Astorga to Santa Catalina, via Castrillo de Polvazares, 14 May (10kms plus detour)

I left Astorga at 7.45 a.m.  It was still very chilly at that hour.  On the way out of town I felt some twinges at the back of my heel.  Was this the beginning of the dreaded tendonitis, which has caused many a pilgrim to abandon the Camino?  I hope not!

The detour I made to Castrillo was not really worth the effort,  but I had to find out.  The restored Maragato village was just like a film set, but the residents' cars were in the way of good photos.  There were several "authentic" restaurants, not yet open at 11.00 a.m., but waiting for an influx of tour buses for lunch. I stopped at one for a coffee, just to use their loo, and was served by a lady still in her dressing gown!  There were no other pilgrims in sight:  they had all stuck to the main route.

I had already fortified myself with a "green smoothie" at an organic restaurant El Llar in Murias de Rechivaldo, where the lady insisted on telling me every ingredient that went into it, including numerous herbs, parsley, pineapple, banana and lots more!

The way to Sta Catalina was a picture:  yellow and white gorse lining the route.  I finally arrived in hot sun at El Caminante, where I had a beer and a free tapa.  Their interior courtyard was so pretty with geraniums and other pot plants, it tempted me to ask for a private room there (€20).  The private rooms were upstairs overlooking the courtyard and the Albergue downstairs.

Outside, I got talking to an American lady who was rounding up a group of people to go and have dinner at San Blas Albergue just down the street, so I went along with them.  They included a father and daughter from Sydney.  Her feet were all patched up with blister dressings, but she was very cheerful about it and told me about a reality TV show she watched at home called RBT, featuring all the stupid and ridiculous excuses made by drivers to try and evade fines.

Dinner was mixed salad followed by trout and chips, then yoghourt  (€9.50).

Castrillo de Polvazares

Castrillo de Polvazares

Castrillo de Polvazares

The Way

Hospital to Astorga, 13 May (16 kms)

It was very cold and crisp when I set off at 7.30 a.m. after a quick breakfast in the hotel.  I tried to walk in the sun as I made my way to Brierley's picturesque route:  "one of the most serene and naturally beautiful paths of the Camino for a glorious 8 kms".

I stopped at a "kiosk" set up in the wilds by a young hippie couple, where you could help yourself to all manner of drinks and fruits for free  (donations accepted!)  They were even heating water over a wood fire.  I settled for a long rest on their sheltered bench, covered in Indian fabrics.  I passed half an hour watching pilgrims come and go, some reluctant to help themselves, others eating greedily at the watermelon and other fruits.  I finally took a ripe banana and gave them a 50 cent donation.  The French couple with the donkeys also arrived, and the donkeys were reluctant to leave the lush grass growing beside the kiosk.

From there it was a short walk to a splendid lookout, and all of Astorga was laid out below me.  As usual it was a hot hour's walk into town at midday.  The last straw was a footbridge high above the railway line.  When I finally entered the town I had to fight my way through an extensive market, which was packed with people and slowed me down quite a bit.

It was great to spot the Cathedral up ahead, with Gaudi's Episcopal Palace on the right and the Hotel Gaudi on the left across the square.  My room was €45, not bad for such a historic spot.  There was no plug in my bath, so I went down to complain.  It took the lady ages to find one for me, but I was persistent.

As I was leaving my room at 1.30 p.m. for a late lunch, I met the couple from Sydney I'd chatted to in Leon.  So we went off together for a traditional Maragato meal at Las Termas Restaurant:  tomato salad, meat stew (with many different kinds of meat, including tripe and pigs trotters!), then chickpeas with cabbage, followed by cinnamon pudding for dessert.  There was a generous amount of red wine, too much for me!

I had to sleep it all off before going out for a 6.00 p.m. visit to the Episcopal Palace (not quite as fanciful as the Gaudi buildings in Barcelona, but getting that way!) and finally the Cathedral, a mix of Gothic and later styles.

