Hospital to Astorga

I was in two minds whether to walk or to take the bus today. I’ve done both options in the past. It is about 14 kms and not a difficult trail: mostly flat (apart from the very last bit). In the end, I decided to walk. There was cloud cover all day and perfect temperatures: about 20 degrees at most - though the odd shower was forecast. As I was having breakfast at about 7.30 am, I saw the sun rise over the bridge:

I stopped for a second coffee at Villares de Orbigo and then embarked on a long stretch with no services. The first thing I passed was a dairy farm. The cows were all clustered together in a makeshift barn. Some favoured heifers had their own special shelters, together with their own food and water supply. I imagine they were being fattened up for you-know-what. Boys aren’t really required on a dairy herd:

There was eventually a welcome sight: a donativo stall such as I’ve never encountered before. The choice of goodies was overwhelming!

Everyone was donating generously. There was a big pile of coins in the middle.

In between the light showers, I managed to take a few photos of the wildflowers. There was some unusual white gorse - usually this is yellow:

Lavender in abundance.

A rare clump of cornflowers at the edge of a cornfield.


At this Cruceiro de Santa Toribio, Astorga could be seen in the distance:

Finally, we came to the major obstacle of the day: a ridiculous structure to take pilgrims safely over the main railway line from Palenscia. This is when you are almost at the end of the walk for the day and longing to sit down! There is also the fact that Astorga is set high on a hill so there are lots of winding ascents to get up there!

With all this extra walking, I actually did 20 kms today, according to my phone. My knee is protesting, but I made it!

When I had recovered from the trek, I walked as far as the Gaudi Palace and the Cathedral:

…before having dinner at Hotel Gaudi, where they always do superb baby lamb chops: