Category: International Travel

{camino day 34} astorga to rabanal del camino

wanderessence1025 September 15, 2019

I didn’t get far in Astorga before I stopped for my cafe con leche, orange juice and potato tortilla for 6€, which was highway robbery. It was a cold 38°F, so I was bundled in gloves, a hat and three layers. I stopped at cafés more for warmth than for food or drink. I wanted to linger inside and stay warm indefinitely. However, the Camino called, so I continued on.

I passed the medieval hermitage Ecce Homo, a remnant of a former pilgrim hospice, and continued on a dedicated pilgrim path parallel to the road. I crossed the río Jerga and then took a grass track to Murias de Rechivaldo, a typical Maragato village. The Maragatos are part of a group of about 4,000 who are believed to be the last Moorish people in Spain. They are descended from the Berbers of North Africa, who in the early 8th century were part of the first Moorish incursions into the Iberian peninsula.

Astorga to Autopista flyover to Murias de Rechivaldo (5.1 km)

Ermita de Ecce Homo

Murias de Rechivaldo

In Murias de Rechivaldo, I stopped for some orange juice and then continued another 4.3 km on a steeply rising path to Santa Catalina de Somoza. We were leaving the flat plain of Castilla y León behind, and in front of us, the mountain range of Montes de León rose on the horizon.

Murias de Rechivaldo to Cruce (2.3 km)

Murias de Rechivaldo to Santa Catalina de Somoza

Murias de Rechivaldo to Santa Catalina de Somoza

I picked up the pilgrim track running alongside the old asphalt road to enter Santa Catalina de Somoza. In Santa Catalina, I stopped at a El Caminante, a café with a charming courtyard, to charge my phone and have another cafe con leche.

Santa Catalina is another typical village in the region. Its population in now 50, but it once supported a pilgrim hospital. The parish church houses a relic of San Blas, after whom the church and albergue are named. San Blas, the patron saint of wool combers, was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron combs, and beheaded.

Cruce to Santa Catalina de Somoza (2.0 km)

Murias de Rechivaldo to Santa Catalina de Somoza

approaching Santa Catalina and the parish church of San Blas

parish church of San Blas

courtyard at El Caminante

Santa Catalina de Somoza

Santa Catalina de Somoza

Santa Catalina de Somoza

The terrain began to change to rolling hills of farmland dotted with trees. We were now into Galicia. The path today was alongside a road but not a busy one and the scenery was more varied and dramatic. The clouds made it especially pretty.

Santa Catalina de Somoza to El Ganso (4.3 km)

Santa Catalina de Somoza to El Ganso

Santa Catalina de Somoza to El Ganso

Santa Catalina de Somoza to El Ganso

The little village of El Ganso was crumbling, partially in ruins, making it charming and picturesque. It is the first of several semi-abandoned Maragato villages in the mountains. In the 12th-century it had a monastery and a pilgrim hospital. The parish church dedicated to St. James had a statue of Santiago Peregrino.

El Ganso

El Ganso had a funky Cowboy Bar, but the highlight of the town was a tiny supermarket where I got toast with chopped tomato spread and sliced avocado drizzled with olive oil. It was refreshing and prepared me for the climb to Rabanal del Camino.

The weather was cool and sunny all day. It was such a nice change from the Meseta.

Cowboy Bar in El Ganso

El Ganso

parish church in El Ganso

El Ganso

On the way out of El Ganso, I had a brief conversation with Ellen from Germany. She was a fashion designer who had her own company; the company apparently had run into some troubles. She also had just ended a 17-year relationship with her boyfriend. She was walking to try to figure out some of these issues. As soon as a handsome young man walked past, she hightailed it after him.

El Ganso to Puente de Pañote (4.1 km)

El Ganso to Puente de Pañote

I crossed a modest bridge over arroyo Rabanal de Viego. It was a steeper ascent into Rabanal del Camino through mixed native woodland, holm oak (encina), oak (roble), and pine (pino), along the Via Crucis with handmade pilgrim crosses woven into the fence alongside the path. The crosses in the fence, fashioned from twigs and sticks, showed me how many people of faith walk the Camino.

Puente de Pañote to Rabanal del Camino (2.8 km)

Puente de Pañote to Rabanal del Camino

I treated myself to a hotel in Rabanal del Camino, La Candela, for 35€; as it turned out it was quite some distance BEFORE the town of Rabanal del Camino. After settling in, showering and doing laundry, I went into the town to explore.

