowed to stay open. But with close to no visitors to the city, many small shops that rely on tourists for their trade, have decided to close down. Some might never open again. Also, masks must be worn at all times outside our own homes, only exceptions small children under six.
Camino Situation Bearing in mind the ever-changing restrictions and perimeter confinements, many albergues have now closed down earlier than usual for the winter. Whilst the Camino isn’t officially closed, the travel restrictions and insecure accommodation situation make a pilgrimage very difficult, if not impossible, at these times.
Holy Door and Holy Year The only thing we know so far for sure is that Don Julian, the archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, will open the Holy Door on the 31st December 2020 to inaugurate the Holy Year 2021. How many people will be allowed to attend will depend on the pandemic situation at that time. Also, so far, the question of if the Holy Year will be extended into 2022, something the archbishop has to ask from the pope, has always been answered with: “That will be decided closer to the time.” Which could well mean that this will be decided some when in the first half of 2021.
The renovation of the cathedral continues.
Sorry that this is a bit of a doom and gloom post again, but that is the situation here. Stay well, safe, and sane, and keep your distance from everybody that doesn’t live in the same household as you. So that, when this is over, and we can see each other again, nobody is missing.
When I moved in May 2017 to Santiago de Compostela, I had no idea how many ‘versions’ of Egeria House I would experience. First came the ‘hospitality version’ when pilgrims would either stay with me and/or just come by in the afternoons for a chat over tea or coffee. 2018 we added the chaplaincy version and in 2019 we extended the chaplaincy programme and our ecumenical relationships here in Santiago. And 2020 can only be described as the ‘online version’ …
Empty box that needs filling …
But 2020 has also seen, for me personally and nothing to do with the Camino as such, a completely new ministry that ‘somehow’ entered my life. Egeria House is not tied to a certain building, for me, it is a way of life. A way of sharing what I have, space, time, and food. Some of my favourite memories are those of shared meals among pilgrims, chaplains or to put it more simply – among friends. It will be a while until that is possible again!
Nearly a year ago I moved into what was meant to be my winter 2019/20 flat, needless to say, due to Covid-19, I am still here in the San Pedro neighbourhood. The flat is in a very mixed part of Santiago, all from the comfortable middle class to the desperately poor. Just 100m down the street from me lives, for example, an extended family of Roma, who, in normal times, you would see begging around the cathedral and in Old Town. When we were all put into lockdown, the Red Cross delivered food to them, but when lockdown was eased, this stopped.
Early on this year, I had already put out a box with surplus items, see https://egeria.house/a-box-of-kindness/, so I guess that gave people the confidence to ring my doorbell when things got hard for them. Slowly, slowly the number of people increased who were ringing the bell. Most of them are Roma, some of them a neighbour that ‘has run out of XYZ’ over the weekend, sometimes, I see somebody dumpster diving for food in the rubbish container before the house.
Part of the pantry, more in the fridge …
Yes, Spain has a social security system, but people are still falling, and in ever-increasing numbers, through the gaps. What started with buying a bit more of everything and keeping bread, cheese, and similar in the freezer compartment for somebody in need that passes by, feels now like running a one-woman-neighbourhood food bank. And I am happy with that.
The decision to take the box into the house entrance had its disadvantages but also enabled me to know what my neighbours really need instead of wildly guessing it. There is, for example, one woman that has diabetes with many complications, she needs bread without salt, others need mainly fresh fruit and vegetables, others can’t afford to buy diapers/nappies for their children, others need face masks as they could get fined by the police if they go out without one, others …
Rarely a day goes by when the doorbell doesn’t ring, more often it’s twice or thrice per day. By now, I know most of them by name, I know if they have a working kitchen or if they only have a microwave to cook with, I know whom to give the saltless bread for my diabetic neighbour to and I know which size of diapers/nappies the families need. Sometimes I smile when I go shopping as my list is getting each week more varied. Oh, and thankfully our local Froiz supermarket does home deliveries, that saves me from shlepping heavy stuff like milk cartons or jars of canned vegetables home.
