June 17, Saturday, Day 20. The second rest day since I began the Camino. Once I became a tourist, I began to miss the days on the Way – the sense of accomplishment after completing a day’s walk, the after-walk tour of the local place without a sense of guilt, the physical and mental weariness after the walk, the rejuvenation and relaxation of each muscle after being with the elements all day, and the agility of the senses after a near edification in the nature for hours at a time… an unparalleled experience!
I rode a bus from Leon to Astorga, fast-forwarding for about 48 km for today. 6-8 euros bus fee.
Astorga, approximately 47 square kilometers, is a city with the population of about 11,000.
Less than one hour’s bus-ride covered my two days’ worth of walk on the Way! Well, I guess that speed shouldn’t be everything. There is no comparison here, of course. The experiences and goals are totally different.
Astorga is well known for some ancient buildings. The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Astorga shows its unique architectural style and long history.
I was impressed by its complex structures and the intricate designs and artistic expressions.
There must be countless stories behind each sculpture carved and installed here.
A peek at the small church nearby.
Near the Cathedral is the Palacio de Gaudi, the Bishop's Palace, looking like castle from fairy tales.
All those murals in town:
Top right: Mural of the War of Spain against France
Top left: Depicting shop workers
As I strolled in town, I found out that Astorga was actually the birthplace in Europe for chocolate. There were numerous chocolate shops in town. While I viewed the Youtube videos before my Camino, I had heard a few Vloggers/walkers mentioned the Chocolate Museum in Astorga. Some of them showed up in front of the museum, only to find that it was closed for the day. I vowed to visit at a reasonable time, to ensure that I could get in. L and I walked under hot noon sun and arrived at the place at around 1:30pm. In spite of the fact that it would close at 2pm for early afternoon rest, the museum had stopped selling admission tickets at 1:30!! Darn!! We were in complete despair. We thought that we got this, only to be informed otherwise! Ugh!!! “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” – With the words to comfort us, and the golden rules that we ought to live by, we trotted away…
I took some more pictures as we walked around town, until I drained the battery.
L saw a few dresses in some display cases and commented how beautiful and stylish they looked. The feminine side of us took over for a second, and we fell in love with the styles and colors of the dresses, and said how we missed the days when we wore dresses. We looked at each other, thinking about the same thing, smiling hopelessly… How we loved so many things – cute, delicate, beautiful, unique, memorable… yet we also knew deeply that we should not buy anything, so that we wouldn’t have to carry them. So – might as well take another look at what we love, stay there for a bit longer. Remember – Look, enjoy, but never buy any!!!
The day got so hot, and we were famished from walking around in town for hours. Some diner sitting outside of a cafe, eating a large plateful of greens!! We walked in and added that and more to our order! Good salad was so hard to come by… A feast we just had, leaving all the luxury thought behind.
We stayed in a room for 8 people at tonight’s albergue.
There was a huge backyard after entering this place, for washing, line-drying clothes, and for lounging and socializing.
Just as I was getting ready for a shower, a lady before me asked me to wait – “just a moment,”, she said, let me clean up the hair from my shower before you step in, then you would feel better.” That warmed my heart. This little gesture of hers touched my heart deeply, and changed me in a very subtle way. Ever since then, I would do the same for the next person who would step into the shower after me, so that she would also feel better. What more thoughtful gesture one could do for a person who walked for hours that day!!
There have been times when people talk about manners, personal qualities, etc., someone just modeled for me and impressed me thousands of miles away from my home. Thus I picked up a new habit. I’m grateful to this Camino angel who demonstrated what one person could do to make a difference, starting from something little, daily.
According some guidebooks and online references, I’ve reached the end of Meseta. So does that mean that my final stage shall begin?! I haven’t thought about it for a while. Does that mean that the following hikes would be more silly? We shall see… https://www.caminoguidebook.com/routes/camino-frances
Keyword:
Manners
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