Day 12 Orbigo - Astorga: Living Simply with Pro Cyclists, Sheep, Camino Legend and Chocolate

Los Montes de León - Mountains Appear Outside of Orbigo

Spectacular Scenery 

Since I hiked 12 km / 7.5 mi farther than planned on Sunday I would enjoy a short 18 km / 11.2 mi hike today. I also am in the extreme northwest corner of the Castillian Meseta. Flat lands that have predominated my Camino would yield to rolling hills today and Alpine landscape tomorrow. The Alpine trail will feature the highest altitude of El Camino.

I am excited about reaching Astorga today. It marks roughly the halfway point of my journey. It has beautiful and important landmarks in the Cathedral and Gaudi Palace. It is also famous for chocolate. It also is the city that is at the foot of the first major mountain range I will pass. All of these things plus knowing I will have a short day brings me positive energy and a spring in my step.

Pro Cycling Team - An Unexpected Camino Sight

Soon a Pro Cycling Team 

They say El Camino will bring the unexpected. Imagine my surprise when a peloton of professional cyclists blow by me. My camera was in my pocket so the picture of them and their support vehicle was the best I could do. It was exciting to me even though I have no idea who they or their team were.

Shepherd, His Flock and Sheep Dogs

And a Flock of Sheep

I was glad I decided to go without iPod here. Soon, I heard a cacophony of bells and barks that was growing louder. It dawned on me that my road was going to be blocked. The "Americano loco con camara" (Crazy American with a camera) reappeared. You just know the shepherd is laughing as if to think "Is this the first time he has seen sheep?"

La Iglesia de la Trinidad OPEN

A Beautiful Chapel Followed 

I discovered something for the very first time on my Camino as I entered the village Santibanez fr Valdeiglesias. It was a Church in a small village that was actually open. This gave me great joy as I love seeing where a small village worships. Once inside, two women were busy changing the altar for the Epiphany season but welcomed me. I obtained a stamp for my Pilgrim credential. A Pilgrim obtains a Pilgrim credential when they start their Camino. It is similar to a Passport and it is stamped at each important location along the way. Important is definitely in the eye of the beholder. For example, I had my credential stamped at stops along the way where I had a particularly memorable meal or cool experience. I will present my credential to the Office in the Cathedral in Santiago as proof that I have completed my journey.

I did encounter churches in each small village but they all were most definitely closed. Spain closes down from 25 December - 7 January which explained some closures. Some villages simply had few if anybody living there which explained others.

Does one say "Cheese" to cows?

And Then Livestock 

One of the fun parts of El Camino was the enthusiasm that livestock seemed to display when they willingly posed for pictures. They certainly kept their curiosity of pilgrims who passed by. Sights like this were a very common and delightful experience. They became more common from this point onward.

An Interesting and Uplifting Landmark

A Pilgrim Landmark 

A few kilometers up the road was this statue, rock cairn and cross. It brought a smile to my face as it instilled a sense of community in an otherwise lonely landscape between villages. It is common for "random" messages to be discovered on stones along the way. I don't believe they are random at all. The ones you see are the ones God intended you to see for your Camino to help answer the questions you pose. One I saw read "The Camino is a Gate. We are all passing through." I recognized the Camino to be a metaphor for our life journey and as such this resonated deeply within me. I felt a warm and loving feeling flow through me so I know this was a Divine message.

Modern Day Hermit David lived here devoting his life to serving Pilgrims

The Foundation of The House of The Gods 

It would not be long before I came upon another Camino legend - David of the House of the Gods. Years ago, David gave up all creature comforts of life in Barcelona along with work and family to live simply in a shanty on El Camino. He sleeps outdoors and has no running water nor electricity.

He tells me God called him to a life of serving Pilgrims. He offered a wonderful assortment of food and beverage along with a bed for a donation to any and all. He simply asks you to pay what you can. I was not particularly in need of food nor beverage but was immensely curious about interacting with him. I enjoyed some lemonade made from actual lemons and sweetened with honey from actual bees that was sublime. This was accompanied by fresh bread and peanut butter again with real peanuts and honey which was also sublime. The food was very high quality too similar to what an American or Londoner would find in Whole Foods. I spent about 45 minutes just talking with him. I asked him everything. Well almost everything as I did not wish to inquire about what abandoning his family was all about or how it came to be. Perhaps the whole concept was lost in translation and he simply meant that he moved away from his family the same as I moved away from mine.

He was as sincere and genuine a person as could be. His message to me was "Life is easy. We make it complicated." and to "Love and Serve One Another." which coincidentally were two of the guiding principles given to me by my Guardian Angel on my very first day of El Camino. I don't believe in coincidences so I definitely took note.

A Welcome Sight - Astorga Cathedral and Mountain Pass

And Astorga Came into View 

Astorga and its beautiful 15th century Cathedral came into view from atop the Meseta. It was a welcome sight even though it was still a good 90 minutes away and the formidable obstacle of a high mountain pass and its unpredictable weather loomed on the horizon.

Astorga - Episcopal Palace de Gaudi

Do I Smell Chocolate?

A small Roman medieval bridge led into this wonderful city. Well OK, you crossed this bridge and then had to scale a modern bridge over a set of railway tracks and then climb a lung buster of a hill to find your way into the beautiful historical city. I checked into the nice Hotel Gaudi across from the famous Episcopal Palace.

And after that I was now famished. You see most everything in Spain closes on Sunday so that means you have to have to purchase food from a store on Saturday evening and carry it in your backpack for your Sunday sustenance. That limits your choices to basically small meals throughout the day and in turn I am usually very hungry on Monday. I found a pizzeria that also had a Roast Chicken special. I had been craving a properly roasted chicken ever since I started.  On this day I would eat a whole pizza and an entire roast chicken. After that I found a store that sold nothing but chocolate. Astorga is renowned for very good quality chocolate. Chocolate is not only tasty but is also an excellent energy food so I bought plenty. I would need that for the mountains.

My Tunes for the Day

Another Pink tune that was a daily play. I loved it for a good pick me up on the trail and and I certainly raised my glass plenty on El Camino. No comment on whether I am a dirty little freak, party crasher or panty snatcher but I can confirm that I am in fact too "School for Kewl"!