A typical delivery …
And I know that I am not the only one doing this, or similar things, here in Santiago. Quite a lot of small initiatives like this are now addressing needs in their respective neighbourhoods. Sometimes it’s a one-person set-up, sometimes it is a group of people, sometimes a mixture of both, like in my case. Back in July, I mentioned the situation here on a small German Camino forum I run, several people offered to help with donations. Back then I said, I manage, mainly thanks to a Facebook fundraiser I ran this year in May and the income I still earn as a freelancer, but at the beginning of October I took them up on their offer. Other friends also chimed in. So, whilst I do the shopping and distributing, I am not the only one paying for everything myself, I have help.
As many of you might know, I am a huge Terry Pratchett fan. My favourite Discworld characters are the witches, which rarely do real magic. Instead, they strike me as old-fashioned community nurses and midwives that go around the houses with the following philosophy:
“Filling what’s empty and emptying what’s full.”
Or, if you prefer a more Christian interpretation, I share with you a short bit of a sermon I once heard:
“The real miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 wasn’t the multiplication of the loaves of bread and the fishes, it was to get everybody to share the food they had already in their pockets.”
Much better!
Yes, the donation button is back, since today, in the top right corner of this website, but what would make me really happy is if more people would do something similar, all over the world. This winter will be so hard on all of us and on so many different levels, but if everybody does her or his little bit by:
Letting your neighbours know that you are there for them.
Sharing your time and resources with them, please with a face mask worn and keeping a safe, physical distance.
Decluttering your wardrobes and donating the clothes you haven’t worn in ages.
Joining or starting neighbourhood initiatives.
Then we really can build a better world for ourselves and those around us. I leave you with these words by Mahatma Gandhi:
“The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed.”
It’s incredibly difficult, to sum up, the last few months here in Santiago, on the Caminos and in Spain in general. So, please forgive me if this blog post runs a bit long and contains a lot of links to places where you can find more background information. I have also tried to structure it a bit by topics so that you can skip those that don’t interest you …
General Situation here in Spain and Santiago
At the time of writing, beginning of October 2020, we are firmly in the grip of the second wave here in Spain (actual figures >>>here<<< ). Whilst we are not back in full lockdown, mobility for non-essential travel has been restricted in places like Léon, Barcelona, and Madrid. I try my best to keep this page https://egeria.house/camino-corona-updates/ updated with the latest info about how these restrictions affect pilgrims currently on a Camino.
Our main restrictions here in Santiago refer to how many people from different households can meet up, restricted opening hours, restricted number of people allowed inside of shops and restaurants, restricted number of people allowed to gather outside as a group, obligation to wear a mask when outside your own home (the only exception is when you are eating or drinking something), keeping to social distancing at all time, hand sanitizer everywhere and so on.
Sometimes I feel like I live in a hospital for infectious diseases, with all the patients moving around, trying to keep their distance and wearing masks. My ‘social’ life has been pretty much reduced to online and the last time I hugged one of my friends was at the beginning of March. I am fully aware that a lot of people have it far, far worse than I do. I live in a cozy, bright flat with a balcony, I have enough to eat, and so on. All my basic needs are well covered and for that, I am truly thankful. But I still worry about my friends and I worry about where and how this all will end. OK, enough of doom and gloom, back to Chaplaincy and Camino updates!
Anglican Camino Chaplaincy
Beginning of April 2020 we took the planned program online, in a matter of speaking. Apart from providing material, both written and video/audio, for Easter we then also asked the chaplains that were meant to be here in Santiago de Compostela at certain dates, to provide ‘something’ during those dates for me to post here and on Facebook in the hope that it helps pilgrims stuck at home.
The church of Santa Susana might be empty now, but it will be waiting for us …
As for 2021, a few days ago I had a phone conversation with Father Bob Bates, our lead chaplain, about the possible future of the chaplaincy next year. Before I tell you the result, here are some facts you might or might not know:
A large number of our volunteers are retired, meaning they are at least in one high-risk group, that of age.
Most of our volunteers come from the UK and the USA, both countries with different travel/quarantine restrictions that make it difficult to come over for a two-week volunteering stint and/or traveling back home.
The number of non-Spanish pilgrims, and especially of those that come from English speaking countries, has been very low in the three months since the Camino re-opened in July 2020. Take September, for example, a month that traditionally sees a lot of retired, foreign pilgrims that enjoy the cooler, but not yet cold, weather and the slightly quieter season.
In September 2019, a total of 45,653 pilgrims were registered by the Pilgrim’s Office here, this year the number was 10,441, so less than 25% of last years’ pilgrims. And if we look at the numbers of non-Spaniards, September 2019 saw 29,224 of them, and this year only 3,166, just over 10% compared to 2019. And in October, so far, we have seen between 200-300 pilgrims arriving each day, in 2019 the daily average for October was >1,000 pilgrims.
