Day 33 Hospital de l'Orbigo to Astorga

Got up in time, but no daylight to walk in. So I finally left at 8:30h. And I arrived at Astorga at 14:00h, almost 17 km. Makes me feel pretty good. With two fairly long pauses - one in a café in the first village on my path, Villares de Orbigo, and one on top of a ridge of hills reaching a view point with benches after a very long ascent after which everyone stopped, grateful to find somewhere to sit.

Very little road walking at the beginning, the rest mostly the usual large pebbly tracks (see photos). After the last village only 4 km before Astorga I changed into sandals. There the camino left the road and continued in parallel on a farm track, but I was a bit fed up with the pebbly farm tracks and stayed on the road which had a convenient sidewalk thus cutting a few metres off the official route. But I was not spared the steep final access to the Astorga town centre. Found our hotel and Isabelle too. Siesta, shower, walkabout - had difficulty finding Isabelle in the café where she was installed. In the end she found me and we had our cañas and finally visited the cathedral which is next to the building by Gaudi which is the episcopal palace.

Another caña for me and bed for both of us...Read more