Rabanal del Camino

Rabanal del Camino has a centuries-old tradition of caring for pilgrims before they make the steep climb up and over Monte Irago. It is thought the Knights Templar ensured the safe passage of pilgrims as early as the 12th century and built the parish Church of Santa María. Today a Bavarian order of monks resides in a building on the square and the now-restored church has a Gregorian chant with Vespers daily at 7:00 p.m. and Compline at 9:30 p.m. The Benedictine missionary monks of the monastery of San Salvador del Monte Irago, established here in 2001, offer a pilgrim blessing.

Rabanal del Camino

In the center of town, I found the 12th century Romanesque parish church, Iglesia de la Santa María, run by the London-based Confraternity of St. James. It had a small library, a courtyard and orchard area where camping was allowed.

Iglesia de la Santa María

At the far end of town, I ran into Darina, who was sitting in the sun writing in her journal, but she didn’t seem interested in having dinner. She told me about Vespers in the church, so I went to the Monastery gift shop to confirm the time. As I bumbled about trying to cobble together a sentence in Spanish, the monk said in perfect English, “I think you speak fluent English!” This was a kind way of saying my Spanish sucked! He asked if I would do a reading in English at Vespers and I agreed to be there at 6:50 for the 7:00 service.

Rabanal del Camino

Across the street from the Monastery, in a cozy restaurant, I had dinner with 38-year-old David from Holland, who had three young kids, and Dee from Taiwan, who was not married and worked with e-bikes in China and Holland.

I enjoyed green beans, a vegetable and bean soup, and limon y cerzeza, as well as a glass of wine. I also ate cheesecake for dessert.

my dinner restaurant

In the Monastery, I sat in the choir, waiting nervously, and listened to the monks chanting Vespers. When it was time, I did the reading, making sure to look up at the audience.

Afterwards, Darina came up and wondered how I’d ended up reading. She said, “At least you looked at the audience unlike that German guy.” (He was actually the Swiss guy Rainier I’d met in Castrojeriz; he read in German). She told me she bought some shell earrings for 5€ from the gift shop, so I did the same.

Rabanal del Camino

Rabanal del Camino

I found some stones with some poetic words of wisdom.

words of wisdom in Rabanal del Camino

words of wisdom

words of wisdom along the Camino

After the Vespers service, I made my way back to my hotel.

Rabanal del Camino

Rabanal del Camino

On the way back to my hotel, I passed the Green Garden camping area. It would be my last night to enjoy a private room for a while.

Green Garden

**********

*Day 34: Sunday, October 7, 2018*

*Astorga to Rabanal del Camino (20.6 km, or 12.8 miles)*

You can find everything I’ve written so far on the Camino de Santiago here:

Camino de Santiago 2018

**************

On Sundays, I post about hikes or walks that I have taken in my travels; I may also post on other unrelated subjects. I will use these posts to participate in Jo’s Monday Walks or any other challenges that catch my fancy.

This post is in response to Jo’s Monday Walk.

decay & ruin in portugal

wanderessence1025 September 12, 2019

Part of Portugal’s charm lies in the peeling and decaying buildings that are found throughout the country. It seems I captured more of them when I was there in 2013, but I also found some in my recent visit in 2018.

Silves 2013

“Decline is also a form of voluptuousness, just like growth. Autumn is just as sensual as springtime. There is as much greatness in dying as in procreation.”
― Iwan Goll

Silves 2013

Evora 2013

Evora 2013

Take something irregular, rough-hewn, off-kilter, incomplete…
and it’s all the more desirable for its flaws.
– Oliver Burkeman

Evora 2013

Evora 2013

Evora 2013 – including a decrepit person!

Evora 2013

“Time erodes us all.”
― Meg Rosoff, What I Was

Evora 2013

Evora 2013

Evora 2013

Evora 2013

Evora 2013

me in Lisbon 2013

Lisbon 2013

Lisbon 2013

Porto 2018

Porto 2018

Porto 2018

Porto 2018

Porto 2018

Óbidos 2018

ruins near Our Lord Jesus of the Stone Sanctuary outside of Óbidos 2018

Lisbon 2018

Lisbon 2018

*********************

“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION: I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place, photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, patterns, all black & white, whatever!

