Astorga to Rabanal del Camino

I am actually behind on my social media postings! A lovely walk between Astorga and Rabanal. We decided to take the detour and pass through a quaint village in this region which is decidedly the most picturesque of all the villages I have passed through. If I could have stayed in this village, I would have, but we were committed to the next village, so between Astoraga and Rabanel we had a lovely 20 km walk.

For such a short day, I seemed to be busy. We walked and arrived into town just in time for the end of lunch. So at 3 pm, I ordered a bowl of vegetable soup. It was delightful and honestly just homemade vegetable soup, but after a day out, it was very welcome.

At 7 pm in the village, the village monastery, so in this case, at least 3 monks, sang vespers at 7 pm. It was inspiring listening to the chant of this service.

After the service, many of us all ended up in the same restaurant, and so though we were at tables for 2 or 4, there were many conversations going on, and Julie, from Australia, was celebrating her 63rd birthday, and soon we were all singing Happy Birthday as the waitress brought cake.

I included it in the pictures but there is a small chapel outside of Astorga where a young boy fell in a well, and when his mother begged for mercy, her son was saved from a certain death. Now there stands a small chapel, and if a person drinks water from this well, you will be safe in your travels. Needless to say, I emptied my water bottles and replaced it with this particularly special well water.Read more