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-
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-
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 –
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!
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