You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.

I challenge you to post no more than 20-25 photos and to write less than 1,500 words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, September 18 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, September 19, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, every first and third (& 5th, if there is one) Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired!

Jude, of life at the edge, shared photos of industrial ruins in a picturesque location: Wheal Coates.
Ulli, of suburban tracks, wrote a post about some industrial ruins in the countryside outside of Berlin: The Modern Underworlds.

Thanks to all of you who shared posts on the “photography” invitation. 🙂

I am traveling from September 1 to October 4. If I cannot respond to or add your links due to wi-fi problems or time constraints, please feel free to add your links in both this post and my next scheduled post. If I can’t read them when you post them, I will get to them as soon as I can. Thanks for your understanding! 🙂

{camino day 33} hospital de órbigo to astorga

wanderessence1025 September 8, 2019

I left Hospital de Órbigo at 7:40, then stopped at Don Suero de Quiñones for a huge chocolate croissant and cafe con leche. There, I ran into Coreen from Oregon again; she had stayed the night in the hotel. I was just finishing up when the waiter brought her a huge breakfast, so I left her to eat alone, taking off shortly after 8:00.

After leaving town, I took a track over a canal and across farmland bursting with cornstalks. There was a magnificent sunrise over the farmland, the corn and the charming villages of Villares de Órbigo and Santibáñez de Valdeiglesia. I was filled with gratitude to be back to the Camino I fell in love with.

Hospital de Órbigo to Villares de Órbigo (3.1 km)

birds on a wire

sunrise outside of Hospital de Órbigo

Hospital de Órbigo to Villares de Órbigo

Hospital de Órbigo to Villares de Órbigo

approaching Villares de Órbigo

sunrise approaching Villares de Órbigo

approaching Villares de Órbigo

Villares de Órbigo

Villares de Órbigo

Villares de Órbigo

At Santibáñez de Valdeiglesia, I stopped at a cafe for some fresh orange juice and chatted briefly with Martha from Barcelona who was doing a section of the Camino this year; she’d done other sections in years past.

I climbed a pleasant and wide pathway, talking to Coreen for quite a way. I found it hard to connect with her so was glad for a nature break so she could go on ahead.

Villares de Órbigo to Santibáñez de Valdeiglesia (2.5 km)

Villares de Órbigo to Santibáñez de Valdeiglesia

Villares de Órbigo to Santibáñez de Valdeiglesia

I walked up and down over two dry river valleys through a woodland of mostly holm oak and box trees before ascending to a high place and le Casa de los Dioses Cantina, the Abode of the Gods, where I stopped to enjoy another orange juice.

Santibáñez de Valdeiglesia to Cruceiro Santo Toribio (6.6 km)

la Casa de los Dioses Cantina (Abode of the Gods)

A short time later, I came to Cruceiro Santo Toribio (Cross of Saint Turibius), a stone cross commemorating the 5th-century Bishop Toribio of Astorga who supposedly fell to his knees here in a final farewell after being banished from the town. From this point on Monte Gozo, we had views of Astorga below. The Montes de León on the horizon past the city were the mountains we would cross in the days ahead through the highest point of the whole Camino at 1,515 meters (4,970 feet).

Cruceiro Santo Toribio

I descended into the town of San Justo de la Vega, an expanding suburb of Astorga, where I had a sharp pain in my left foot and had to stop on a bench, take my shoe off, and massage my foot. While I sat there, a line of hunched, dusty and tired pilgrims marched by and I had the realization that I looked just like them!

Cruceiro Santo Toribio to San Justo de la Vega (1.4 km)

Cruceiro Santo Toribio to San Justo de la Vega

Cruceiro Santo Toribio to San Justo de la Vega

We crossed a bridge over the río Tuerto and then on a dirt track alongside a factory, then along a pleasant path crossing a Roman footbridge, Puente de la Moldería, and then over a multi-tiered railway pasarela (runway).

