Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that this summer (2019) I’m walking 200km along the Camino de Santiago, from Léon to Sarría in Spain. This is the fourth leg of the Camino which I started in 2016 (if you’re interested, I wrote a Q&A post in response to some of the questions people had asked me along the way that year), I’m completing a leg each summer until 2020. This is Day 27 (other posts linked at the end of this post).
Camino Frances Day 27: Villavante to Astorga (approx 22km)
This day dawned a little painfully as I felt the effects of walking over 30km the previous day (!) and discovered that I had a blister (my first in over 600km!) and was covered in mosquito bites (I’d stupidly left the window of my room open and not applied insect repellent because I was JUST SO TIRED the previous evening. Ever tried to walk in hiking boots with feet covered in bites? I wouldn’t recommend it. Fortunately, this was a much shorter day (how amusing that 20km sounded “short” after the previous day!) and I knew that with a little bit of TLC (and walking a bit slower), both my blister and bites would be ok. Also, I was headed to Astorga, a town with a population of around 12000 so I knew I would be able to get to a pharmacy and I’d also found a sports store where I was planning on buying some sock liners just as added protection against any further blisterage.
Though I was tired I started our pretty early (7.15ish) and the day was just starting to show its colours…
Got a glimpse of my first (and possibly last for this leg) sunflowers…
Passed by the usual signage…
(as a side note, I would totally have a “Buen Camino” sign on a house if I lived along the way…)
The terrain today was a lot like the previous day… Also, it was hot…
Once again, I focussed on finding the pretty along the way…
After 10k, I had my usual “second breakfast” stop…
For the first time ever I took my boots off midway through the day. Just to cool my feet down. I was wearing proper socks but the bites were making my feet itchy and hot and I just thought this might help. Despite a barrage of “Noooooooo” messages when I posted this on Instagram, it helped a lot.
So did this:
(“Without coffee it’s not a good day” Truer words were never spoken!)
Sat for a while contemplating this view in Santibañez de Valdeiglesia…
Once my feel felt like they were a normal temperature, I set off again… (because there was still a little over 11km to go…)
Came across another Café Móvil – Cantina la Casa de los Dioses – halfway through the afternoon…
By-donation fruits, drinks and snacks. And, more importantly, a place to rest weary feet…
I pressed on with just over 6km to go.
FINALLY, Astorga was in sight…
(actually still so far to go…)
After climbing all the way up this spot, there was, thankfully, a paved way down…
And we all felt like this as we got to the bottom with still around an hour to go…
Everyone sought the shade as we headed into Astorga via the not-so-pretty outskirts…
And then things took a bit of a turn – towards the longer path…
WHY? The Camino always takes the longer path. ALWAYS. And 13 minutes is a long time when you’ve been walking for 20km… Still, I heeded the signs and went along with it. At least it was shady and not on the main road. I knew we would be crossing a railway track at some point too so I wanted to make sure I was crossing it where I was supposed to… And then I saw this…
WHY WHY WHY? Such a LONG way to cross the tracks (I understand that it’s accessible but all those levels seem somewhat unnecessary…) Anyway….. up and over and over again I trudged…. FINALLY reaching the city proper only to look up from my map to see these leading to the square where my hotel was located…
But – worth the climb…
(actual view from my hotel on the Plaza Mayor)
That was all very well but I headed to the pharmacy and sports store first…
Yup. All the essentials.
Later, after a nap, I checked out the beautiful Cathedral…
And then enjoyed Golden Hour and an excellent Pilgrim menu…
YESSSS! Salad! A decent one! And a great piece of fish!
And…
You know it! Flan. First of many!
Verdict: This was a long day but only because of walking with bite-ridden feet… It’s a pretty typical day on the Camino – around 20ish km per day and it was full of interesting towns and sights. Plus, you arrive in gorgeous Astorga so there’s that!
Stay tuned for the next leg which takes us to the tiny town of Rabanal El Camino (population: 50)!
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Disclosure: I researched Camino trips independently and chose the Camino Travel Center based on a number of features such as flexibility to accommodate a couple of “splits” in some of the longer days, price and customer service. They were, in fact the first company I came across in my very first Google search and the one I ended up booking with. From the initial inquiry to the actual trips, they have been a pleasure to deal with and we have been very impressed with the service provided (bag transportation) and the accommodation choices. I was not compensated to write about this trip in any way but I love sharing companies and products I believe in with my readers. I couldn’t recommend the Camino Travel Center more and, in fact, am booking my last Camino walk with them for next summer (the summer I will finally reach Santiago!).
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