Day 3 Astorga to Rabanal del Camino

Astorga to Rabanal (population 50) - 30 May - 21Km.

"Every day is a journey, and the road itself is Home"

Today went well. Once again the weather forecasters got it wrong, to my relief. Was supposed to be raining all day, but I think all the rain was dumped during last evening's thunderstorm, so there was none left for today! Very pleasant walking conditions - overcast with the sun peeping through occasionally. The track gently climbed, gaining 250metres altitude between Astorga and Rabanal. Around midday a cool breeze came up but I just needed to put another layer on and was fine.

Cows passing us returning from milking

A camouflaged little snail making his way

Country walking past crops with views of distant hills and some mountains in the distance with remnants of snow. Creatures, great and small, as in photos above.

There were many pretty wildflowers growing on the verges along The Way, so this afternoon I photographed some of them. The red poppy is my favourite.

 

 

Via Crucis

On a wire fence to the right of the path just before Rabanal is a self-styled Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) where passing pilgrims have fashioned their own crosses from fallen twigs and branches and woven a cross on to the fence. There are dozens of them, as you see from this photo. At one part the path takes a loop away from the fence, so that is where I chose to put mine.

Five young women from the University of Minnesota

walked and chatted with me for a while this afternoon.

They were with a group of 16 Art History undergraduates

- 19 & 20 year olds. Their professor organizes, books and

guides them on the Camino, arranging for local experts to 

give presentations at various points of interest along the way. 

The students themselves also have to research a subject before

they come on the Camino, and give a Power Point presentation

to their fellow students.

Benedictine Monastery

Parish Church and bell tower

Arrived in Rabanal del Camino at 2pm. A lovely small village of stone buildings strung along the main street. The Romanesque parish church takes up the tiny central plaza. Beside it is a popular albergue, run by the London based Confraternity of St James and the Bierzo Association. Parishioners take turns for two weeks volunteering to run it.
A lively Happy Hour was happening late afternoon with about 20 pilgrims relaxing around a big outside table.
I was having a wine in the lounge area of our hotel late afternoon with an older couple, Andre and Helene. They were from Normandy, France and we were managing a conversation with their limited English and my schoolgirl French. It was helped greatly when their friend Jerome joined us. He had lived in Canada for some time, and his English was good. Brenda also joined the group. I had met her on my first morning in Leon, at breakfast. A couple of days later in Astorga she was in the dining room reading on her Kindle when I went in. When I asked whether she would like company, she replied that she would prefer not, thank you! But today she did, and joined us.

Went to Vespers at the Benedictine Monastery at 7pm. All sung in Latin, which I am much more familiar with than Spanish!
Then had dinner with a couple from Denmark, Heinrich & Anja  and a retired vet, Bob, from Florida. Interesting dinner companions. Bob was staying in the hostels (albergues) along the way. He said that having some hearing loss combined with ear plugs managed to block out most of the snoring! All three were concerned about the "big" day tomorrow when we reach the highest point on the whole 800Km Camino Frances of 1,515m. What they are overlooking (they all come from flat places) is that we came from Astorga at 900m above sea level today to Rabanal at 1,150m - an ascent of 250m, which wasn't a problem. So we aren't doing much more than that tomorrow, ascending another 365m.

It is another long day for me, at about 31km, but I'm up for it.

Gratitude item:
God's garden- the beautiful wild flowers which are on the verges of the walkway. Special to be here in spring when they are all in flower.
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