Day 29 - Pilgrim Frustrations and Pilgrim Hopes : Astorga to Rabanal del Camino

To say we woke up this morning would suggest that we slept last night.  After the albergue closed its doors at 10 pm, several people in our packed room sat up playing cards until after midnight, at which point others began reading on their iPads or watching movies on their laptops which lit up the dorm.  At 3 am several people got up to take their medicine and after dropping their pill bottles and turning on the lights to search for them, they then proceeded to check each container by shaking them.  At 3:30 am an argument ensued between a group of pilgrims tired of all the noise, light and activity and those who continued to be social. Then by 4 am about a dozen people, frustrated by the continuing situation, simply got up, packed, and headed out, at which point most of the room simply followed suit only to have those had had been talking, watching and playing all night yell "Shhhh. Shhhh!"

 

 

While we would have been grateful to simply leave as well, this morning it seemed that Sean's cold had returned, and he wanted to go to a pharmacy before heading out.  This created two problems for us; first that pharmacies do not open until closer to 9 am, and second, that we had planned on hiking with several of our friends this morning.  Sean was clearly too sick to continue, so as our companions headed out, we packed our gear and moved to the nearby town square to await the opening of the pharmacy.  In the process we lost track of our friends, and were unable to explain the situation.  Several hours later, we set out back onto the Camion towards Rabanal del Camino, on our own.

The majority of the morning was spent walking down the roadway while the pathway again started to climb gently into the foothills of the region.  As we walked, we again noticed that subtle changes were taking place, and the landscape of the Meseta was definitely changing into hills covered in forests and pathways lined with heather, lavender, and gorse.

 

  
We also began to notice that the architecture of the towns and houses has changed from being adobe structures to single level stone houses with thatch or tile roofs.  Today's hike included walking along picturesque stone walls, ruins, and hedgerows and took us through the villages of Cataline and El Ganso.  

 

 

At one point we passed a stand with a gentleman dressed as a medieval knight, with a beautiful hawk who, for a small donation, would stamp your passport.  Later in the day we stopped at a unique bar, the Mason Cowboy (I kid you not), where we enjoyed a cool drink in the shade.  Much of our hike today was hot, dry, and dusty, partially as a result of late start, and our and subsequent late arrival to Rabanal del Camino.

 

          

Having arrived to our destination of Rabanal late we opted against another sleepless night in the communal albergue, and instead inquired at a small shop which advertised rooms, the Hosteria A Cruze De Ferro.  This small residence was a cozy stone building comprised of three impeccably clean private rooms, each with large beds and 3 large windows which could be opened up to let the fresh air in.   After checking in we enjoyed our warm showers, washed our clothes, hung them to dry in the window and relaxed while  working on our daily journals and writing post cards.

 

 

Once free of his backpack, and with a warm tea in him, Sean was soon interested in exploring the town.  As such, we wandered the village, discovering a small peaceful chapel, and while photographing found  several of our Canadian and American companions who had decided to stay at another albergue, and with whom we made arrangements to hike to Cruz de Ferro in the early morning together.

 

 

        

By 6pm we had made our way through the stone lined village streets to a local restaurant for a dinner of steamed vegetables, fried eggs, and desert.  During our meal we discovered that the local priests were holding Gregorian Chants and a small service later in the evening.  As a result, we quickly finished our meal and headed back to the local chapel.  When we arrived, the small church was entirely filled, and for the next hour we enjoyed a wonderful heartfelt musical celebration.  

Afterwards we relaxed in the cool of the evening, sat on a stone wall at the edge of town, watched the sun set,  and played with several stray kittens enjoying the moment. 

 

                  
As a closing thought for the day, we both hope to be able to catch up with our companions to apologize for this morning.  Given their hiking plans, which will take them further each day than we intend to trek, this seems incredibly unlikely.

 

 

As I have said before, one of the challenges of the Camino is its fluid nature.  You quickly become attached to people, only to have them drift apart, and others appear.  Today this lifestyle has put us in a situation where someone we knew quite well may think we abandoned them, which was not at all our intention.  Hopefully circumstances will let us meet us again to set this right.  

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Practical information:

Distance: 20.6 km

Max Temperature: 27°C

Accommodations: Hosteria A Cruz De Ferro