The albergue near a brothel?

[HedaP]

Does anyone know the albergue that is in a small town on the CF? It is near a brothel called something like El Club that is much favoured by truck drivers. Please note the later is an assumption based not on personal experience but on the parking lot. The albergue is relatively small with a few small dormitories and the double bunks have been converted into single beds by removing the mattress from the top bunk. What was the top bunk can be used a storage space. It has a nice garden and backs onto fields. Locals were collecting walnuts in a neighbouring field when I stayed there.
PS Apologies for the title of this thread but couldn’t resist.

 

[Bradypus]

@HedaP I do not know the particular place you mean but walking the Via de la Plata in the past year I noticed quite a few similar establishments on the carretera sections of the route. Often on the very edge of town or in the middle of nowhere. The vast majority seem to have closed down and be up for sale. I did wonder if there had been some change in the law that forced these closures or if they were simply no longer money-making businesses?

 

[mspath]

Perhaps this place is the Albergue San Luis de Francia in Villamayor del Rio near highway N120 just east of Belorado.

https://www.gronze.com/castilla-y-leon/burgos/villamayor-rio/albergue-san-luis-francia

Nearby but often boarded up is a sexy club; there are several such hot spots along the CF.

 

[Constantine]

“Go a pilgrim, return a whore” was the old medieval saying for the Camino!

 

[Jodean]

That was in Villamayor. The albergue is San Luis de Francia (as posted above) Great home cooked food from the lady's huge garden.

 

[aloarb53]

Agree with mspath above re: Albergue San Luis de Francia. There is a restaurant about .4km down the road. Been to both places twice. A waiter at the restaurant proudly showed me photos of Shirley MacLaine (with her bodyguard) at the restaurant when she was on the Camino in the early 1990's.

 

[Prentiss Riddle]

Perhaps this place is the Albergue San Luis de Francia in Villamayor del Rio near highway N120 just east of Belorado.

https://www.gronze.com/castilla-y-leon/burgos/villamayor-rio/albergue-san-luis-francia

Nearby but often boarded up is a sexy club; there are several such hot spots along the CF.

I remember a similar setup at Castildelgado. We stayed at the lovely little albergue Bideluz (enthusiastic five stars!). On the highway was the truck stop El Chocolatero, and across from it the sketchy-looking Club Galicia. In the Club Galicia parking lot was a small trailer whose occupant had hung out laundry to dry. I didn’t ask her occupation.

What odd memories one makes on the Camino!

https://goo.gl/maps/agFaKuoXVty

 

[Waka]

I was obviously walking with my eyes closed, note to self. pay attention next time.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I was obviously walking with my eyes closed, note to self. pay attention next time.

Me, too, I have been totally oblivious. Next time I will definately watch for anything with the word "Club" in it and forego staying at any nearby albergue!

 

[E V Waight]

“Go a pilgrim, return a whore” was the old medieval saying for the Camino!

Not sure what the catch was if any but it did make me Laugh.

 

[jsalt]

On the highway was the truck stop El Chocolatero, and across from it the sketchy-looking Club Galicia.

I’ve stayed at El Chocolatero twice; it’s one of my favourite overnight stops on the Francés.
22 euros for a modern well-appointed single room with private bathroom.
The first morning I went in the bar looking for a coffee, and the only available seat was at the counter in the centre of a long row of truck drivers.
I happily took my seat, ordered my coffee, and thought . . . if only my husband could see me now . . . !
Jill

 

[Prentiss Riddle]

Me, too, I have been totally oblivious. Next time I will definately watch for anything with the word "Club" in it and forego staying at any nearby albergue!

I wouldn’t worry. I don’t imagine the patrons of the club are interested in pilgrims and we have safety in numbers. Besides, if you keep the albergue curfew you’ll never even see each other!

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

Sure aren't we all just street walkers on the Camino

 

[C clearly]

I will definately watch for anything with the word "Club" in it

Especially if it is named Club El Pecado. (On the VDLP)

 

[StevethePlanner]

During the Canaveral – Grimaldo section on the VdlP, you pass through the parking lot of a strip club/brothel. That evening I sent a photo to my wife and assured her that I did not stop there. She replied “But it looks so nice… .”

 

[alexwalker]

Keep the names coming... Making a list.

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

During the Canaveral – Grimaldo section on the VdlP, you pass through the parking lot of a strip club/brothel. That evening I sent a photo to my wife and assured her that I did not stop there. She replied “But it looks so nice… .”