If we now look at the possible number of non-Roman Catholic pilgrims like outlined here: https://egeria.house/how-many-protestants-are-on-the-camino-de-santiago/ with an educated guesstimate of 10-15% of pilgrims coming from a Protestant background of any shape or form then we can ‘assume’ that less than 150 pilgrims MIGHT have been interested in the offerings of an Anglican Camino Chaplaincy here in Santiago de Compostela during the whole month of September 2020.
Experience from our two previous years shows that of those, perhaps 10% (being optimistic here) actually came in the past to one of our services or events. Now comes what I call the >Crystal Ball< bit:
How and What do we Best Plan for 2021?
Bearing all this in mind Father Bob and I have decided to offer some online worship material, reflections, sermons, and the like, for the major feast days like Advent and Christmas during the wintertime. We also think that it would be premature to even contemplate a ‘normal’ in-person chaplaincy for the first half of 2021. Instead, we will invite chaplains to do the same as this year, putting together material for pilgrims to reflect on and putting them up online again. We hope and pray that there is still a chance of some chaplains coming here to Santiago for the second half of 2021, but really, only God knows …
It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this, but the combination of all the above plus the complexity of keeping pilgrims and chaplaincy volunteers safe during this pandemic is simply too much. Add to that the problem of how to house the chaplaincy volunteers, which typically come for two weeks, whilst maintaining social distancing if they would stay with me as some have done in the past.
And for those who wonder what happened to the donations / the fundraised money for the Anglican Camino Chaplaincy 2020, it’s sitting safely in the UK account of the Diocese in Europe, waiting to be used when and if an in-person chaplaincy is possible again.
Holy Year 2021
More, general, information about what the Holy Year is can be found here:
As for 2021, the only thing we know for sure is that it will start, as always, with the opening of the Holy Door on 31st December. How many people will be allowed to attend the ceremony, will depend on the pandemic situation on that date.
Also undecided is if the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela will ask the Pope to extend the Holy Year into 2022. This decision will be made ‘closer to the time’ is what I ‘hear’ coming out of the archbishop’s office via our local media. A similar prolongation has been granted in the past, in 1885/86 to celebrate the re-discovery and the confirmation of the authenticity of the relics and in 1937/38 because of the Civil War here in Spain. So, again, we wait and see.
As for expected numbers in 2021, that is another ‘crystal ball topic’ and again, only God knows the answer to that one. BC (Before Covid), the expectation was that at least 500,000 pilgrims would be coming, plus several millions of visitors and tourists to the city. The only sure thing is that this number will be far, far lower. Not only due to travel restrictions, quarantine regulations in some countries, and general uncertainty, but also due to the economic downturn that has affected the livelihood and income of so many. Many that want to come will not be allowed to and many others simply can’t afford it anymore.
Pilgrims and Hospitality
Beginning of July, when the Caminos re-opened, I re-arranged my ‘pilgrim’s room’ to offer emergency accommodation if and when needed. At that moment our Covid numbers here in Santiago were very low and it felt safe to do so. I also made the decision that I only would give hospitality to pilgrims that had absolutely no other place to go, I didn’t want to make any competition to already struggling albergues and the like. That meant only ‘me or under the bridge’ cases.
Also, if somebody would have stayed with me, it would have meant keeping to social distancing and wearing a mask at all times, not easy in a relatively small flat. But nobody needed this kind of hospitality during the summer and so I ‘folded’ the pilgrim’s room together by end of September. Ironically, just the day after, I had a request. But by then our numbers had increased badly again and it didn’t feel safe to do so. But no worries, the pilgrim didn’t need to sleep in the streets, between Pilgrim House https://pilgrimhousesantiago.com/ and me we found a good, safe place for her to stay.
This was the past, but it will be also the future, somewhere, some when …
Meeting Up with Pilgrims
One of the joys of previous years has always been meeting up with pilgrims and listening to their stories and experiences. This has happened a few times also this year, mainly outdoors and following all the guidelines. I enjoyed every single one of these meetings and if there is one thing I take away from it is that all pilgrims I spoke to said that they felt safer on the Camino in Spain than in their own country of residence.
