Day 11 (6 April) — Saying Goodbye To The Plain in Spain — 13 Miles

I had a restful night because of the wine by the fireplace and the peacefulness of the B&B. Dawn broke and after breakfast, I said good bye to my hosts Maximo and Mercedes. MG rates a 10.

Once I left MG, I was on the Camino trail, the same road that I was walking the evening before except in the opposite direction. That explains the Camino route through Villavante because the train tracks bisects the straight path below the village. I went up the rail bed to take a photo of the rails. The path on the left side of the photo is what I saw last evening. MG is behind the row of trees by the road. I decided to take a small rock from the bed as my souvenir rock of this Camino.

Within a few miles, I crossed the bridge at Hospital de Obrigo and shortly thereafter made a right turn to follow the Camino into the rolling hills north of the path. I encountered about 30 pilgrims on this segment. Here are three hiking up one of the hills.

My guidebook noted a snack stand at about the 25 km mark. Voila, there it was. I enjoyed a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a hard boiled egg. No prices for items; just a donation was requested. Even Bart Simpson is a fan.

The hills ended in a few miles where a large cross overlooked Astorga, a Roman outpost at the crossroads of a river and a major road. I wondered if lots of warehouses were located here back in those times. If you look at the horizon, a section of the Cantabrian mountains can be seen. Our journey tomorrow begins our crossing of those mountains.

Astorga was founded during the reign of Octavius Augustus. He gets some good press as one enters Astorga.

After climbing the hill into Old Town, my hotel was at that end of town. My room was the most spacious and upscale of the trip if you like a modern style. The room was cozy and pretty sound proof. I have been fortunate to have had excellent places to stay over the past three days in Leon, Villavante, and now Astorga.

Time for some city touring. The two main attractions is the Astorga Cathedral (Gothic with strong Renaissance influence) and a Gaudi designed home for a bishop. It now houses a museum of Camino artifacts.

The cathedral displays an extensive collection of ecclesiastical items ranging from reliquaries to vestments. In one chapel between the museum and cloisters, 3-D headsets are offered that present a tour of the exterior and interior of the cathedral — awesome. Finally, the cathedral is breathtaking with its high ceilings and Renaissance decorated alters. Well worth a journey to see.

I exhaled an exclamation when I left the church. Not as big as Burgos or Leon but it certainly has gravitas.

Immediately next door is Gaudi’s bishop’s home. Like the Casa Botine in Leon, it does not present the classic exterior designs of his Barcelona structures. Nevertheless, it certainly attract attention.

By this time, I had met up with Keith and John after a two day hiatus. We shared a repast. I had the chef’s take on a Russian salad — tuna, peas, carrots, olives, and potatoes with minimal mayonnaise, followed by pork cheeks with potatoes, and finally a flan with a spongy texture. The meal was ok. As we get close to the Asturian border, I am hoping that fabada and cachopo will appear.

Tomorrow the mountains. Adios to the Meseta — the plain in Spain.