A bed by the window: Christmas appeal
help us with hospitality for the future
Dear Friends,
A good bed on the Camino is a high priority. A bed by a window which can be opened or closed is even better.
Over the past twenty-six years of pilgrimage walking, I have spent more than 600 nights staying in albergues, hostels, pensions or hotels, ranging from no stars to 5 stars.
Beds along the journey: from a leaky room to a parador, and everything in-between.
The albergue below was the most memorable and probably the most appreciated place I ever spent a night. In late October 2004, on the Via de la Plata, we walked 26 km in torrential rain. We arrived at the albergue. The bad news was that the place was closed, and the windows were either broken or boarded up. The good news was that the door was unlocked. There was no electricity or heat but there were beds and a bathroom with water, even a shower. A soft landing out of the rain, no snoring and a roof over our heads. The windows, open by default, gave us light and air. A bed by the window. We slept in everything we had and although we skipped the shower, we were grateful.
At Casa Anglicana we have just completed our third year. As I wrote in my last newsletter, 12,000 people from 49 countries have slept at the Casa. Our beds fall somewhere between the worst and the best and need to be retired. Our windows are showing their age and need to be replaced or repaired.
Casa Anglicana: Guest room, facade, and crumbling window frame.
To purchase new good quality mattresses, sheets, pillows, towels and blankets will cost $750 per bed (28 are needed). To repair or replace the windows will average $4000 per window, since we have to meet regulations for being in an historic district (6 are needed).
Casa Anglicana will close in December for three months to complete the bathroom and library renovations, replastering and repainting of the halls and stairways and replacing the stairway carpet. If we can raise $50,000 to replace the beds and fix the windows, when we reopen in March our guests will appreciate the improvements.
I am asking that you remember the beds you slept in on your Camino and the windows that gave you light and fresh air. I ask you to remember how grateful you were for a clean comfortable bed and if you were lucky, a window you could open and close.
My wish during this Christmas season is that you will join me in giving generously for the gift of a good night’s sleep for each of the pilgrims we welcome next year.
Christmas Blessings,
Nancy H. Mead, Board President