Gaudí looms in the distance, as the destination today is a city known for being one of the few places outside of Barcelona where this artist has made his presence felt.
On the Camino in the morning, having left Villar de Mazarife.
Both Torsten and I had an uneven night as we shared the room with one of the issues on a Camino that you just have to deal with and embrace. The deep rumble of a snoring person.
Irrigation canal next to the route.
Another early morning, starting just before the first light of dawn. When the sun rises on the horizon, the fields and acres that we are walking next to are coloured in a warm red light. A tree appears as in flame without the fire and smoke.
Puente del Paso Honroso in Hospital de Orbigo. Thankfully no Paso Tournament awaiting the pilgrims.
The walk to where this alternative rejoins the original Camino Frances at Hospital de Orbigo is mostly dominated by fields. Irrigation canals are plentiful, as well as water sprinklers.
Albergue in Hospital de Orbigo.
Hospital de Orbigo is iconic on the Camino due to its very long medieval bridge. A bridge that seems to cross more dry land than a river. The Puente del Paso Honroso bridge is 204 meters long with 19 arches built in the 13th-century.
The bridge is famous for the Paso Honroso, from which it took its name. This was a special tournament that every knight who wanted to pass over the bridge had to participate in. If they declined, they had to lay down a gauntlet as a token of cowardice and had to wade the river if they wanted to cross it.
An old woman on the Camino after Hospital de Orbigo.
Suero de Quiñones, a Leonese knight came up with the idea of this tournament to free himself of a ring that he bore as a token of his for his lady. This he would be able to do after defeating all the knights that appeared on bridge and then afterwards make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
Cruz y escultura del peregrino.
Dusty roads and villages takes over the route after Hospital de Orbigo where old ladies carry their groceries on their back while dressed in black. Cruz y escultura del peregrino catches the attention of the pilgrims with the cross and its peculiar pilgrim statue. It does offer a place to rest in shade.
Casa de los Dioces.
The long and dusty gravel track continues. We reach the Casa de los Dioces (edit: later El Jardín del Alma), seemingly a kind of storage building now turned into a Camino oasis. Where one finds a little shop offering juice, water, fruits, small bakeries and more for a donation. On a hot day this place can be a boon for weary pilgrims.
Crucero de Santo Toribio with Astorga behind.
From Crucero de Santo Toribio the pilgrims can see the buildings of Astorga, and have a rest before the final kilometres into the city.
Back to Gaudí. The Episcopal Palace, now Palacio de Gaudí Astorga, is one of the three projects by Antoni Gaudí outside of Barcelona. From the outside it looks like a Disney castle. It is classified as a must-see, unfortunately for me, I arrived too late to be able to visit it. Maybe I should have prioritized visiting it, before I went through the usual business of checking in to the albergue de peregrinos.
The old episcopal palace in Astorga, Palacio de Gaudí Astorga.
Astorga also features the gothic Catedral de Santa María de Astorga, which the construction of began in 1471 and lasted until the 18th century. Its facade is dominated by its Baroque towers.
Catedral de Santa María de Astorga.
We are happy to meet Martina again in Astorga. I am also happy that my shoes have not fallen apart on the walk from Vilar de Mazarife, it seems that my fix is keeping them together, at least for now.
<- Villar de MazarifeRabanal de Camino ->
No comments:
Post a Comment