Post-Camino Retreat

[Priscillian]

A Casa do Raposo - aka The House of the Little Fox - is ready to receive pilgrims, at last. This is not an albergue but my private (and only) home. I am a four time pilgrim, writer and therapist and I have long felt that there was a need for somewhere for pilgrims to rest and regather their thoughts AFTER they have finished their Camino. The Little Fox House welcomes all who wish to extend their stay - to write, read, meditate, walk some more, and partipate in the life of a tiny Galician aldea. I am also offering History and Mystery car tours to local places of interest (and some pretty nice beaches too!).
3 - 5 days (no overnights, sorry), donativo. Reservations essential.
9 waymarked klms from the Camino to Muxia.
http://www.pilgrimagetoheresy.blogspot.com

 

[RENSHAW]

This is sooooooooooo great Matron!!! Will visit some day and share some cooking ....You did it!!!! xxxx.

 

[Priscillian]

Thanx Ren. Much appreciated. It has had its ups and downs and even now the future is by no means certain as I am on a "rent-to-own" basis (couldn't get a mortgage at this time); so much depends upon the success of my language school and books, and pilgrim visits will also help. I am planning to do some "History and Mystery" tours by car to show people what the area has to offer: LOADS! Castles and Castros, Lighthouses and Shipwrecks, Churches and Beaches, Mills and Dolmens ... These are hidden places in many cases and something the person who gets on the plane straightaway will never see. This too will be donativo. I am steadily researching the area so have a lot of stories to tell (on my blog there are several so far). I might put them and photos in a book sometime in the future as I have had some interest already. (My new book St. James' Rooster will be out in July in English and September in Spanish: El Gallo de Santiago).
So, lots of things to do to make sure that A Casa do Raposito will be here for pilgrims for many years!
see http://www.pilgrimagetoheresy.blogspot.com

 

[CaminoKris2013]

This is definitely something that I will be putting onto my schedule...i.e. the only thing I will really "plan" on during my Camino in 2013. I think it is a wonderful idea and service that you are providing. The idea of just finishing the camino and getting on a plan to head back home seems so depressing (to me!)

Looking forward to it, I just hope that you will have room for me when I am done with the camino.

Kris

 

[Priscillian]

Thank you for the nice words, Kris! A recent pilgrim couple from Australia said it was "like coming home to Mum".
Loved that...
Look forward to meeting you.
(And by the way, I am looking for pilgrims to spend Christmas here so please see my associated post: Christmas in Galicia: an offer you can´t refuse...)

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Tracy’s latest batch of advertisements for her business have reminded me of recent questions that have been asked by pilgrims.

Along the Camino routes from time to time people start businesses by letting rooms in their homes or indeed renting out the whole house. Often such facilities are needed and it helps them pay the mortgage. However pilgrims should not assume that because these facilities are on camino routes or are advertised on forums or in guide books that they are either official or indeed safe. Whether there are set charges or not, when even a “donativo” is invited these places are small hostals/guests houses in the law. Pilgrims themselves should check that:

The establishment is registered with the local authority
That it is properly licensed by providing adequate fire detection/prevention measures in place
That there are sufficient toilets and bathroom for multi occupancy
That there is proper commercial insurance for the protection of residents in place and on display

The camino routes would not have the existing infrastructure without the many small businesses which provide needed services. However normal precautions should be taken.

 

[Priscillian]

Quite right, John. Quite right. Unfortunate that this “warning” should have been made following my post(s) and not in a thread of its own, however as it is clearly directed at me and my “business”. Unfortunate too that you did not contact me in a PM to clarify what was being offered here before continuing to vilify me and my work with pilgrims.
In fact, what I am needing for Christmas – so that I can spend it with my family in Malaga – is someone to take care of my home and my cats. I do not use the word “hospitalero/a” for the simple reason that The Little Fox is my home, not an albergue, pension, series of rented rooms, etc., as described here by John.
The Little Fox is offered as a place of transition. It has been much enjoyed and loved by everyone who has found their way here. Of course donations are appreciated as food, drink, washing and drying are all given. So, often, is pick up drop off at a convenient bus point. I am also delighted to show pilgrims some of the beautiful places surrounding us here. The bills mount up and most of the time most pilgrims barely cover their expenses and some not at all. That doesn’t matter to me. This is my dream of helping pilgrims. I suggest Johnny Walker continue to follow his own and leave mine some respect.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Ouch Tracy! No offence was intended. Since you are the only one to advertise so regularly on the forum it seemed appropriate to post the "caveat emptor" comment here.

