Day 1: April 26 th
"Astorga"
We took the bus from Madrid at 8.00am and arrived in Astorga, an old Roman city around noon. A 4 1/2 hr bus ride, stopping once for refreshments..
We stayed at the "The Pension Garcia", not fancy but fairly cheap with nice friendly people. 25 euros/night. The food was good and a lot of the locals eat here. A good sign.
We had all afternoon to explore the many interesting sites in the town. One of the most famous is the Palacio Episcopal known as the Gaudi building named after its architect. As we would start walking early the next morning we checked the route out of town that afternoon. We did not want to start walking in the wrong direction.
A different view of the Palacio Episcopal in Astorga. Unfortunately it was closed and we did not get to see the inside. Note the stork's nest on the highest chimney. A common site around this area.
The trail was along the side of the highway and was paved with gravel which was very hard to walk on. My feet were hurting by the end of the day and the last bit was all up hill. Glad to get to the hotel.
In Rabinal we stayed at Méson El Refugio run by Antonio Pérez and his family. 42 euros. Also had dinner here at 7.50 euros/ea. The hostel was across the street from where we stayed and we went to an evening vespers service there. No pictures to-day. Met Bill Hall from Ontario for the first time to-day also.
Day 3: April 28 th"El Acebo"
La Trucha
Cruz de Ferro (alt. 1504 km) somewhere between Rabinall and El Acebo. This is a famous landmark on the Camino. It was built originally to help pilgrims find their way across the mountains. Traditionally, each pilgrim adds a stone, brought from home, to the huge cairn below the cross. We did not bring a stone to add to this.
Jamie standing at the front door of his home. At dinner we had wonderful vegetarian food and lots of conversation.
This is a view from the back of the village of El Acebo and shows the hills we walked over and the trail down off the mountain. The trail was much steeper and slipperier then it appears in the picture.
Day 4: April 29 th "Pontferrada"
Arrived in Pontferrada after about a 16km walk, mostly downhill. My left foot is bothering me but managing. We stayed at the Hotel Madrid in the town. On the way into town we walked by the imposing 12th c. Castillo de los Templars, everybody's idea of what a Templar castle should look like. It was also closed and we did not see the inside. Picture found on the internet.
Homepage ........... Next: Villa Franco del Bierzo to Tricastella.
To check out some of my other adventures follow these links.
Ecuador and Peru adventures
Iquitos, Peru on the Amazon River
Trekking in Nepal