San Justo de la Vega to Astorga (Plaza San Francisco) (3.6 km)

San Justo de la Vega to Astorga

Railway pasarela

entering suburbs of Astorga

It was a steep climb into Astorga (population 12,000), a beautiful medieval walled town set atop a steep ridge. Originally a powerful community of Asturians, a subgroup of Spanish native to Asturias with Visigothic, Latin and Celtiberian cultural origins, it became an equally important Roman city because of its prime position at the junction of several major routes. This is where the Camino Francés (the French Way) and the Calzada Romana (the Roman Road, also known as the Vía Aquitana) joined the Vía de La Plata (the Roman silver route) from Sevilla and the south. In addition, Astorga also was a crossroads for the Cañadas Reales, or royal drove roads, used to herd livestock up and down the Iberian peninsula. In medieval times, this crossroads gave rise to some 20 pilgrim hospitals.

I walked through Plaza San Francisco, where I stopped in briefly at the Convento de San Francisco, or Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Supposedly, St. Francis came here on his pilgrimage to Santiago in 1212.

statue in Plaza San Francisco, Astorga

Convento de San Francisco

inside Convento de San Francisco

Convento de San Francisco

I checked into Albergue San Javier near the Cathedral at the far end of town. Darina wrote me that she would be staying at the same albergue and asked if I’d join her to eat the local cuisine tonight at 8:00.

San Javier had no place to in our rooms to charge our phones. It also had paper sheets and pillowcases. The man who ran the albergue, a fat man with bad knees, took me upstairs to show me my bed and insisted on giving me a kiss on each cheek. If I hadn’t turned my head quickly, he might have landed a kiss on my mouth! When Darina arrived he did the same thing to her. This kissing thing was strange because a man in Villares de Órbigo did the same thing earlier today.

After I showered and did laundry, I went to visit the mid-15th-century Gothic Cathedral standing majestically over Plaza Catedral. It is a blend of Romanesque, Gothic, and later styles of architecture. It has three altarpieces of great artistic value, including a Renaissance altarpiece with a Romanesque statue of the Virgen de la Majestad, for whom the cathedral is dedicated.

Adjoining the Cathedral is the Museo de Catedral, with displays of sacred art and artefacts, as well as depictions of pilgrimage.

Catedral & Museo de Catedral

Catedral & Museo de Catedral

carvings on exterior of Catedral

carvings on exterior of Catedral

Catedral & Museo de Catedral

Catedral & Museo de Catedral

The religious art in the Museo is quite impressive.

interior of Museo de Catedral

illuminated manuscripts

interior of Museo de Catedral

cloister of Museo de Catedral

interior of Museo de Catedral

interior Museo de Catedral

interior of Museo de Catedral

The museum has a magnificent 15th century painting of the burial of St. James entitled El puente de la Vida y la Reina Lupa, “the bridge of Life and Queen Lupa.” One panel shows bulls pulling the sarcophagus of St. James in front of the queen (not shown here) and the bridge caving in by divine intervention, thus preventing the Roman soldiers from seizing the Apostle’s disciples and their sacred cargo (below).

El puente de la Vida y la Reina Lupa

Museo de Catedral

As the afternoon whiled away, it got very cold and gray clouds hunkered down overhead.

I went to Plaza Mayor, where I came face-to-face with the graceful 17th-century Baroque Ayuntamiento, or Town Hall. The façade dates from 1675. The square is porticoed and houses many bars and restaurants.

I found a lunch spot and attempted to sit outside but it was getting icy cold and windy. I went indoors instead, where I warmed up with a glass of Sangria and deep fried jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheese. It was too much food!

Ayuntamiento

The Palacio Episcopal (Bishop’s Palace), stands on Plaza Catedral with its neo-Gothic spires puncturing the clouds. Designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, construction began in 1887. Though Gaudí’s hand is obvious, this is considered one of his lesser works. It houses the Museo de los Caminos (Museum of the Pathways), showcasing historical notes and artefacts on the many Roman roads that converged on Astorga and provided the main trade, military and pilgrim routes through northern Spain.

Palacio Episcopal & Museo de los Caminos

At the Bishop’s Palace, I ran into the two Irish ladies, Anne and Marian, who I’d met the previous night; they were so lively and funny. They had “treated” themselves to a hotel for the night, but they said it was a dump. They planned to walk about 17 km tomorrow and then they’d head home to Ireland.

