September 28: How it was

After yesterday’s trepidation, I thought I should do a short post to let you know how today went. It was a long day, no question, but, completed without mishap.

We arrived into Astorga just after 3pm, dry, healthy. Our bags waited for us. We checked in (no problem with the booking) and immediately went for a very civilised beer, in frosted glasses, in a nearby café. They provided complementary chicken wings and we sat comfortably in the street, watching the pilgrims come in.

A slight hiccough: it is Sunday afternoon. All the grocery stores within 10km are closed. By 4pm, all the restaurants and bars closed their kitchens. We will venture out again around 8pm to see whether we can find an evening meal tonight. After such a long day, with so many climbs, we have our fingers firmly crossed.

Despite the fine forecast, the day started in rain, not particularly heavy, but persistent. It started last night and brought out the snails and slugs. We were far too distracted by their generous, handsome juiciness. Today’s photos are very gastropod-centric.

At 14km, we came to Puente de Orbigo: a beautiful sandstone town, crowned with an immense sandstone bridge. First built by the Romans, the current stone and pebble dash version is 13th Century. It is called “The Pass Honorably Bridge”, because a 15th Century knight, Don Suero, challenged all comers to joust their way past him, in honour of his chivalric (and, history reports, subsequently requited) love for the beauteous Dona Leonor. It is a truly spectacular monument, with 20 arches, over 250m long.

The town is a noted Camino crossroads and the place where the Knights Hospitaller, (formally, the Knights of St John of Jerusalem), established their major hospital for tending to the sick (and to pilgrims). It is a gorgeous collection of medieval constructions, enlivened by tubs of petunias and pelagoniums: red, pink, white, purple. Sadly, we arrived just after 11am, meaning the bars/albergues/restaurants were closed after breakfast and before lunch. We had to skip our intended coffee in one of the many picturesque squares, and keep moving, but not before spending time trying to spot any of the many frogs. They leapt from the verges and riverbank under the pondweed with lightening speed, leaving only a fading splash and a widening ripple on the surface.

It started to dry mid-morning. Then the temperature started to climb. As did we. There are 3 major hills to be scaled and descended on today’s stage. None huge, but in sequence they are a little challenging.

As the day warmed and dried, it was an afternoon of insects: uncountable ants of many colours and sizes; blue-winged crickets; dragon flies, both green and red. Spiders are not easy to see, but their webs catch both the dust and the fluffy, parachuted seeds of thistles and dandelions, creating gauzy bundles by the trail. Coming into Astorga, we were surrounded by the skuttling of lizards, disturbed in their sunbathing by our passing.