"Good from a far but far from good" Steve. As the saying goes 'I don't care where you get your appetite as long as you have your dinner at home'

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

Keep the names coming... Making a list.

And checking it twice to be sure where's naughty and nice

 

[Old Gringo]

Especially if it is named Club El Pecado. (On the VDLP)

I walked by El Pecado a couple of years ago, next to a retirement home . . . wonder if they have a stamp for the Camino?

 

[jsalt]

Keep the names coming... Making a list.

On the Camino Portugués, between Coimbra and Mealhada.
Jill

 

[Jill81]

Oh, look what you’ve started!

 

[SabsP]

Keep the names coming... Making a list.

FYI ...We have a red light district in the area and one of the houses of pleasure is called " Croque monsieur ". This is also a well known name for a typical snack...but I digress

 

[rappahannock_rev]

Ivar! How 'bout a new Camino Forum Resource: Complete List of Brothels!?

(Just kidding, obviously. )

 

[Jill81]

FYI ...We have a red light district in the area and one of the houses of pleasure is called " Croque monsieur ". This is also a well known name for a typical snack...but I digress

I’m in a very quiet little bar in Castilblanco de Los Arroyos on the VdlP and you’ve just made me laugh out loud, startling the proprietress a bit. I’ll keep an eye out for Croque Monsieur’s and Croque Madame’s too!

 

[oursonpolaire]

Perhaps a more intrepid pilgrim could enquire to see if, as in mediaeval times, they still offer pilgrims' discounts.

 

[jsalt]

PS Apologies for the title of this thread but couldn’t resist.

Apologies also that we've all hijacked your thread .

What was the reason for your first post? I mean, why did you want to know where this brothel I mean albergue is? Just curious .
Jill

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

On the Camino Portugués, between Coimbra and Mealhada.
Jill
View attachment 39140

Thats some walking pole

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Thats some walking pole

Beat me to it - you'd never get that in the overhead locker!

 

[jsalt]

Thats some walking pole

Beat me to it - you'd never get that in the overhead locker!

Travelling light too

 

[Deleted member 56069]

I must be getting old, after 30 kilometers of walking and maybe a few glasses of wine anything else seems like too much effort...Yup, definitely old...

 

[Roberto Mitelpunkt]

A saying I learned in my first Camino was: The Camino don’t give what you want but what you need!

 

[alexwalker]

And checking it twice to be sure where's naughty and nice

Healthy interests have you, indeed. May The Force be with you.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Most "Clubs" are registered as hostels, too. Back before camino albergues proliferated, the occasional pilgrim spent the night in a hired room, claiming to never cotton-on to what went on elsewhere in the establishment until some later revelation.

 

[HedaP]

Apologies also that we've all hijacked your thread .

What was the reason for your first post? I mean, why did you want to know where this brothel I mean albergue is? Just curious .
Jill

Don’t worry Jill, very early on @mspath provided the answer I was looking for which was the name of the town and/or the name of the albergue. A camino friend is planning to walk with her grownup daughter and we were trying to remember where this particular albergue was. I knew someone would know, thanks to the memorable local landmark. All the other posts have just been a bonus.

 

[Sailor]

. . . . Apologies for the title of this thread but couldn’t resist . . .

Are you kidding me? Great post by our shipmate Heda !!! Buena suerte, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

Most "Clubs" are registered as hostels, too. Back before camino albergues proliferated, the occasional pilgrim spent the night in a hired room, claiming to never cotton-on to what went on elsewhere in the establishment until some later revelation.

Yep the oohs and ahhs coming from next door was probably somebody nursing their blisters said no one ever

 

[yaying]

@rappahannock_rev
ohh..
forgive me father, for i have sinned!
even im typing im still laughing of your joking!

 

[peregrina2000]

Walking past a brothel is one thing, but how many of you have walked past women at the side of the road sitting under shade umbrellas, waiting for passing business? I have had at least two up close and personal encounters of that type, once on the Catalan and once on the Levante. It was a little awkward, to say the least, but I figured I couldn't just ignore them -- especially since we had been looking at each other for 5 or 10 minutes as I shuffled towards them. And you know, the smile and the humanity coming from those faces when I said hola, buenos días, was the same as what you see from the many people you pass while walking who wish you a buenos días and a buen camino. It made me think for a long while about how those women found themselves in that situation and why I was so lucky to be walking by.