Palacio Episcopal & Museo de los Caminos

sculptures at the Palacio Episcopal

interior of Palacio Episcopal

sculpture in Palacio Episcopal

religious art in Palacio Episcopal

Palacio Episcopal

religious art in Palacio Episcopal

interior of Palacio Episcopal

religious art in Palacio Episcopal

interior of Palacio Episcopal

sculpture in Palacio Episcopal

In the evening Darina and I went to a fancy restaurant where we looked like something the cat dragged in. The country bumpkins had come to the city. We shared a delicious chickpea and wild mushroom soup. We ordered beers which the waiter poured into the wineglasses. We laughed and joked that most people probably didn’t drink beer at this place. We also shared the local dish, cocido maragato, typically a hearty meat stew – pork and black pudding with beans and cabbage – followed by vegetables and finished off with a bowl of broth.

Our meal was a little different. The first course was a bowl of many meats, most of which looked disgusting to me, so I told Darina she could eat it all. I only ate the sausage and a little pork. The dish had pork, sausage, ham, beef, chicken, and some kind of heavy bread dumpling. The second course was chickpeas with cabbage, deliciously seasoned. We enjoyed pudding for dessert. And we shared lots of laughs, as we always did.

me with Darina at dinner in Astorga

By this time, a cold front had moved in and gripped Astorga. We froze as we walked back to the albergue. It was a very cold and restless night of sleep.

**********

*Day 33: Saturday, October 6, 2018*

*33,327 steps, or 14.12 miles: Hospital de Orbigo to Astorga (17.3 km)*

You can find everything I’ve written so far on the Camino de Santiago here:

Camino de Santiago 2018

**************

This post is in response to Jo’s Monday Walk.

poetic journeys: a contagion of fireflies

wanderessence1025 September 6, 2019

A Contagion of Fireflies

With nonchalance, the morning flung
a flannel cloak high over the Meseta.

In the wind gusts, wheat stalks fluttered and moon-faced
sunflowers sashayed in a rush of whispers.

Thistles thrashed and windmills twirled
pale arms on a distant ridge, poised to take flight.

Under the edge of the world, a thousand candles flamed
and then burst above the prairie like a contagion of fireflies.

The golden light drifted like dandelion dust to the cloud ceiling,
and a blush of peaches and fringed violets quivered over the fields.

The morning stretched out all across the plateau,
rippling across the land like the tide rushing in.

Hornillos del Camino to Arroyo San Bol

Arroyo San Bol to Hontanas 2018

Hornillos del Camino to Arroyo San Bol

*************************

“POETRY” Invitation: I invite you to write a poem of any poetic form on your own blog about a particular travel destination. Or you can write about travel in general. Concentrate on any intention you set for your poetry.

One of my many intentions for my Camino was to write at least one poem inspired by Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. One of the poems I used for inspiration was his “Landscape” in his collection Federico García Lorca: Selected Verse. I wanted to capture in a poem one of the favorite landscapes I encountered one morning on the Camino: {camino day 21} hornillos del camino to castrojeriz & ruminations {week three}.

You can either set your own poetic intentions, or use one of the prompts I’ve listed on this page: writing prompts: poetry. (This page is a work in process). You can also include photos, of course.

Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, October 3 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, October 4, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the first Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired. 🙂

Christopher, of clcouch123, wrote a beautiful poem about “small blessings” on the Camino, which he says was inspired by a post I wrote about my experience.
- Benediciónes Pequeñas

Thanks to all of you who wrote poetic posts following intentions you set for yourself. 🙂

portugal’s gritty street art

wanderessence1025 September 5, 2019

Portugal has a vivid and spontaneous street art scene; it’s one that doesn’t seem sponsored, except in a few cases. It has a certain gritty quality to it; often it is mostly graffiti that is sloppily applied to decrepit and derelict surfaces. Here’s some of the street art I found in Portugal in October and November of 2018.

Porto

Porto

Aveiro

Aveiro

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

*********************

You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.

I challenge you to post no more than 20-25 photos and to write less than 1,500 words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, September 11 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, September 12, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, every first, second, and third (& 5th, if there is one) Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired!

Thanks to all of you who shared posts on the “photography” invitation. 🙂

{camino day 32} valverde de la virgen to hospital de órbigo

wanderessence1025 September 1, 2019

I left at 6:55 a.m. in the cold dark (46°F), but it was just as well; I didn’t miss a thing. I felt like all I wanted was to get away from the road! The whole solitary walk today was alongside a busy highway, the N-120, with trucks and cars roaring past and nothing much of interest to see. Even the towns along the way held no charm. Supposedly from Valverde de la Virgen, there would be only 25km of the monotonous plain of Castilla y León still remaining.

