Right now, as we all long to be able to travel to Santiago de Compostela once more, many of us are thinking about our absence from that sacred place. What about those who remain present in Santiago, though--those who have organized their lives to a considerable degree around attending to pilgrims as they arrive in the city. What have their lives been like during the pandemic and what are they seeing in Santiago right now, deep in the winter (recorded late January, 2021), when reasons for optimism and pessimism seem to clash on a daily basis? This episode focuses on the people behind two well known houses in Santiago. Up first are Nate and Faith Walter, who run Pilgrim House (pilgrimhousesantiago.com) on Rua Nova. They're followed by Sybille Yates, who created Egeria House and authored Pilgrim Tips & Packing List Camino de Santiago (amazon.com/S-Yates/e/B00A9YUYQ2), and has transitioned during the pandemic into running her own little free pantry (littlefreepantry.org).