 

[SabsP]

Walking past a brothel is one thing, but how many of you have walked past women at the side of the road sitting under shade umbrellas, waiting for passing business? I have had at least two up close and personal encounters of that type, once on the Catalan and once on the Levante. It was a little awkward, to say the least, but I figured I couldn't just ignore them -- especially since we had been looking at each other for 5 or 10 minutes as I shuffled towards them. And you know, the smile and the humanity coming from those faces when I said hola, buenos días, was the same as what you see from the many people you pass while walking who wish you a buenos días and a buen camino. It made me think for a long while about how those women found themselves in that situation and why I was so lucky to be walking by.

Thank you!

 

[jsalt]

Laurie, you must have seen the girl on the Portuguese Camino, between Agueda and Albergaria.
You have to pass right by her when you cross the N1 to get to the Ponte Romano.
I always greet her, but she responds warily.
Even Brierley mentions her “. . . Venus tempting the modern traveller with her charms. The fishnet tights looked out of place on the Roman bridge but blended easily in the modern motel. I, too, sell myself every time I try and manipulate the universe around me . . . .”

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There is/was a Club behind the first albergue in San Martin del Camino after Villadangos del Paramo.

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

To err is human to forgive is divine, but as a fella once said to me, do you have to be oh sooooooooooo human

 

[nycwalking]

Ivar! How 'bout a new Camino Forum Resource: Complete List of Brothels!?

(Just kidding, obviously. )

What's obvious? Slight thread detour. Did you know wherever there are three or four Anglicans/Episcopalians there will always be a "fifth".

 

[E V Waight]

I walked by El Pecado a couple of years ago, next to a retirement home . . . wonder if they have a stamp for the Camino?

View attachment 39141

Reckon you have to be a pecador to be a guest. Of course if you are a pescador, then the local fish market would welcome you. I think I'll do my next Camino with a more open eye. I now know what I've missed .

 

[Kurt5280]

As a bicigrino I rode 70+ km from Carrion de Los Condes to Mansilla de Las Mulas...and attempted to check-in at the Hotel Bahillo...as I was standing at the front desk and watching the ladies walk past when I realized I was in the wrong place...note that the pictures are from the internet and this hotel looks completely different on the inside...and nobody is facing the camera.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

What's obvious? Slight thread detour. Did you know wherever there are three or four Anglicans/Episcopalians there will always be a "fifth".

And it will be "the good stuff," too!

Pax

 

[oursonpolaire]

Walking past a brothel is one thing, but how many of you have walked past women at the side of the road sitting under shade umbrellas, waiting for passing business? I have had at least two up close and personal encounters of that type, once on the Catalan and once on the Levante. It was a little awkward, to say the least, but I figured I couldn't just ignore them -- especially since we had been looking at each other for 5 or 10 minutes as I shuffled towards them. And you know, the smile and the humanity coming from those faces when I said hola, buenos días, was the same as what you see from the many people you pass while walking who wish you a buenos días and a buen camino. It made me think for a long while about how those women found themselves in that situation and why I was so lucky to be walking by.

Some years back (I think 2009), I was walking on the Cami de San Jaume into Igualada through an industrial suburb--- the sort of place with lots of car dealerships-- and there were three women plying their vocation along a side road. One of them cheerfully asked me, who was walking with a pack, if I were interested in business. She was Bulgarian, and the other two from Central America. I declined, saying that I was on pilgrimage and really just interested in getting into Igualada. She was very persuasive, but I continued to decline, and then suggested that (this was at the time of GM's troubles) with her skills of salesmanship and her ebullience, she could likely save the US auto industry from its woes. The other two were visibly less cheerful about their lot, but I wished them buenos días as I passed, and they shyly returned the greeting. Many caminos ago, I learned from our Spanish hosts how it was never wrong to recognize each other along the way.

 

[MaryLynn]

If you read the responses in order, by the time you read this, you realize the topic has changed a bit...but I searched my photos and found the 'club' that
I remembered passing as I walked from Granon to Belorado. It was all closed up and seemed out of place, compared to other villages and businesses along the way. I notice that there is a satellite dish, so I'm sure they watch a lot of sports at the club.

 

[Bogong]

To err is human to forgive is divine, but as a fella once said to me, do you have to be oh sooooooooooo human

“To forgive is human, to err is divine” - Mae West.