There was no Internet at the hotel, so I had to go round the corner to the Albergue to use theirs. I just had a hot chocolate before going to bed.  On the news it showed the funeral of the politician Isobel Carrasco, who had been assassinated outside her home in Leon.  The funeral was at Leon Cathedral, where I had been watching the wedding on Saturday.

Wall painting

The Way

Roadside stall

Resting at the stall

Mules

Reluctant to move on

Episcopal Palace, Astorga

Interior of palace

Maragato meal

Mazarife to Hospital, 12 May (15kms)

It was another perfect Spring morning.  I had a latish breakfast and set off down the road at 8.15 a.m.  There were storks flying around and frogs calling from the fast-flowing irrigation channels.  I saw big clumps of red poppies, brilliant in the sunshine.  Ahead there was a mountain range in the distance, snow covered.

Poppies

The road into Villavante seemed never-ending.  I walked right through the town, ignoring the tempting bars (now quiet since I was just about the last pilgrim going through).  I went on till eventually I found the Molino Galochas, where I would really have liked to stay the night, but it would have made the stage too long.  The conversion of the mill was a superb job, with the millstream actually going underneath the house.  There was a fairly big wild garden, set about with grinding wheels for tables and lounge beds on the grass.  I had to ring the bell, as no-one appeared to be about, but just at that moment Jacotrans turned up with 2 suitcases to deliver.  The friendly lady of the house served me a beer and a baguette with a freshly made French omelette and York ham (€4), and then I made use of a lounge bed for 15 minutes "descanso".  I also went inside to the loo, and was able to sneak a look at one of the bedrooms: what a pity I had missed out on staying there!

Molino Galochas

It seemed a long trek from Villavante to Hospital, especially in the hot midday sun.  It took me a long time to locate my hotel, El Paso Honroso;  not a good choice, as it turned out to be a modern, motel-type place on the main road, rather than in the pretty old town centre. However, the quiet room I requested was just that, situated looking over fields at the back.

The famous Hospital bridge was certainly worth seeing, the longest medieval bridge in Spain, with 19 arches, though only a few were actually over water now.

Bridge at Hospital

The place I chose for an early dinner was not the best, though it boasted the local speciality: trout soup.  I had this, followed by some very overcooked chicken and chips.  I chatted to a S. African woman, who was doing huge distances every day on a very tight schedule.  She told me something useful:  her son had put an ap on her iPhone, which would automatically send any photos she took back to their computer at home.

Leon to Villar de Mazarife, 11 May (22 kms - part by bus)

I arrived very early for the 8.30 a.m.bus out of Leon.  Several people were already hanging about at the bus stop, hoping for a 7.30 bus, not realising it was Sunday service.  So, I shared a taxi with Jose from Melbourne and Thomasina from the U.S., both fluent Spanish speakers.  We each paid €5 to La Virgen del Camino, and then set off walking.  There was a choice of routes.  Most people chose the send, but I wanted the scenic route through more small villages.

It was a day for wildflowers, with great clumps of European orchids, blue gentians, yellow gorse, cornflowers and poppies.  I saw a French couple who had hired mules to carry their belongings.  Apparently when they reach Santiago they put them on a train and send them home!  I also met 2 Finnish ladies, older than me, one of them blind.

Mazarife

It was rather cloudy and a cold wind started blowing across the fields, some with wheat and one stretching as far as they eye could see with the remains of a corn on the cob crop, which had all been slashed in the Autumn. I had a beer at 11.30 a.m. in the practically deserted village of Chozas de Abajo, before walking the final hour into Villar de Mazarife and my destination:  Albergue Tio Pepe, where they gave me a private room in the house next door.  This had either been vacated for the season, or somebody had died, for everything in the wardrobe and kitchen was intact. I helped myself liberally to all the oils and greases in the bathroom, then went along to the bar at Tio Pepe for an ice-cream and a turn with the Internet.

I sat outside in the sun near the Church opposite and wrote up my diary.  I also chatted to a Danish woman and her walking companion from Brazil.  They had just started the Camino and met that morning starting out from the albergue.  We had a vino rosado with the couple from Cairns, who were planning to do 28 kms tomorrow to Astorga.  Madness!  Especially as her feet were not recovered from a blister attack.  I think they were behind schedule because of his gastro a few days ago.

