San Martín del Camino

Talk about cold! Wow! Need more warm clothes. Put on all that I had and walked at a very brisk pace to generate some heat. Noticed frost on the ground and captured a pretty sunrise. It seems that they are the most colorful when it is cold.

Had a cup of coffee in San Martin and stopped for breakfast in Hospital De Orbigo so I covered about six miles in the cold with about nine to go.

Made my first wrong turn this morning...in the dark. Had the headlight on, but must have missed a turn somewhere. When I came to a hard surfaced road and did not see an attow, I checked the book and the Camino was much closer to the highway than I was so I made a left, walked about 1/4 mile down the road, found the arrow, made a right and kept trucking.

I finished the walk to Astorga receiving one act of kindness. I stopped at a mercado for fruit and the owner gave me an orange as a gift. He used his cell phone to translate. Probably does not see too many pilgrims as old as I am and it is not a problem for me to look tired.

Once in Astorga, I walked around looking for a hostel where I could chill out for a couple of nights. Made a couple of false starts, backtracked, and found the Casa de Tepa. The gentleman that helped me told me that the property had been in his family for over 200 years.

We negotiated the price and when I offered my credit card, he said to pay later. The room is great and I'll enjoy it for the next couple of nights. He asked me where I was from and when I replied, he went into a closet and came out wearing a new year's eve plastic hat with the stars and stripes covering it. We had a laugh at that, and I think he gave me his best room. First floor, sunken bed and TV watching area, and separate shower and toilet areas. Towels large enough to wrap around twice with some left over.

Anyway, I am sitting in a laundry washing my clothes. Met a couple from Canada and she helped me with the washer settings so I should be clean in about an hour, then food.

Interesting picture of the bridge leaving de Orbigo, the trail in front of me, and a stature of a pilgrim drinking something. Is it water or wine, and if wine, tinto or blanco?

The tower appears to be a grain storage silo given the number of corn fields close by and the long range picture shows Astorga. Zoom in and you can see the cathedral. The other picture is the road in front of the mercado.

Dinner is a bocadillo - ham, cheese, and tomato. Always an issue finding someplace that is open and serving food after two but before eight. Going to enjoy my beer and ham sandwich, then might go out later.

Nope, in for the night.Read more