No, we're not sleeping in the wilderness yet

So we've been walking the Camino for 11 days and we've experienced a lot that the Way has to offer. One of the things that we experience everyday is the local albergue. Whenever we reach the town that we're going to stop at, the first thing that we do is check in at the albergue. Albergues are essentially youth hostels made specifically for pilgrims, and each one is unique. So far we've stayed at all three types of albergues and each kind has it's own advantages and disadvantages. The first and most common kind are the municipal albergues. These are run by the government and are usually bigger. There are usually pretty good facilities (good showers, kitchen), but they fit a lot of people in each room so you're probably going to be stuck with a couple people who snore. The municipal ones are cheaper and we've had some good nights at them. The next kind are the private albergues which are a little bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for. The facilities are better and they each have a unique flavor. One of our favorite albergues was a private albergue called Casa de Austria. We wanted to stay there at first because Jess had spent a semester in Austria, but we never expected how good the choice was. Jess already posted about our great time there, but let me just say, from my perspective, the evening jam session with Jess and our new friends from California was really, really cool. The final kind of albergue is parochial. These are run by the Church and connected to the local parish. They're run.by volunteers called hospitaleros who work for 2 week periods. These have been my favorite albergues so far. The facilities are not as good, we have to sleep on mats on the floor, and we're crammed in the rooms, but they make up for it with the atmosphere. The best part of parochial albergues is the communal meal. We get together and prepare the meal and then eat as a community. The meals have been great and the company is even better. Also, because it's connected to the Church, there's usually a priest and we always pray some sort of night prayer. These have been great nights and they really add a lot to the Camino. Tomorrow we'll move on to Ages and then we'll be in Burgos the day after. After that we move on to the dreaded Meseta, but for now, we're just going to take it day by day.