Villar de Mazarife to Rabanal del Camino

Day 29 Villar de Mazarife to Hospital de Orbigo (15kms)

Oh, what a beautiful morning!!  We have a late start as this is another short day…8.00am breakfast, a photo shoot by our Tio Pepe host…she has collages of all her guests on the walls of the Bar…and hit the road at 10 to 9. 



Straight....



Our route today takes us straight through the village and onto 6kms of straight sealed road, (except for one barely detectable kink across an irrigation canal,) then straight onto the gravel road before a discernable kink over another canal.  The straight gravel road continues for 6kms after the kink until we turn right onto a straight section of sealed road which leads us straight into Hospital de Orbigo.

A magnificent morning for walking with corn as high as an elephant’s eye, autumnal poplars, an occasional vehicle, and a few other peregrinos to share our relative solitude.  We can hear birds but can’t see them, and the only other ‘wildlife’ is the odd caterpillar, snail, slug, millipede and one dead snake!  Cows graze in a field, which is an unusual sight – mostly confined to feed lot barns – and there is some evidence that sheep and/or goats have passed this way.

Our entry to Hospital de Orbigo (hospital as in hospitality and not “Emergency!”) is across the 19-arch medieval bridge, dubbed the Paso

Honroso which dates from the 13^th century with updates and restorations as recently as the 19^th  century.   It is currently undergoing another major restoration. 

The bridge gained fame in 1434 when Don Suero de Quinones challenged allcomers to a jousting tournament to assuage the torments of an unrequited love.  Dispatching some 300 knights over the course of one month, Suero triumphed and later made a pilgrimage to Santiago in thanks.  The jousting field is ‘preserved’ alongside the bridge today.

Jousting field & 19 arch bridge

 Uncharacteristically, our accommodation is a few hundred metres off the Camino…and isn’t open yet, so we find a Bar to have lunch - a huge bocadillo (half a baguette filled with sliced cheese) and a café con leche grande (a BIG white coffee!) – and we meet Mike from Oxford who likes a chat. 

This is a day which we enjoy very much, although nothing of any great note actually happens.

Day 30 Hospital de Orbigo to Astorga (17kms)

Breakfast – scrambled eggs and bacon with toast!!  An 8.50am start in the cool, with frost on the grass as we leave the village on a dirt road, deciding again today to follow the scenic route in preference to the road option.  2kms to Villares de Orbigo through fields of corn and irrigation channels, where one enterprising farmer is growing veggies in a disused channel running beside his field of corn!  Potato harvest is in full swing and a common sight is a John Deere tractor with a large trailer attached outside a barn with men sorting through the load.

The trail winds its way through forest sections, open fields, pine plantations at various stages of growth, ups and downs, just interesting and really nice walking.  After we leave the forest area, we see a single building and think it’s too soon for the next village.  We come closer to find an old barn and outside, there is a ‘kiosk’ with coffee, tea, fruit, bread and jam, and sello (Credentiale stamp)…the sign says ‘Donation or free’ and ‘Todo es possible’ (Everything is possible).  The ‘proprietor’ is David, he speaks very good English, and he tells us he is there every day of the year, whatever the weather.  We ‘buy’ a coffee and take a photo.  We think he probably lives there alone, a hermit, a recluse.

Moving on, we come to the Crucero de Santo Toribio where the road walkers meet the scenic walkers. From here, we can see Astorga in the valley below.  A picnic spot beckons and we spend an hour or so having our lunch, photographing birds, and chatting to other peregrinos as they pass by.  Many are having trouble with feet, knees and general malaise…lots of taping and limping, but most are still smiling!

A short, steep descent into San Justo de la Vega, and from there it’s just 4kms into the city.  Cross the river and wind our way up into the old city over an ancient stone footbridge and an elaborate, modern pedestrian overpass across the railway line.  A field of giant pumpkins catches our eye…they have all been left rot!

Past the remains of a Roman villa with some intact, mosaic flooring and other indications of what has been, and walk straight into our accommodation – a very nice hotel – so after a shower we relax and go for a walk!  The Cathedral is unfortunately closed but there is plenty to explore in the Old City…the Gaudi Palace reminds us very much of the Caja Espana (Bank of Spain) headquarters in Leon until we realise it’s the same architect and it’s the house he built to live in. At this time of the afternoon it’s interesting to sit in a Plaza, have a coffee with a local specialite pastry, and watch the city come to life.  We meet our friend Jeanette at dinner and also Katy from Sydney.  Most people we meet comment on the number of Australians and Canadians on the Camino.  There are a lot but also many Germans, and of course French and Spanish.  We estimate that we have met people from about 20 countries.

Day 31 Astorga to Rabanal del Camino (21kms)

Although it’s still dark, we set out at 8.00am and make our way through the suburbs of Astorga, onto a footpath alongside the road, over a bridge across the dual-lane freeway and onto a senda.  Along with many others, we pause to watch the sunrise over the city.

First decision to be made is whether or not to detour to a village said to be an example of the Maragato (traditional) style of village.  We decide to stay on the main drag, which is a marked footpath about a kilometre away from the road…  a decision vindicated when we see the village not far off the main path and it looks nothing special to us.  In Murias de Rechivaldo we meet Alison (Cairns) and her sister Jenny (Ballarat.)

There are no seats along the path so we have a standing rest and refreshment stop where the footpath meets the road, and then continue into Santa Cantalina de Samoza, about 8kms from Astorga.  Between here and El Ganso we find a concrete seat where we have our first sit down of the morning, have a drink and a banana and get a very cold bottom!  We are looking for a fuente to top up our water bottles, but the smell of coffee, and the fact that the Bar was called “The Cowboy Meson” proved too tantalising and we stop in for a short rest and a café con leche grande!  And meet the Cowboy – a retired policeman. We meet Alison and Jenny again and discover that Alison and her eldest sister are both breast cancer survivors…we leave them to enjoy the Cowboy’s coffee. 

With Jenny & Alison

All this time we are gradually climbing through open woodland until we come out onto a heath land all lovely and purple, with pine plantations along the other side of the road – our path is alongside the road, sometimes a senda, sometimes actually abutting the road.  We can see our route for tomorrow and it doesn’t look too bad at all, given that we are now at about 1,000m.  We can also see Rabanal del Camino nestled into the side of the hill amongst the trees.

We decide to have lunch and billy boil where the short climb into Rabanal commences, about 3kms out.  John fashions a seat, table and ‘fireplace’ from the available raw materials and we are just packing up when along come Alison and Jenny again.  We walk into Rabanal del Camino with them, gently climbing all the way, until we actually reach the village where we leave them at the first albergue and continue the strenuous climb up the main street…our accommodation is at the very top, just where the route for tomorrow starts, so it is well worth the effort.

After all that, we think we deserve a drink so go down to the bar and have a beer and a sangria while watching Fedora and Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters.  With cameras at the ready, we set off on a voyage of discovery to see if we can find some bread for tomorrow.  Draw a blank – our host tells us that the shop people have closed up and gone away for a holiday in the sun!!  We do, however, have plenty of supplies and manage to “save” some bread from our dinner menu. 

We wondered earlier today when people turn their heating on…answer is now!  Our room and the bathroom are quite toasty…maybe a little warm overnight!