The Way | Jenny and Stephen's Travel Adventure

Posts tagged ‘The Way’

Camino – Rabanal (Day 22)

Date: Tue 28th May
Distance: 21 km
Temperature: Icy cold
Mood: Cheerful
Left: Astorga 10:30am
Arrived: Rabanal 4:15pm
Santiago de Composela: 243 km
Highlight: Pilgrims Blessing by Benedictine Monks

We checked out of our wonderful hotel after a very satisfying breakfast and made our way to the cathedral. Unfortunately no photos allowed and no stamp was to be had! The sun was shining but a very icy wind blew. A stamp was secured at the Gaudi Museum and we were on our way.

The path gently rose as we passed through fairly open and at times scrubby scenery. We quickly found our land legs and walked without impediment. The skies were very stormy, however we managed to walk most of our journey without rain, despite being in our full wet weather/cold weather gear. Today has been by far the coldest day yet. We seemed to inch closer to the snow capped mountains and it felt like the wind was blowing directly off them. 4 layers of clothing and 3 types of head gear kept us relatively cosy.

It was a welcome change back to the picturesque (medieval ) villages that we’d missed when riding across the Meseta and we passed through a number of these before reaching our final destination. Due to the late start we ended up with a late lunch that was had on the side of the trail. Rabanal, our stop for the day was only a further 2 km down the road.

After checking in to the Hostel and ordering a nice hot chocolate to warm us up, it was off to the evening Vespers conducted by the Benedictine Monks followed by a nice hearty meal back at the Restuarant attached to our Hostal. We finishing off the evening by returning to the Church for a Pilgrims blessing again conducted by the monks. (One of us now feels the calling!)

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Camino – Astorga (Day 21)

Date: Mon 27th May
Distance: 0 km (Rest Day)
Temperature: Warm
Mood: Relaxed
Santiago de Composela: 264km
Highlight: Sleep in

Just a quick post as it is a rest day! Literally! We are being very spoilt and have a great room with a view over the Plaza! With the bed so comfy, we had a relaxed sleep in before thinking of heading off to see the Cathedral as everything else was closed on Monday! Well we missed the Cathedral. Turns out it is only open between 9-10:30. Looks like a late start tomorrow so we can visit on our way out!

Astorga looks to be a town with lots of hidden treasures and we feel that we will probably miss most of them. We really like the feel to this town and without knowing much about it, it seems to be known for its Chocolates, as every second shop sells Astorga Chocolates. Unfortunately they would weigh too much for us to consider purchasing a supply.

We did a circuit of most of the original township before turning to logistics for the following week. We even managed to book the following 2 nights accommodation over the phone speaking only in Spanish. Not sure how we did it cos we sure cannot speak it! So we will find out in due course if we succeeded or not!

The donkeys have been faithful and served their purpose, but with the mountains ahead of us over the next few days they would have been a major hindrance, especially the one that didn’t like hills!

Now these mountains are at a much higher altitude that what we climbed in the Pyrenees and temperatures in the early morning are sub-zero! So we are bracing ourselves for the next challenge.

Stay tuned.

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Camino – Astorga (Day 20)

Date: Sun 26th May
Distance: 48 km
Temperature: Warm
Mood: Grumpy (due to soulless scenery)
Left: León 11:30am
Arrived: Astorga 5:00pm
Santiago de Composela: 264km
Highlight: Mass at León Cathedral

A sleep-in was in order as we had decided on a visit to the Cathedral at 9:30am before heading off to Astorga. Well wouldn’t you know it. We were treated to Sunday morning mass (which also meant no entrance fees!) We just loved the priests singing with their sound resonating throughout the Cathedral. So soothing!

Straight after, we made a beeline for the closest Patisserie for breakfast and bought Pan (bread) for lunch later. So a very late start for the day knowing we only had less than 50km to cycle and the room booked well before we had even left Australia.

Well although the weather was the warmest to date, the scenery was the worst since we have set out on the Camino (hence the lack of photo stock to choose from). We covered equivalent to two days walking and the majority of it was depressing as we hugged the main motorway N-120! In our case we road on it, whereas the Camino trail runs within meters from it! For a long stretch it runs through very ugly industrial areas, that aren’t just ugly, but also smell! Whilst it did affect our mood, we were thankful of being on bikes to accelerate through this stretch. We wouldn’t think any less of anyone jumping in a taxi to skip the majority of this as we could imagine that it would be soul destroying having to walk nearly 2 days through this!

We also faced more hills on this stretch as we start to move off the Meseta and towards the mountains. One of our Donkeys didn’t enjoy the hills one bit, but preserved and ultimately conquered them all!

We also had a storm front bearing down on us that we only copped a light sprinkling that ultimately gave everything a good soaking after we had checked in for the evening!

Astorga was a welcome relieve from both the rain and the ugliness of the industrial side of León. The hotel that was booked months ago was more than we could hope for. We received a very warm and accommodating welcome and the room has a view over the Plaza that the Hotel faces out on. The room is huge, the bathroom is huge and the bed is huge. We will need to take our headlight torches to find each other in the night!