Bogong

 

[amancio]

Going back to good old El Pecado in Aldea del Cano, this photo is not faked, just found the right angle for the arrow . The arrow is inviting us to sin!!! And the other photo shows how close the old folks' home is, back to back!

I remember the place opposite El Chocolatero (great hot chocolate, best ever!!!), and the abandoned one past Cañaveral.

 

[RobertS26]

This thread raises four questions in my mind. First, do these "clubs" have sellos for our credentials? Second, do the sellos contain artwork which depict the club's services? Third, can you get your credential stamped without utilizing their services? Fourth, would any such sellos raise eyebrows at the Pilgrims Office?

 

[amancio]

This thread raises four questions in my mind. First, do these "clubs" have sellos for our credentials? Second, do the sellos contain artwork which depict the club's services? Third, can you get your credential stamped without utilizing their services? Fourth, would any such sellos raise eyebrows at the Pilgrims Office?

The problem is they are not usually open at convenient times for the average pilgrim, I am afraid...

 

[amancio]

Talking about possible stamps, I would have loved to get the stamp of this restaurant near Isla, Asturias. It means, literally, "The man with the big belly and the female pilgrim". The sexxy pilgrim design is quite an achievement, really....

 

[wisepilgrim]

I have always wanted to fill a credential with sellos from these "CLUBS", perhaps in a spare credential. Not to go to the clubs mind you, but for the confused look and scrunched up face of the volunteer at the pilgrims office when they try to figure out if I've covered the last 100km adequately.

Having said that, can anyone confirm that they actually have sellos in the clubs? Anyone?

 

[KinkyOne]

I have always wanted to fill a credential with sellos from these "CLUBS", perhaps in a spare credential. Not to go to the clubs mind you, but for the confused look and scrunched up face of the volunteer at the pilgrims office when they try to figure out if I've covered the last 100km adequately.

Having said that, can anyone confirm that they actually have sellos in the clubs? Anyone?

They ought to have their business sellos for bills, contracts etc. So I guess it is possible although as already mentioned their opening hours might be a bit of a problem for pilgrims

 

[Houlet]

i missed so much om My Caminos, I did not sightsee, I wlaked, did not visit alll the churches and take pictures.
Personally I am delighted to have missed out on the other attractions of the camino. too

 

[JamesGeier]

In another thread, https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/the-t-s-bars-of-spain.47574/, there was the following,

Well, on that line of thought, there are supposedly at least two "puticlubs," aka "brothels" that cater to pilgrim needs and even provide a sello! One's in Logrono, the other outside Leon. Sorry, I don't have more specifics!

So when I walked the Camino Frances last Sep/Oct, I had my eyes open, but I did not really know what to look for, and did not see anything obvious. I did want to get a sello from the clubs, but that whole world is very foreign to me. And I also wondered what the reaction might be at the Pilgrim's office in Santiago if I had sellos from the puticlubs. Maybe this is just more incentive to return...
Buen Camino!
--jim--

 

[volleyjanice]

Talking about possible stamps, I would have loved to get the stamp of this restaurant near Isla, Asturias. It means, literally, "The man with the big belly and the female pilgrim". The sexxy pilgrim design is quite an achievement, really....


View attachment 39297

Well of course that is exactly what I looked like as I trudged along in the August heat (and the August wind and rain).

 

[Karl Oz]

“Go a pilgrim, return a whore” was the old medieval saying for the Camino!

Wow, that must have had them in embarking on Caminos in droves in those days...

 

[Carlos Santiago]

. . . wonder if they have a stamp for the Camino?

View attachment 39141

Those of us who are not familiar with how European establishments should look outside (except for those inviting signs) might just go in and inquire if they have a stamp; which, if positive, ... "might as well have a sangria and patata frita" . Without those signs, they are restaurants or hostels.

 

[digger]

Keep the names coming... Making a list.

You could add this ... spotted on the VdP between Cañaveral and Galisteo

 

[yaying]

@digger OH my the cone of the mountain!

 

[Lucy Keenan]

Talking about possible stamps, I would have loved to get the stamp of this restaurant near Isla, Asturias. It means, literally, "The man with the big belly and the female pilgrim". The sexxy pilgrim design is quite an achievement, really....


View attachment 39297

I remember passing this. I was bloody starving but the restaurant was too posh and too expensive.

