Astorga

Mercedes cooked us up a big breakfast to send us off. They are a such a nice family. Their house/pension is an old farmhouse they gutted and rebuilt beautifully. It’s filled with old tools and things from Mercede’s childhood. A wooden sledge with stones cut into the bottom that she rode on, pulled by animals, to crush grain, and lots of other cool old stuff. The house is built over a canal that always runs water.

We walked through more and more hilly countryside and eventually, at the top of a long series of climbs, we came across a rest stop operated by volunteers. This rest stop was there when Dale walked the Camino in 2016, and one of the volunteers was the same. It was such a nice experience. They had a table full of fruits and juices, water, and snacks there for passing pilgrims.

Later, we came to a cross on the crest of the hill overlooking the city of Astorga. It was a long steep down grade, but I’m getting pretty good at protecting my knee going down hills.

Astorga has an impressive cathedral, but it was closed when we went through.Read more