Day 29. Astorga

I did send some written text with yesterday’s photos but it appears it did not go through, so here it is again.
Because of a late transfer and a wrong turn by the driver, we didn’t get going until we’ll after 9:00 am, a bit late for a 31 km walk. Also, we were travelling with another couple, Doug and Jean, from England, and Jim, from New Zealand. Jim had just started two days ago, from Mansilla, hoping to finish a Camino he had started five years earlier and continuing from where he left off last time. It was evident Jim was struggling from the outset, so he opted to lag behind us, going at his own pace.
The majority of this section was solitary with few villages along the way; however, there were a few attractive sections with trees for shade. The weather forecasted possible thunderstorms, but we just got a bit of rain, then a sunny day.
The first 15 kms, relatively flat and easy walking,brought us to Hospital de Orbigo, where we walked on the Camino’s longest bridge. It was impressive, built in the 13th century, and built over an earlier Roman bridge. It’s myriad arches carried us over the rio Orbigo vía the passage of honour Pasa Honroso so called because of the famous jousting tournament that took place here in the Holy Year 1434. I’ve included a photo of a poster promoting a jousting tournament slated for next weekend. Hospital de Ortigo was a beautiful village where we stopped for lunch.
We arrived at Astorga a little after 6:00 pm exhausted after a long day’s walk. We knew our hotel was directly across the main Cathedral which we spotted what we thought was about 2 kms away. Unfortunately, it took us through a more than 4-km circuitous route to get here.Read more