I hoped to find breakfast in two kilometers in San Miguel del Camino, but that town was snoozing away.

Valverde de la Virgen to San Miguel del Camino (2.0 km)

It was another 7.4km to Villadangos del Páramo, where I found one bar on a side street to set me up with café con leche and a chocolate croissant.

Villadangos del Páramo is an old town of Roman origins that sits on the main road. In the past, it supported a pilgrim hospital. Legend has it that in 1111, a battle was waged here between the forces of Doña Urraca of Léon and those of her former spouse, Alfonso of Aragón.

San Miguel del Camino to Villadangos del Páramo (7.4 km)

San Miguel del Camino to Villadangos del Páramo

298 km to Santiago

San Miguel del Camino to Villadangos del Páramo

In another 4.7 km, I was in San Martín del Camino, yet another featureless town.

Villadangos del Páramo to San Martín del Camino (Centro) (4.7 km)

Villadangos del Páramo to San Martín del Camino (Centro)

It was another 6.6km to Hospital de Órbigo. I tried hard to keep my eyes down and stop hoping for a glimpse of the town. I know in life, that’s like wishing your life away. I drank water to keep cool on the hot, shadeless track, sat down to rest where I could, looked at cornstalks and dandelions and spiky weeds and butterflies, white and yellow, fluttering about. I even enjoyed a short stretch of shade. And then voila! There it was! Wait! That added up to 20.7 km.

I was happy to see the water tower and rooftops and then the Puente de Órbigo, one of the longest and best preserved medieval bridges from the 13th century, built over an earlier Roman bridge.

San Martín del Camino (Centro) to Puente de Órbigo (6.6 km)

San Martín del Camino (Centro) to Puente de Órbigo

San Martín del Camino (Centro) to Puente de Órbigo

The significance of Puente de Órbigo diminished in the 12th century when the Knights Hospitaller of St. John built a hospital on the far side of the river.

Parish church of Santa María

The nineteen arches of the Puente de Órbigo carried me across the Río Órbigo via Paso Honroso (the honorable pass), called such because of a famous jousting tournament that took place here in the Holy Year of 1434. In that year, Suero de Quiñones stood guard on the bridge for a month challenging whoever came across to a joust. He supposedly defeated 166 opponents in that time, keeping his promise to a lady.

Walking across, I heard the murmur of the running water, birdsong, and a breeze tickling the nearby poplars.

The bridge also witnessed the 452 battle when the Visigoths slaughtered the Swabians and it subsequently became the scene of a confrontation between Christian forces under Alfonso III and the Moors. The bridge has also facilitated a cattle trade since Roman times as part of the camino de la cañada (cattle trail).

Puente de Órbigo

Puente de Órbigo

river

Puente de Órbigo

Finally, I arrived at tonight’s destination: Albergue La Encina in Hospital de Órbigo. It was clean, new, and only had four beds to a room, but I wouldn’t say I got a warm and fuzzy welcome.

Hospital de Órbigo is home to a Knights Commandery of the ancient order of St. John, who maintained a pilgrim hospital here. It is also home to Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, the parish church of John the Baptist.

Puente de Órbigo to Hospital de Órbigo (0.5 km)

I went out to wander and stopped for lunch at an indoor restaurant, where I had trout soup, a local specialty, that had way too much bread in it! As always, I enjoyed a cool limon y cerveza too.

The town seemed all spiffy, “done up” in recent years. I met and chatted with a lady named Coreen, from Oregon, as I wandered around the town.

Iglesia de San Juan Bautista

Iglesia de San Juan Bautista

Hospital de Órbigo

Hospital de Órbigo

Hospital de Órbigo

Hospital de Órbigo

Trout soup with bread

Hospital de Órbigo

At dinner, I met two Irish sisters, Marian and Anne; we shared a glass of wine and then dinner together. We talked of everything from our sons and young men in general to politics – Trump and Brexit – and our Camino experiences. What a pleasure these two were.

Marian and Anne from Ireland

For dinner, I had garlic soup, with too much bread again, trout, fries and flan for 10€. And of course all the wine we could drink.

I shared our 4-bed room with only one other lady; two beds were empty and we had our own bathroom. There was no place outdoors to hang laundry, just a big indoor room; it took all night for my clothes to dry.