Dinner at Tio Pepe was paella, meatballs and yoghourt, with very friendly service.  Not all the pilgrims were having dinner, but a great crowd of them were boozing on beer, wine and cider in the courtyard.

Lavender

Orchid

Gentians

Meadow

View from my window:  storks nesting

Albergue Tio Pepe

Leon, 10 May (rest day)

I was up fairly late at 8.00 a.m.  Breakfast was very ordinary, with not much fresh fruit to be had. I went off to the Plaza Mayor, which has a big fruit and veggie market on Saturday mornings.  Everything was so tempting: boxes of strawberries and cherries, but these would only get squashed in my backpack tomorrow.  I settled for an avocado, a tomato, some dates and 2 mandarin oranges.  I then went on to the Albergue Santa Maria de Carbajal Convent to buy a new Credencial, as mine is almost full of stamps now.

I also revisited the Basilica of San Isidoro with its amazingly detailed and colourful 12th century frescos. I was able to take 3 illicit photos whilst the guide was busy outside! The frescos are a sort of calendar of medieval life, depicting what folk were doing in each month of the year.

San Isidoro cloisters

Frescos

October: gathering acorns
November: killing the pig

San Isidoro door

After a snack lunch of bread, cheese and beer in my room and a quick siesta, I did some booking on the phone for Monday and Tuesday.  Then I went back to the Cathedral Square for one of Leon's famous hot chocolates.  Groups of well dressed Spanish people started arriving in great numbers.  Of course, it was Saturday and this was the Cathedral.  Time for a wedding!  Sadly for them, a sneaky wind got up and began to ruin their hairstyles.  I tried for some photos through the railings which closed off the Cathedral entrance.  The west door, beneath the big rose window, was now open for guests only.  I also took a photo of the 2 smiling sisters at the hot chocolate cafe.

Market

Fish market

Sisters at Choclateria

At 8.30 p.m. I went back to the good restaurant at the Hotel Albany.  They were in no hurry to start serving dinner, but I hung in there and ordered stuffed asparagus with noodles for Primero, then sea bass with salad for Secundo.  The inside restaurant was deserted as Janet, the disgruntled waitress, busied herself laying the outside tables.  I was later joined by an English couple who were touring Spain for 6 weeks by car, and had pre-booked all their accommodation in self-catering places on the Internet before setting off.  Then came an Aussie couple, whom I'd seen before, but the waitress wouldn't give them the pilgrims' menu (in English) because it was now 9.30 p.m.  Only Spanish a la carte was available, which they couldn't understand.  They left to try somewhere else.  What a way to do business!  The food was good, though. (Las Termas Restaurant).

Mansilla to Leon, 9 May (by bus)

Gaudi's Casa de Botines, Leon

Sitting with Gaudi

The guide book recommended taking the bus into Leon, to miss all the industrial suburbs.  I arrived at the bus station to discover that the next bus was at 9.00 a.m., having just missed the 7.30 one.  This gave me time to sit in a sunny corner of the bus station to write up my diary.

On the bus, we passed the familiar stream of pilgrims heading out of town.  On arrival in Leon, I made my way from the bus station, across the river and up the main street towards the Cathedral, knowing that the Posada Regia was just off to the right.  When I asked for a quiet room, I was allocated one in the annexe nearby: a similar historic building with creaky wooden stairs and interesting pictures on the walls.  The room on the ground floor was where we met the Fresco Tours group in 2011.  There was also a public Internet terminal down there in a quiet corner.

I had a nice lunch at the restaurant belonging to the Hotel Albany, an upmarket place with an interesting menu, changed daily.  I had scrambled eggs with shrimps and mushrooms, followed by fresh anchovies and pimientos de Padron, plus 2 glasses of Rosado, all with a view of the Cathedral diagonally across the square.  How lovely to be back in civilisation after days on the Camino!  After that delicious lunch, I was ready for a 2-hour siesta, from which it was difficult to wake up!

