Old Home Week

Rabanal del Camino, Spain
Astorga, population 11k, is an interesting place and home to the strong mountain people known as Maragatos, who historically knew their way around mules and mountains, creating a transport hub for moving goods from coast to interior. The Maragato heritage is celebrated in the cuisine, as well as commerce, as transporting cacao beans from the New World led to processing it into chocolate long before Milton Hershey was even a twinkle in his grandmother's eye. Of course we had to stock up on chocolate for our journey, sampling the different varieties before making a selection. We headed to the town square for arrival beverages and to watch the famous city hall clock figures, a Maragato man and woman, strike the bell on the hour. On the way we ran into Sheila, an American from California, Des, our Irish friend, and a young Camino couple (Ottowa/Los Angeles) we've chatted with along the way. We finally made our way to the place advertising a pilgrims meal at a decent hour, and ran into Peter and Susie, our British friends. We managed to drag ourselves back to our lodging in time for curfew. We exited Astorga before dawn, bound for Rabanal del Camino. We've left the flat meseta behind and climbed steadily uphill into the mountains of the Leon region. Clay and straw building materials have given way to carefully fitted stone, almost a cross between a mosaic and jenga. We've seen sheep and cattle in the fields. Paths wind through small villages, fields and woods. Passing through Valdeviejas, Murias de Rechivaldo, Santa Catalina de Somoza, and El Ganso, we finally arrived in Rabanal del Camino for lunch. What a crazy day! First we stop off for coffee at a cowboy cantina in El Ganso, then it's a hot dog (?!) for lunch in Rabanal. We'll make an early night of it tonight as tomorrow's route takes us by Cruz de Ferro, followed by a deep descent into Molinseca.Read more