Praying has been one of the few things that I can still do for pilgrims without any limits, so if you have a prayer request, please send them to me, see: https://egeria.house/let-us-pray-for-you/ for more information.
Camino Situation
The Camino re-opened beginning of July when travel across international and provincial borders was once again allowed. Sadly, many albergues couldn’t re-open this year, either because of their volunteer situation, again, many retirees there, or because they didn’t survive the lockdown financially and are now up for sale or looking for a new tenant. This made the accommodation situation for pilgrims this, short, season often complicated.
Generally speaking albergues and other hospitality places here in Spain follow the guidelines very strictly and expect the pilgrims to do the same. There have been extremely few cases where that didn’t work out well. So, in general, if following our guidelines, walking a Camino is one of the safest activities we still can do. For a recent blog by two pilgrims that walked the Camino Francés in August/September 2020 for a good cause, have a look >>>here<<<.
Some quick points if you’re planning a Camino in Covid times:
Always follow the travel guidelines and advice of your own country.
Make sure that your travel and health insurance covers Covid and repatriation.
Reserve accommodation and/or make sure to call ahead to see if they are open.
Have a plan B in place before you run into difficulties.
Budget more money than you would normally do, to pay for unexpected hotel stays, taxi rides, and so on.
Keep your eyes and ears on the local news, regarding possible new restrictions.
Follow all the guidelines and laws (face masks, social distancing, hand washing, and so on).
Additionally to what I mentioned above, if you plan to walk a Camino this winter, you need also to consider that a lot of albergues will close earlier, open later or not be open at all. The following website http://www.aprinca.com/alberguesinvierno/ shows, from November onwards, which albergues are open on the Camino Francés. The information on it is as accurate as the information given to the people that maintain the website, so if you notice that something needs updating, please email them!
Personal Situation – Or what do I do now here in Santiago?
As I wrote here: https://egeria.house/lock-down-thoughts-from-santiago-1/ the place I am living at now was only meant to be my winter flat for 2019/20. I am still here and will stay here at least until March/April 2021. If and when the FCJ sisters and their volunteers return, I will need to find a new place to live, hopefully with our volunteers.
I am still working as a freelance writer, I have published a new book (fiction and nothing to do with the Camino) and I am working on a new book, this one about the Camino. If you are interested in my writings, my author page can be found here: https://amzn.to/3iJXiuR
The background story can be found here: https://egeria.house/a-box-of-kindness/ The box has long moved inside the house entrance, which has advantages and disadvantages, but as spring came and the weather got warmer, it was just too limited what I could put into it. The other advantage is that I can speak with those that ring the doorbell and know now better what they really need, like diapers/nappies for their children or fresh fruit and vegetables. Yes, Spain has a social security net, but some people still fall through it.
I think that covers all for the moment, one last request, as I pray for you here in Santiago, please pray for all of us here in Santiago from wherever you are.
Buen Camino de la Vida and I hope to see you all again here in Santiago or on a Camino,
A short blog post to help to get the word out about https://wewalkforyou2020.org Here their project in a nutshell:
Three veteran pilgrims will walk the Camino Francés starting mid-August 2020. Two of them will walk the actual Camino and one of them will accompany the others on a virtual Camino.
They will carry with them the thoughts, prayers, hopes, and intention of other pilgrims and will pray for them daily.
If you want to have your intentions included, no matter what you believe or what faith you follow, or none, the pilgrims will carry your messages, prayers and hopes every step of the way to Santiago and they will be prayed for at Mass every day.
Just some pictures from inside my place and looking out of it. Some as they were taken, others heavily filtered. If they bring a smile to your face that would make me happy. Stay at home, wash your hands and take care!
Window view …Sunset over Santiago de Compostela …Stormy Skies …Santiago Sunset …Reflecting Light …Proteccion Civil celebrating a neighbour’s birthday with music, song and dance …Balcony detail …Another Balcony Detail …Celebrating Easter Sunday with a bit of colour …Drying clothes Galician styleDouble exposure …Clear skies …Black and white perspective …And another balcony view …Another balcony view …Evening light …Street view …Balcony reflections …Balcony plant …Balcony perspective …Abstract shells …BVM and evangelists, replica from Ephesus …Detail of my first pilgrim shell, still have it …
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNoData Protection Policy and Imprint
You can revoke your consent any time using the Revoke consent button.Revoke cookies