Lunch with a view

Scrambled eggs and vino rosado

I then made the effort to take a tour of the Cathedral with the audio guide and tried to take photos of the magnificent stained glass inside as well as the architectural features outside.  I decided to stroll down to the Parador and back since it was such a lovely evening: 26° at 8.30 p.m.  On returning to my hotel, I just ordered a cheese platter and a glass of red in the courtyard, before going to bed at about 10 p.m.

Cathedral spires

Rose window, Leon Cathedral

One of many stained glass windows

Cathedral by night

El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla, 8 May (19 kms)

After a quick breakfast at Piedras Blancas, I left town at around 7.45 a.m.  Miles and miles of senda again, but perfect weather.  How fortunate have I been this year?

With about 18 kms to do, I wanted to take it fairly steadily, and stopped several times at the pleasant shaded rest areas en route.  At one of these, I chatted to a couple from Cairns with identical backpacks to mine.  The guy revealed that he also had had a case of food poisoning, his at Teradillos. He'd had to seek medical advice and discovered that all pilgrims are entitled to free medical treatment in Spain for problems encountered on the Camino.  There was even a phone translating service of the doctor's diagnosis available if required.  Worth knowing about!

I stopped for a late coffee and tortilla at another Piedras Blancas establishment, Bar Gill II, just outside Reliegos.  I sat at a table under a tree and relaxed for a while.  Lots of pilgrims were sitting there in the sun.  I pressed on.  The last hour of these 18 km days is always the worst, the pack always heaviest.  If only I could divide the route into 15 days!

I finally entered the walls of Manzilla de las Mulas ("hand on the mules"), a welcome sight.  My chosen 2-star hostel, La Albergueria, was full, the last room having just been bagged by an English guy from Oxford and his American pal.  I was desperate for a beer, which I drank in their lovely little courtyard, attempting to chat with the old granny, aged 84.  They told me to go further into town to La Puerta, and there were plenty of rooms to be had, but not so nice, at €35.    I was givena room above the noisy bar.  I managed a siesta, but later in the evening was disturbed when they moved all the furniture indoors at 11.00 p.m.  I must ask for a quiet room at La Posada Regia.

I went back to La Albergueria for the pilgrims' dinner at 7.30 p.m:  mixed salad, fish and chips, flan.  Just before dinner, I walked around the historic sites, the bridge out in the direction of Leon, the medieval walls and also the new albergue, where I was able to use their Internet terminal for half an hour.

Medieval walls of Mansilla

"Hand on the mules" coat of arms

Sahagun to El Burgo Ranero, 7 May (17 kms)

Sahagun

Arco San Benito, Sahagun

Stork and vines beside the senda

Bird sanctuary in El Burgo Ranero

Amazing what a good night's rest will do for a body!  I had even been contemplating going by bus to Leon, but now I felt up to walking again:  17 kms or so to El Burgo Ranero.  I was bewildered by the choice of places to visit in Sahagun, according to the guidebook.  I knew I really ought to stop, but it was early in the morning and I was anxious to get on the road.  My quick glance and quick photos did not do the town justice.

En route, I saw these graffiti: MEAT IS MURDER, to which someone had responded: TASTY, TASTY MURDER!  I stopped at a nice bar at Bercianos for a beer and an ague con gas.  The friendly Croatian man and Spanish wife let me use their personal computer to send an email.  Unfortunately it was a Croatian keyboard with the z and the y crossed, so it was difficult to respond to a message from Ellie, which said that she was sad that group fitness had been cancelled in favour of making a Mothers Day card!

It was a hot final walk into El Burgo Ranero, and the 2 hostales with private rooms in the town centre were already full when I arrived.  However, they sent me on to a lovely newish albergue on the edge of town.  This was called La Laguna, near a bird sanctuary, which had private rooms and a beautiful garden, with lounge beds out on the grass.  After a couple of hours lounging, I stilled back into town for a pilgrims' meal at Piedras Blancas: vegetable soup, delicious sole w. salad, orange.  The white wine was undrinkable, though.  Luckily I had indulged in a G and T as a pre dinner drink!

