Pilgrims

In 1999, during a sabbatical leave, Arno walked from the Netherlands, via Santiago, to Cabo Fisterra. The following year, Huberta walked from Le-Puy-en-Velay to Santiago.
  
After that, we still had the wish to walk the Camino together once. That moment came faster than foreseen. At the end of 2001 Arno resigned as a manager working for the government. And so, in the spring of 2002, we walked the Vía de la Plata. “Now you have the chance to really reflect on things. Maybe you would like to do something completely different …” joked Huberta, before we set off.
  
Who could then know what was lying ahead of us? After just two weeks Arno came up with an idea about a hostel. Three months later we had a meeting with the mayor of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. And after another three months we signed the provisional contract for our first hostel … . 

Hosts

It was quite a change, also for Huberta. She had worked as a theatre director, trainer and coach, among other things. We would alternate between working as volunteers at the hostel for six months and spending six months in the Netherlands to earn the necessary income. We would have to renovate a medieval house, learn to work as hosts and learn to interact with people from different languages and cultures. In short: an enormous challenge and learning experience.

It turned our lives upside down, even in winter. Soon we were working less for a living in the Netherlands – enough is enough – and more as volunteers, there too, on other projects in 'the spirit of the way”. This is how we increasingly lead a pilgrim's existence: a simple yet rich life.

In 2014, we sold our hostel in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, picked up our backpacks again and travelled north to Burgundy. There, in the hamlet of Le Chemin (the way!), we set up a new hostel. In October 2015, we handed it over and moved 25 km further north to Vézelay.

Onze tochtgenoten: 

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Pilgrims

After 22 years running a hostel, we are continuing our journey as pilgrims in Vézelay.

For Arno, Vézelay was a highlight of his camino to Santiago in 1999. In his diary, he wrote: "It's as if I'm being touched by the great mystery here. I catch a glimpse of an enormous space beyond the stifling hustle and bustle, materialism and competitiveness of everyday life." That intense experience has stayed with him ever since.
Huberta noted that pilgrims who passed through Vézelay invariably recounted their stay there at the hostel in Saint-Jean — as if Vézelay had travelled with them and that story had to be told.

As early as May 2002, we visited a house in Vézelay with the idea of starting a hostel there. The fact that 22 years later, the road has led us back to Vézelay feels like a circle that has closed in a wonderful way. It is a privilege to be able to continue our journey here. We hope that our journey will thus remain meaningful, both for us and for others.

We would like to thank all the handymen, hosts and other supporters who have made the hostels hospitable places for pilgrims, and we thank everyone who has already helped us with the new place of inspiration in 2025. Without all of you, we would not be able to make this journey.