Albergue Elias Valina in Canfranc open April 16, 2024

[J Willhaus]

I got a WhatsApp a little bit ago and also saw here on the forum that @Vacajoe posted that the pilgrim albergue in Canfranc Pueblo will be opening April 16.

 

[Adelina]

Happy to hear it! This is a beautiful albergue in a beautiful setting! Very much enjoyed being hospitalera there last year.

 

[lt56ny]

I got a WhatsApp a little bit ago and also saw here on the forum that @Vacajoe posted that the pilgrim albergue in Canfranc Pueblo will be opening April 16.

I will be there in October!!!

 

[isobelmtl]

Happy to hear it! This is a beautiful albergue in a beautiful setting! Very much enjoyed being hospitalera there last year.

Hello Adelina. I would be interested in your experience. I am on my way to act as hospitalera in Ponferrada. I worked in Porto last year too in Peregrinos do Porto and loved it. I am a Canadian ( Fluent in French) and would like to know a bit more about this posting for possible future consideration. Thanks Isobel Cunningham

 

[HARMINIA]

I will be there in October!!!

I am from 1 -15 oct and you?

 

[isobelmtl]

I am from 1 -15 oct and you?

I am this year in Ponferrada from tomorrow to April 30/31

 

[lt56ny]

I am from 1 -15 oct and you?

I should be starting right around October 15. Hope I see you.

 

[Flog]

I should be starting right around October 15. Hope I see you.

I will be there from the 15th, so might see you again. You still owe me that beer you promised last time you came through!!

 

[lt56ny]

You got it!!!! We can go to the bar and have one after we have dinner!

 

[AML]

Thinking of staying in Elias Valina albergue in early October.
My initial plan was to walk Oloron to P. la Reina, but now with the flood damage near Urdos its not possible to walk that part.
Now i'm going to walk the Baztan first, then bus from Pamplona - Jaca on same day then bus to Canfranc.
Going by the bus timetables it would be approx 8pm before i get to Canfranc.
It's a bit late to arrive in albergue though, other option is to stay in Jaca, bus to Somport next morning, then walk back to Jaca. That would mean staying both nights in Jaca.
Or else just stay in Jaca and start from there next morning, missing out on the Somport- Jaca stage!

 

[J Willhaus]

Some one should be there at Canfranc Some hospitaleros may take issue with the fact you did not arrive on foot. I wouldnt, but some of the Spaniards we have worked with are strict about getting to the albergue by foot and not bus. I don't know who is working then. Maybe @Flog?

 

[Tortilla]

other option is to stay in Jaca, bus to Somport next morning, then walk back to Jaca. That would mean staying both nights in Jaca.

That's what most pilgrims do. In fact, the hospitalera in Jaca Municipal gets upset if you want to start walking to Santiago without first taking a bus to Somport. She tells you to stay two nights, leave all your stuff at the albergue, and walk from Somport with a day backpack. No one will touch your stuff that you leave on your bed.

At least that was my prepandemic experience.

Oh, I just remembered one more thing: if you go to the tourist office in Jaca, they have a stamp for Jaca, but also for Somport, in case you couldn't get a stamp up there. Just tell them that you have just walked from Somport to Jaca - no cheating - and you will get two stamps in your credencial

 

[J Willhaus]

That's what most pilgrims do. In fact, the hospitalera in Jaca Municipal gets upset if you want to start walking to Santiago without first taking a bus to Somport. She tells you to stay two nights, leave all your stuff at the albergue, and walk from Somport with a day backpack. No one will touch your stuff that you leave on your bed.

At least that was my prepandemic experience.

Oh, I just remembered one more thing: if you go to the tourist office in Jaca, they have a stamp for Jaca, but also for Somport, in case you couldn't get a stamp up there. Just tell them that you have just walked from Somport to Jaca - no cheating - and you will get two stamps in your credencial

I know one hospitalero who took issue with someone wanting to leave a pack and walk from further back and spend a second night at Canfranc. It really depends on the rules in the community. We were told to watch which way a pilgrim approaches as from one way may mean the bus stop.

 

[AML]

@Tortilla Thanks, thats good to know that its common enough to stay 2 nights in Jaca albergue. Will prob do that.
@J Willhaus I never thought taking a bus to begin a Camino may be frowned upon. During a Camino or skipping stages with a bus would be a different matter though.
I would have intended walking to Canfranc if the way up to Somport was open.

 

[Flog]

@Tortilla Thanks, thats good to know that its common enough to stay 2 nights in Jaca albergue. Will prob do that.
@J Willhaus I never thought taking a bus to begin a Camino may be frowned upon. During a Camino or skipping stages with a bus would be a different matter though.
I would have intended walking to Canfranc if the way up to Somport was open.

At Canfranc, they don't take reservations as such, but if you plan to arrive there by bus at 8pm, you should phone ahead to check if it's ok with them, and they should be fine with that. You could spend your first night there, then take the early bus up to Somport to walk back down, stopping at Canfanc Estacion for breakfast (theres a decent enough bar, right opposite the station) and on to Jaca. It would be a real shame to miss out on those first few kilometres down from Somport, surrounded by the towering peaks of the pyrenees if you started out from Jaca. From Canfranc Pueblo, there's a morning bus up to Somport at 7:07 and another at 8:44.

Edit: The hospis at Canfranc might allow you to leave your pack there and walk down from Somport without it, picking it up a couple of hours later when you pass... ask!

 

[J Willhaus]

@Tortilla Thanks, thats good to know that its common enough to stay 2 nights in Jaca albergue. Will prob do that.
@J Willhaus I never thought taking a bus to begin a Camino may be frowned upon. During a Camino or skipping stages with a bus would be a different matter though.
I would have intended walking to Canfranc if the way up to Somport was open.

It is a high tourism area and this albergue is only for pilgrims. We got a lot of hikers wanting a cheap place to stay when we were there.