Carrion de los Condes to Sahagun, 6 May (by bus)

After my bad dose of food poisoning, I was feeling too weak to walk anywhere.  Fortunately I had already booked a ticket on the bus leaving at 11.50 a.m., thus avoiding 17 ams of boring meseta, with no villages en route for refreshments.  As I was leaving the convent, I spoke to an Englishman who had just arrived in town.  He said that exactly a year ago he had suffered from gastro following a visit to that same restaurant, and what's more he had heard his neighbours throwing up as well!  I resolved to post a warning on the Santiago forum when I got home.

The day was somewhat cold and grey.  I sat in the bar where the bus tickets were booked for a couple of hours, drinking 2 "tee con limon", which was all I dared load into my stomach.  As the morning progressed, crowds of pilgrims arrived to wait for the bus.  Most had booked all the way to Leon.  The efficient ALSA system gives you a numbered seat, so there is no panic.

The bus stop for Sahagun was on this side of town, right outside the enormous hotel, Puerta del Camino.  Still feeling low, I was determined to stay there whatever the cost.  Imagine my surprise when I was quoted €25 for a single room.  I had a bath and went to bed for a 3-hour siesta, to allow my body to recover from the shock of the previous night.  I then made myself a cup of Miso soup (thanks to my new adaptor).

I watched TV for an hour and then went back to sleep.  The only problem was that this was a noisy hotel, with every surface constructed of marble, with not a single carpet anywhere.  There was a notice in Spanish warning that it had only just opened after a period of closure, so services might be somewhat restricted.  There was no mini bar, but a full range of toiletries that were very welcome and added to my dwindling supplies.

Villalcazar de Sirga to Carrion de los Condes, 5 May (5 kms)

From Villalcazar de Sirga ("town of the canal towpath") to Carrion de los Condes it was only 5 kms.  I had resolved to stay in this town for a rest.  The first accommodation I came to was the Convent of Santa Clara, where I easily secured a single room (ex-nun's cell?) so early in the day for €22.  The funny little man in charge of interacting with visitors insisted on giving me more information than I needed and showed me around the albergue facilities.  There were 3 temperamental locks to negotiate to reach my upstairs room!

It was another pleasant sunny day in which to explore the town.  Firstly, I went to the information kiosk, where I discovered that one bus per day in the direction of Leon departed at 11.50 a.m.  I went across the road to the bar to buy a ticket for tomorrow.  Emily and her 2 Korean friends were sitting in the bar waiting for today's bus.  Her chest was bad and she had almost lost her voice.  She said the walk from Fromista along the send had nearly killed her!

Setting off into the town centre, the practically first thing I saw was a Ferreteria.  I was able to buy an international adaptor for €4.  Then I followed the Camino arrows through the historic streets, passed the 2 notable churches dating back to the 11th century, crossed the river and finally ended up at the Real Monasterio de San Zoilo.  I had a poke around the grounds and the reception area (very like a Parador) and discovered that a single room was only €65.  I could have stayed there, but Emily had previously searched Booking.com and found it was full.

On the way back to Santa Clara, I had a quick shop at the biggest supermarket - a really excellent place, and bought cheese, ham, bread, a litre packet of red wine, fruit and yoghourt (probably too much to carry!) There was so much to be had, compared with previous shops on the Camino, that I got carried away.

After lunch in my little cell, I had an hour's siesta, then took a "half bath" and washed my hair.  At 5.00 p.m. when the town opened up again, I headed for the public library for a long Internet session.  I then went to the Church which reportedly had a frieze depicting the annual tribute of 100 maidens which the Moors extracted from the town in the Middle Ages.  I couldn't find it.

I had dinner at La Corte Restaurant. I chose not to take the Pilgrims' Menu, but instead selected a mixed salad followed by an enormous trout.  This was my down fall, as I was up all night with a very bad attack of gastro.

Pilgrim statue at Carrion

Monastery of San Zoilo

Romanesque church of Santa Maria del Camino

Courtyard of Santa Clara Convent

View from my window at the convent:
swallows circling at dusk