Photo Tour: Hostal San Juan de Dios

From the street (Avenue Manzanares), you can see the entrance to the hostal and this sign:



indicating that you have reached your destination: Hogar Clinica San Juan de Dios. There is a large gate that is always locked, as well as a security guard at all times. When you look to the right you see:



Behind those field houses is where the alpacas and Patricio the horse live. When you look straight ahead you see:



la clinica, and when you look to the left you see:



our hostal. The entrance to the hostal is here:



and you walk straight towards:



the lounge. This is where breakfast is served from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM every morning, and where most of the communal hanging out happens.

When you turn to the left you go down the hallway:



which leads to my room, all the way down the hall and on the left. In the picture you can see the giant water jug, which is where we can all fill our water bottles for the day. I actually just took the last of it, so I hope someone refills it for tomorrow morning.



This is my room. My bed is the one closer to the window, and it is very, very comfortable. One of the workers at the hostal comes in once a day and makes our beds and cleans our room, which is completely unnecessary, but it's fantastic to come back from class to a clean room and Green Alligator sitting on my pillow.

To the left is the bathroom:



It has a really great, clean shower that sometimes is scorching hot and sometimes ice cold, depending on how the shower gods feel that morning. Balancing the hot and cold water temperatures is going to be an Olympic sport in the next winter games, and I think I'll make the team. Either way, it's nice to be clean.

Back in the room, behind the door is a large closet:



It holds all our clothes, shoes, and dreams.

Anyway, that's pretty much it for the hostal. It's very comfortable and homey, and all of the people are wonderful. It's right off La Avenue de la Cultura, which is a main street to almost anything, and in walking distance of lots of restaurants, a supermarket, and places to hang out.

More entries to come,

Victoria