Astorga from Hospital de Orbigo

On the road at 8AM. Sun came up around 8:30. The next village was supposed to have an open bar for coffee and food, but the only things up were some dreadful looking pilgrim scarecrows. A guy was selling fruit out of his garage and I asked where I could get coffee. He took me into his kitchen and made me coffee and toast! Had a monster rooster on guard duty.

The rain held off for the first 2 hours, then it rained steady for the rest of the day’s walk. Of course it dried up when I stopped for the night.

Seeing a lot of people on the trail today. I had read it was getting crowded this fall, but hoped it would have quieted down by now. Have an alternate route I can take from Ponferrada in a few days if it’s getting more crowded.

Toured the Astorga cathedral this afternoon. As impressive as the cathedral in Leon but in different ways. Look at the size of those stone columns! Took a photo of a painting of a demon harassing a saint. A 14th century version of Freddy Kruger I guess.

Heading into the mountains in a couple of days. I chickened out and bought some long underwear this afternoon. Then dinner at the alburgue with nice people.Read more