Day 10. Stg 22. Astorga

The 15-mile walk to Astorga was a great way to end my Camino. The walk itself had a little bit of everything, the people were entertaining, and it was a perfect spring day.

I walked stage 22 of the Camino to celebrate Simon Bromley's life. Simon was Tania's husband, who passed away in 2016. He always wanted to walk the Camino, and now Tania is walking the walk for/with him. He was a wonderful human being and husband. Big hug to Tania my Camino angel 😇

As we walked, we came upon a hippy Camino food stand out in the middle of nowhere, and I firmly believe Simon had something to do with it. It had a huge buffet of food and drinks. It only accepted donations and had a wonderful vibe to it. The dog (hector) was a bonus (see video) .

The city of Astorga has a rich and ancient history dating back over 2,000 years. Founded as Asturica Augusta in the 1st century BCE by the Romans, it was a key military and administrative center due to its location on major Roman roads, including the Via de la Plata. It became an important hub for gold mining in nearby Las Médulas. Pretty old!

We visited The Palace of Gaudí designed by the renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. His most famous work is without a doubt the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Also visited the Iglesia de Santa Marta cathedral, which was built in 1751.

As I mentioned, this is my last stage for this trip. I'm taking the train back to Leon tomorrow to explore the city a little more. I'll spend the night and take a train to Madrid to catch my flight back home on Friday. Hopefully, I've instilled a couple of you to consider the Camino de Santiago. It's challenging physically and mentally but well worth all the great lifetime experiences. I'll be back next year to wrap it up. Thanks for joining me on my adventure. Enjoy!En savoir plus