Regards

John

 

[CaminoKris2013]

In fact, what I am needing for Christmas – so that I can spend it with my family in Malaga – is someone to take care of my home and my cats.

Too bad I am on the other side of the Atlantic!!! Love that you have cats! The hardest part of doing the Camino for myself is the fact that I will have to find someone to watch mine (4). Hoping someone wants to spend a couple of months in sunny Florida.

CaminoKris2013

 

[Priscillian]

Never mind Kris. We'll meet up and swop cat stories one day. In the meantime, spread the word for me, would you? Announcements of free accommodation in paradise here seem to be interpreted as advertisements in some quarters.
Thanx!

 

[CaminoKris2013]

Looking forward to it, Tracy, looking forward to it! Also, I'm planning on ordering your first book today on Amazon.

CaminoKris2013

 

[alipilgrim]

Hi Tracey,

Sorry, but I'm a little confused. In your first post you mentioned "no overnights, sorry" in the same line as 3-5 days, donativo. Does this mean that you welcome pilgrims to visit only during the daytime, or are you offering a place to spend the night too?

Good luck with your venture, alipilgrim

 

[ffp13]

Hello Tracy ,

Unfortunately I did not make it to the little fox house earlier this year, hopefully I can make my way there June/July next year,

the earlier "caveat emptor" post was IMHO unnecessary, I have seen photos of your guests room and the living areas, your facilities surpass most hostels that I have stayed in, some of which didn't have hot water or electricity, or inside toilets.



Frank P

 

[Cita]

I would like to share a video of a post-camino-retreat in Galicia, that means very much to me.
The woman in the video speaking is Tracy Saunders, who opeens up her home on a dontivo basis to pilgrims who wants/needs a "buffer" between walking a camino and their life further on.
No need for details, Tracy says it all in the video

Tracy sometimes need a "Foxy-sitter", as her family lives in the southern Spain and I have had the fret fortune to do that on 2 occasions and Tracy and I have just agreed - to my total deligtht - that i Foxy-sit this comming Christmass and New Year.
I hope so much for a group of pilgrims from around the World to be there this year, who would like me to cook various traditional dishes from all our countries for Christmas for a big mixed buffet
(I make a faily good vegetarian hazel-Xmas pie too, if nyone does not care for meat)
My 13-year old daughter Emma will accompagny me this year and hopefully her beloved older brother, Tobias, who introduced me to FoxyHouse last year after his own Cmino Frances to Fisterra and Muxia and gave me the gift of bringing FoxyHouse nd Tracy Saunders into my life and heart will be with us too.

If you yourself or someone you know is on a pilgrimage and is around Santiago, Finisterra or Muxia t that time, remember this post (I speak Danish and German too ::smile:

By the way: Tracy still needs a FoxyHouse sitter for the lst part of this August. If you are interested, contact her either on The Little Foxhouse´s or her own Facebook profile or at priscillianmartyr (at) yahoo (dot) com
It is an easy and most enjoyable and rewarding "job" and I m sorry, that planned surgery hinders me to help her out myself

 

[Cita]

PS: sorry for misspelling and errors: I am a very tired Dane rigth now, with a somewhat wornout laptop, with a mind of "his" own

 

[PILGRIMSPLAZA]

Thank you, Cita! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
The real pilgrimage starts when you're back home giving it it's place in your post camino life; several pilgrims told me so in my working days. Now my thoughts are there every day.
I do hope and trust that LFH and Tracy and you [and me ] will stay for ever young...
Brassa!
Geerτ

 

[Cita]

Hi Geert
Sure you will, Geert, stay for ever young: age is a big strechy rubber band and we are the age we feel on a certain day (are, not have the age, sure you get my point)
I have not forgotten your Milky Way camino slippers, I think they have just been waiting for some beautifull handpainted yarn, that I am working with at the moment: to my utter delight, I can "knit-paint" with that yarn, pure coincidence resulted in a knitted Monet Flower painting -like potholder
So, start imagine your slippers, how you want them, and tell or show me, when you have decided
Beso
Cita

