Walking the Camino de Santiago
The photo quality isn’t great, but you can perhaps get the general idea of this comical gargoyle on the Catedral de Santa María de Astorga. It is, I suppose, a sheep or lamb. It looks positively cartoonish, and I find it delightful. Date: 21 April 2013Place: Astorga (Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)Today started: Astorga (Province of León, Castilla […]
» Read more
This is the magnificent central entrance to the Catedral de Santa María de Astorga. The more you look – the more you zoom into the photo! – the more detail is uncovered. Above the beautifully carved door, we see the sculpted image of Christ being taken down from the Cross. I took some better close-up photos in 2016, which you […]
» Read more
Because it faces onto a very tiny plaza, it was impossible for me to get a decent photo of the entire façade of the Catedral de Santa María de Astorga. You might get a decent shot with a drone, or if you were on the roof of one of the buildings across the plaza. Here’s my best take – and […]
» Read more
We spent a restful night in the albergue of the Asociación de Amigos del Camino, where we shared a room with Smith and Tara. Early the next morning, we made our way to the Plaza de Eduardo de Castro, which contains both the Cathedral and this place. This is a museum, originally designed as Astorga’s Episcopal Palace by Antoni Gaudí […]
» Read more
The end of Francine’s first day on Camino came all too quickly, and little time was left to explore this wonderful city. That would have to wait until our next Camino in 2016, when we basically spent half a day in this city. Here we see the lengthening shadows of evening washing across Astorga’s beautiful town hall (Ayuntamiento de Astorga) […]
» Read more
A rare double-photo! The climb up the hill into the city center of Astorga is not an easy one, as you can see. After a day’s walk and clambering up and down the railroad bridge, it almost feels like gratuitous suffering. You better believe I leaned on that rail as I climbed. At the top, you are greeted by this […]
» Read more
The history of settlement on this site dates back to at least the Iron Age, though there were Paleolithic settlements in the area more than 100,000 years ago. The Roman city of Asturica Augusta was founded here in 14 BC. I love that this is the name posted here where the Camino enters the city proper. You can see the […]
» Read more
With our Camino Primitivo adventure just 55 days away now, Francine and I have made some adjustments to our walking schedule. We walk 5 – 8 kilometers most days, and on weekends we usually plan for one longer walk in the 12 kilometer range. The big change so far? We’re doing those walks with fully loaded packs now. It’s definitely […]
» Read more
The Camino arrives in the city of Astorga by means of an enormous, multi-level metal bridge over railroad tracks. It involves climbing several zig-zag stories up and then down. It’s my understanding that the bridge was briefly labeled as the “Peregrino Torture Tower” on Google Maps. Although I’ve crossed this bridge twice now, I don’t appear to have any actual […]
» Read more
There are almost as many different kinds of signs on the Camino as there are pilgrims. Here are two of them, set in the rough ruins of a village that has clearly seen better days. Date: 20 April 2013Place: San Justo de la Vega (Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)Today started: León → Hospital de Órbigo (Province of León, […]
» Read more