 

[Sporkie]

Last year I did the Portuguese way and I remember this one town that was fully booked. Lucky for us we did it cycling. So we found this hotel online. It was very nice and very private when we arrived. Once in the room we realised what kinda hotel it was. Round bed, Jacuzzi, open shower, condoms on the night stand a disco ball

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

Last year I did the Portuguese way and I remember this one town that was fully booked. Lucky for us we did it cycling. So we found this hotel online. It was very nice and very private when we arrived. Once in the room we realised what kinda hotel it was. Round bed, Jacuzzi, open shower, condoms on the night stand a disco ball

Saturday night fever all over again

 

[Deleted member 12253]

@HedaP I do not know the particular place you mean but walking the Via de la Plata in the past year I noticed quite a few similar establishments on the carretera sections of the route. Often on the very edge of town or in the middle of nowhere. The vast majority seem to have closed down and be up for sale. I did wonder if there had been some change in the law that forced these closures or if they were simply no longer money-making businesses?

Club in Spain means brothel. Had to break it gently lovely young ladies who told me they were going clubbing in big city. Red faces but thanked me a few days later

 

[JamesGeier]

You could add this ... spotted on the VdP between Cañaveral and Galisteo

I was walking the Via de la Plata recently, and yes, between Canaveral and Galisteo the Camino route goes right through the parking lot of the brothel/puticlub El Puerto. There were cars in the parking lot, so I stopped and rang the bell to see if I could get a sello. It was about 10 AM. Rang twice, and nobody answered. As I was walking away, a lady in a very nice black car drove up, down came the window and she said something to me in Spanish. I heard cuatro and houra, so I am pretty sure I was being told that they open at 4 PM. I suspect the ladies are inside sleeping (thus the cars), and the doorbell rings the manager's phone when they are not open.

Gerald Kelly's guidebook for the Via de la Plata calls it a "stripclub" and says that it opens well after pilgrims' bedtime. Not so sure - I never went to bed at 4 PM. But I also was not going to return to El Puerto from Galisteo after 4 PM.

Buen Camino,
--james--

 

[Bogong]

The Camino has moved so far from its original religious roots and has become so commercialised that I wouldn’t be surprised if brothel visits didn’t become a legitimate and promoted part of the Camino experience in future.

Let’s hope this doesn’t creep onto the site. But the lines have been blurred in some other areasFor example to me some of the posts on equipment have been very close to crossing the line into advertising.

De colores

Bogong

 

[dick bird]

On the Ruta de la Lana, opposite Hostal Pepe, Graja de Iniesta. It seems to have recovered from whatever effects the pandemic may have had on its business.

 

[dick bird]

If members find this thread offensive, I'd be happy to close or even delete it, but caveat emptor - the topic is clearly announced in the title so no one has to read it if they don't want to. Brothels exist. It is a moot point whether or not they should, but they do. However, they are not always easy to recognise so it could be argued that the thread is saving pilgrims from an embarrassing mistake. It is also, admittedly, indulging those of us with a juvenile sense of humour. As for promoting the use of brothels, I think that is highly unlikely, but if a pilgrim should seek their services, that is entirely their business.

So consider this thread under notice. It may have served its purpose already, but I will leave it for a while in case anyone has a further comment they wish to make.

 

[henrythedog]

If members find this thread offensive, I'd be happy to close or even delete it, but caveat emptor - the topic is clearly announced in the title so no one has to read it if they don't want to. Brothels exist. It is a moot point whether or not they should, but they do. However, they are not always easy to recognise so it could be argued that the thread is saving pilgrims from an embarrassing mistake. It is also, admittedly, indulging those of us with a juvenile sense of humour. As for promoting the use of brothels, I think that is highly unlikely, but if a pilgrim should seek their services, that is entirely their business.

So consider this thread under notice. It may have served its purpose already, but I will leave it for a while in case anyone has a further comment they wish to make.

Entirely reasonable; but hopefully not on the basis of a minority. The subject matter is obvious as you say.

It is perhaps an unnecessary distinction; but many of the establishments referred to in the thread exist on a wide spectrum of the sex-industry and May not be accurately described as ‘brothels’. My recent venture onto the Portuguese had me in a Casa rural adjacent to a ‘club’ which -if it were functioning at all - only opened for business long after I’d retired for the night. It seemed to be an entirely respectable neighbourhood.

Everything under the sun exists in Spain and other European countries; there’s nothing special about the areas which somehow find themselves on a Camino route.