 

[PILGRIMSPLAZA]

Hi Cita,
I was most impressed by the white ones, but any pattern is OK because I know it will be made with love.
Please, surprise me with your magic touch...
Brassa!
Geerτ

 

[Bubastis]

I am new to the Forum - but not new to the Camino. I just wanted to add that I stayed at The Little Fox House on my last Camino and was just blown away by the hospitality. The Little Fox House Retreat is off the Camino (although Tracy told me that pilgrims of old would alight from their ships in Ponte do Porto and walk to Muxia before walking on to Santiago. She has a wealth of stories and will take you places of interest). The village is a haven of peace and the old Stone house itself just invites you to relax and unwind. Some fantastic home-cooked food too and all by donation. I don't know how she does it, but I hope continues so that I can return after the Norte this year. Really recommend you check it out.

 

[AndreaF]

If you are looking for a place to rest a few days after your camino, or if you've fallen in love with Galicia like so many of us and are looking for a base to do some walking from, definitely check out The Little Fox House! (https://www.facebook.com/TheLittleFoxHo ... ts&fref=ts) It is run entirely by donation and is a real treasure.

We stayed there in 2013 and Tracy was a wonderfully helpful and generous host. She gave us a cozy place to stay, yummy food to eat, shared her knowledge of the region and dropped us off at the start and picking us up at the end of each day of walking.

Her retreat is in a small Galician village not far off the Camino on the way to Muxia from Dumbria. The area around her place is lovely and rural, but even better was the coastal walking we were able to do between Camarinas and Laxe. The coast line is beautiful and pristine and you spend all day walking along it and hardly bump in to another soul.

Tracy is a great resource and her Little Fox House retreat is a real gift whether you're looking for a pause before jumping back in to life, or want to explore coastal Galicia for the adventure of it.

 

[Maya Amanecer 2015]

Hello pilgrims,

I just finished a retreat at The Little Fox House this morning and walked back to Muxia along the coast. I had a lovely time there taking short walks in the Galician village there, reading books from the house library, as well as talking with the hosts and petting the resident kitties who live there. Walking into and out of the village along the Rio Grande and the Rio Carantona and through the pine and eucalyptus forests were soothing and peaceful. The local villagers are happy to take a break from their work or their walks if you initiate conversations with them. The bread delivery van driver gave me a crusty loaf of bread after I told him that I liked his music from his van. This was a great way for me to end my camino, and I would encourage anyone who has some time to contact Tracy close to the end of their camino to see if she has space for you. The Little Fox House is an excellent place for rest and repose!

MA (aka Dawn)

 

[Dre]

If you are looking for a retreat after a long trek on the camino, I would highly recommend the little fox house. It is easy to get to from Finesterra and/or Muxia. I spent my last 2 days there. I went for leisurely walks along the river, had a picnic by the river, ate wholesome meals, watched Dvds, had baths and slept a lot. It was a great place to reflect on my Camino adventure. Check it out, it's a must.

Andrea

 

[KatefromOz]

A Casa do Raposo - aka The House of the Little Fox - is ready to receive pilgrims, at last. This is not an albergue but my private (and only) home. I am a four time pilgrim, writer and therapist and I have long felt that there was a need for somewhere for pilgrims to rest and regather their thoughts AFTER they have finished their Camino. The Little Fox House welcomes all who wish to extend their stay - to write, read, meditate, walk some more, and partipate in the life of a tiny Galician aldea. I am also offering History and Mystery car tours to local places of interest (and some pretty nice beaches too!).
3 - 5 days (no overnights, sorry), donativo. Reservations essential.
9 waymarked klms from the Camino to Muxia.
http://www.pilgrimagetoheresy.blogspot.com

how does one follow your blog? what a strange word that is? thx so much from Ozstraylia..

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Stayed there in 2014, and again in 2016.
Love their neighbour .....


Very peaceful stop-over: lovely walks by the river, and into the village. And don't miss the enormous horreo, close to the small church of Sant Iago ....

 

[movinmaggie]

I'm a tad confused; the OP is dated May, 2012??

 

[grayland]

Posts have been consolidated into one thread on this subject as is being done on other subjects as time permits.