To top it all off, our backpacks that had made their own journey from Burgos, had arrived ahead of us and were waiting for us at reception!

Polished off a good quality meal with a bottle of red and got a little tipsy which is always entertaining and looking forward to another rest day tomorrow!

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Camino – León (Day 19)

Date: Sat 25th May
Distance: 58 km
Temperature: Morning Cold/Afternoon Warm
Mood: Excellent
Left: Sahagún 8:45am
Arrived: León 3:00pm
Santiago de Composela: 317 km
Highlight: Seeing the sights of León

Whilst many of you will be sipping on your Sunday lattés as you check your emails and possibly catch up on this blog, we will be tucked up sound asleep (hopefully) in a comfy hotel in León recharging our batteries for the final cycling leg of our middle stage that will get us to Astorga for another rest day! (Hardly need a rest, but was thrown in for logistics of returning bikes and waiting on backpacks to reappear from their own trip from Burgos – crossing our fingers they do arrive!)

Well day 18 started in true pilgrim fashion after packing our panniers and saddling up our mechanical donkey’s we headed off hours later than most at 8:45am. Again, blessed with clear blue skies, but sub 7 deg registering on our donkey doodles (bike computers?).

We are absolutely enjoying the freedom on our mechanical donkeys as just like the true donkey, it takes the load off our backs, but with the advent of smooth road surfaces (many years after the Romans invented them). We can roll effortlessly when flat or going down hill with some effort required when faced with an uphill. One of us prefers to walk their mechanical donkey when faced with a hill cos their donkey doesn’t seem to like them.

The scenery didn’t disappoint with the snow capped mountains, always to the North as a dramatic backdrop to the rural fields. As always with the Camino, the final 10km or so into a City is a culture shock and we were surprised that even on our bikes we were still affected! Again, navigating is always difficult as the markers seem to only take you to the municipal Albergue, which in this case is not in the city centre. We had booked the night before into a hotel (Conde Luna) based on availability and its central location. Our reception was a little disappointing and we got the impression that Pilgrims were not that welcome to their establishment! Another pilgrim that came in shortly afterwards shared the same experience.

The old city of León is like all the Spanish cities along the Camino – Beautiful, but with its own unique personality. We both immediately liked this city once we had recovered from the cultural shock and settled into our accommodation for the evening.

Unfortunately the Cathedral closed at 7:00pm, just as we got to it, so will now need to re-jig our itinerary so we can visit it first thing in morning as it opens at 9:30am. Having said that, it will be Sunday, so who knows!

We enjoyed our evening meal at a very decent restaurant and watched the locals pour in around 9:30 just as the sun was setting! Being a Saturday evening made our experience of exploring the city even more enjoyable as there were so many locals out and about, which created a lively bustling atmosphere.

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Camino – Sahagún (Day 18)

Date: Fri 24th May
Distance: 60 km
Temperature: Morning Cold/Afternoon Warm
Mood: Excellent
Left: Frómista 8:45am
Arrived: Sahagún 3:15 pm
Santiago de Composela: 375 km
Highlight: Glorious weather

We awoke with a perfect blue sky (a rarity to date). Temperature was under 8 deg as we headed off. Today we were spoilt with flat roads. Most of the ride was spent on the quiet back roads running parallel with the Camino trail. This meant that there was far less effort in the ride and we could give the Pilgrims a break from being harassed by pesky cyclists!

We are now in true Meseta country with very little in the way of hills. The villages aren’t as picturesque as the Medieval villages that we had passed through yesterday, but always a welcome stop for a Cafe con leche or a hot chocolate. Now we need to set the record straight when it comes to hot chocolates on the Camino. The hot chocolates served are not “real” hot chocolates, but rather we are served hot milk with a sachet of chocolate powder on the side, such as Nestle chocolate quick! We have to empty contents into hot milk and stir! Still, we enjoy the warmth and a change from coffee.

Coffee? When it comes to coffee in Spain it is fairly consistent and we haven’t really had a problem with it compared to Paris (consistency) and its hard to complain when you are paying on average 1.2€ per cup. But is still sub-par to Coffee in Melbourne (Australia).

We have enjoyed the accommodation in the last 2 towns and and happy to recommend to anyone planning to stop in these towns and like hotel style over the rugged Albergue type (each to there own).

Last night we stayed in the San Martin Hotel right opposite the Romanesque Church of same name in Frómista. They also server the evening meal and breakfast all very reasonably priced.

Tonight we are staying at Hostal Alfonso VI in Sahagún. This is a very neat little place right on the Camino route in town and you cannot go past a more hospitable pair for hosts. A real treat! Breakfast is the only meal offered, but then the town has numerous restaurants/Cafes on hand!

Whilst the bums and hands are now feeling the strain (or should that be pain?), we are hoping for another easy ride again tomorrow as we head into another large town on the Camino – Léon.