**********

*Day 32: Friday, October 5, 2018*

*34,427 steps, or 14.59 miles: Valverde de la Virgen to Hospital de Órbigo (18.3 km)*

You can find everything I’ve written so far on the Camino de Santiago here:

Camino de Santiago 2018

**************

This post is in response to Jo’s Monday Walk: Carvoeiro Boxes.

{camino day 31} león to valverde de la virgen

wanderessence1025 August 25, 2019

The walk out of León was an ordeal mainly because I was walking on city streets and through industrial areas. I left my hostel at 8:30 because I knew it was to be a short walk, but I first stopped at a cafe near the León Cathedral for a pain au chocolat and cafe con leche. I walked through the craft market, closed in the morning but occupying every street and made my way past the inviting Parador San Marcos, with its Plaasteresque edifice. Originally a more modest pilgrim hospital built by Doña Sancha in the 12th century, it became the headquarters of the Knights of the Order of Santiago, formed to protect the pilgrim way. Later, it was acquired and further embellished by King Ferdinand. The facade is embellished with pilgrim motifs and scallop shells.

Leaving the central city, we crossed over the 16th century stone Puente (bridge) over the río Bernesga.

León to Puente río Bernesga (2.3 km)

León Cathedral

merry-go-round in the craft market

Parador San Marcos

río Bernesga

After the bridge, I made my way through León’s busy suburbs until I reached the open countryside of the páramo, or treeless plateau, until I reached a pilgrim cross and pedestrian bridge.

Puente río Bernesga to Cruce (2.8 km)

Then it was uphill past some bodegas, or underground wine cellars, and the endless industrial area until I found a cafe at La Virgen del Camino. Darina showed up then.

coffee shop in León suburbs

bodegas

La Virgen del Camino

At the end of La Virgen del Camino was the big modern Sanctuary of Virgen del Camino, built in the 1960s. The sanctuary was built on the site where a shepherd saw a vision of the Virgin in the 16th century; she told him to throw a stone and then build a church on the spot where it landed. Apparently miracles were performed here and it became a pilgrimage in its own right.

Darina and I went inside. The façade of the shrine represents the “mysteries of the Rosary in bronze,” according to a sanctuary pamphlet. The huge bronze statue of the 12 Apostles stand above the west door with St. James looking out toward Santiago and the Virgin hovering above them all.

The Baroque altarpiece is from 1730. At the back of the church is a wall-to-wall stained glass window.

The bell tower outside measures 53 meters and represents the last station of the cross. At its base is a large stone symbolizing Christ’s tomb. It was interesting to find a modern church; I hadn’t seen too many of those on the Camino.

Sanctuary of Virgen del Camino – “mysteries of the Rosary in bronze”

Sanctuary of Virgen del Camino

Sanctuary of Virgen del Camino – Baroque altarpiece

bell tower at Sanctuary of Virgen del Camino

Sanctuary of Virgen del Camino

Cruce to Option (3.4 km)

After we left the town at the end of the urban sprawl, Darina took the alternate route and I continued along the roadway to Valverde de la Virgen, where I had made a reservation. From this point, I walked along a road for the remaining 3.4 km.

optional route – Darina to the left, me to the right

pilgrim statue just past the optional path

Option to Valverde de la Virgen (3.4 km)

Each day on the Camino, you don’t know what you’ll encounter as you walk in the footsteps of thousands of pilgrims. Sometimes you find pleasant surprises such as the oasis of my albergue, La Casa del Camino: Albergue de Peregrinos.

Though it sits along a busy road, it was a beautiful spot with couches and comfy chairs, lounge chairs, hammocks, and beds on the lawn for lounging. There were areas under canopies and umbrellas and a line of square foot baths, and the most welcoming owners you could ever meet. When I arrived, they presented me with a glass of cold fresh orange juice as they checked me in.

Bowls of apples sat on tables, flower boxes and hanging baskets dotted the space around an above-ground swimming pool (with no water), gardens bloomed, and Buddhas reclined and sat, looking serene.

I sat outside having a glass of wine and one of the owners brought me a small bowl of peanuts.

When I have happened upon places such as these, I felt so joyful and grateful for the peaceful and refreshing surroundings.

This place rates up with a number of top albergues along the Camino. There are a fair share of bad and mediocre ones.