A Milestone on the Camino de Arousa: The First Public Pilgrims Hostel Opens in Carril
Lane, Vilagarcía. The Arousa and Río Ulla Sea Route, one of the most unique Jacobean routes, celebrates a historic moment with the opening, this Tuesday, of the new Carril Pilgrims Hostel. This establishment becomes the first public shelter of this maritime-river itinerary, consolidating it as an official pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
The property, given by the Council of Vilagarcía Last March, it was reconditioned and equipped in record time for its imminent commissioning. The Xunta of Galicia will assume the management of the center during the next 30 years, thus guaranteeing the continuity of an essential service for pilgrims who choose this unique route.
Modern Facilities and a Tribute to an Illustrious Neighbor
The new Carril hostel, which offers 30 beds distributed in five bedrooms, has been designed with the comfort and accessibility of pilgrims in mind. It has a reception equipped with a hospital cabin, laundry, an accessible kitchen-dining room and a room adapted for people with reduced mobility, ensuring that all walkers can enjoy its services. The price of the stay has been set at 10 euros per person.
The director of Tourism of Galicia, Xosé Merelles, visited the facilities and announced that the shelter will be named after Andrés Fernández García, in honor of a prominent resident of Carril who was the promoter of the first school and the first medical office in the municipality. «It is a satisfaction to be able to inaugurate this shelter, since it covers a space that did not exist in Arousa. I think it has the capacity to attract many pilgrims,” declared Merelles, underlining the importance of this new infrastructure for the area.
With this addition, the network of public shelters in Galicia amounts to 79 centers, offering a total of 3,353 places spread throughout the community. Merelles thanked the "great collaboration" of the Vilagarcía Council for fulfilling the opening commitment before the summer, highlighting that this opening is "a great opportunity to put, even more so, Carril on the Camino map."
For his part, the mayor of Vilagarcía, Alberto Varela, expressed his joy at the inauguration. «We have been working on this for many years. This work is an example of collaboration between institutions and we have to be able to reach agreements for the benefit of citizens," reflected the councilor, emphasizing the value of working together to achieve projects of this magnitude.
