Day 26 San Martin Del Camino to Astorga, Spain, October 17, 2022

In spite of the fact there were 10 of us in our room, it was very quiet and I had a wonderful sleep. After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, I was on the road leaving the hostal at 8:06. It was more of the same - walking beside the highway but the highway was a lot busier than yesterday. It was also drizzling but I have good rain gear so that didn’t bother me at all.

I walked 22.5 km with no pain anywhere in my body, feet included!  It was a miraculous day-

My intention for the day was gratitude. I am grateful for so many things and it seems good things just keep happening. I find that when I express gratitude, positive feelings come over me and that leads to more happiness and therefore more gratitude so it is a virtuous circle and a great way to go through life.

My first stop was at Hospital De Orbigo which has a beautiful bridge.  It’s a town known for jousting-

In 1434, the Leonese knight Suero de Quiñones held a tournament in which he or one of his buddies challenged all men of equal rank who wished to cross the bridge to a jousting duel.  1434 was a holy year, just like 2022, so there were a lot of pilgrims on the way to Santiago.  The tournament lasted from July 11 until August 9 and Suero claimed to have broken 300 lances by the end of the it.  Today, during the summer, the town hosts reenactments of this tournament.

The town is very beautiful –

After Hospital de Orbigo, I had an option to take the actual Camino which was a couple of kilometres longer and up a few hills or take the shorter route which continued to follow the highway. Well, I’m not one for extra walking so I took the highway route. It was noisy and I had to walk on quite a bit of pavement so not that I will ever do this again but I would not take the highway route a second time. I even listened to a podcast to try to block out the noise and it wasn’t until I was finally away from the highway that I realized how loud it had been. Some of the route was ok-

Finally my route joined the other at Cruceiro de Santo Toribio-

And I could see Astorga-

There are funny statues-

There’s a long crossing over the railway tracks. I guess in the good old days you could walk across them but now there’s a few hundred meters added on to go up and over- 

Once in Astorga, I found Albergue MyWay-

I got here about 3:30 and they had given my room away. The man with whom I had made my reservation did not tell me that if I wasn’t going to be here by two, I needed to call. They put me in a triple for the same price as a bunkbed in a dorm. I am hoping I will have the room all to myself tonight –

After getting settled, I went exploring Astorga.  I came across an archaeological dig with a mosaic floor showing the bear and the birds which is devoted to Orpheus.  He would serenade with a lyre which symbolically is the soul and the animals are the body.  Archaeologists believe the floor dates from the end of the second century-

This house had a large courtyard with many columns. It would’ve been owned by a very wealthy family and dates from the end of the first century –

City hall-

Cool bells on a church-

Astorga is known for chocolate-

I am so lucky my backpack never feels this big -

Supper was calamari and mixed salad –

After supper I went by the Bishop’s Palace which was designed by Gaudi in 1887 to reflect the history of the city. It’s in Gothic Revival style and includes a castle, a church and a mansion. The exterior is white granite. Inside is a museum of Saint James’ way-

The most impressive place in Astorga is the Cathedral-

The detail on and around the front doors is amazing-

Inside is the chapel of the Christ of the Waters-

The Chapel of Saint Michael-

The Chapel of Saint Lawrence who was martyred and burned at the stake which is why he is holding a grate –

The chapel of Saint James the Pilgrim-

The Chapel of Mary Magdalene-

The front altar-

The cloister-

There is a lot of stained glass-

The pipe organ has over 2700 pipes –

The chairs in the choir are hand carved from walnut and each one is different –

The pillars are huge-

Just like in León, an arch divides the cathedral in two-

It is a very impressive place but maybe the best thing about it was you could put on a headset and enjoy a virtual tour from a drone’s perspective. It was really cool.

After the cathedral I wandered back to the hostel. There is a mural from Napoleon’s route when he invaded Spain –

So far I’m still alone in my room and it’s 9:15.  I think I’m safe!  What a bonus and what a way to finish off a day filled with GRATITUDE!  Tomorrow I’m off to either Rabanal del Camino which is 19.8 km or Foncebadón which is 25.3.  I have made reservations in both but it will depend on the ups and downs of the day and if I have any pain. I’m looking forward to a sunny day!