San Martin del Camino to Astorga, 15 miles
I woke up knowing this was the last day of the Meseta, and that alone was enough to get me moving. At 42 degrees, it was another chilly morning, but within two hours I'd stripped off my layers and stayed warm the rest of the day.
After about three hours, something shifted.
What had been endless walking parallel to the busy, noisy highway gradually became a path veering away into green, hilly, much more lush landscape. The car noise vanished. The chirping birds returned.
The path became hilly again instead of the endless flat of the Meseta.
Unlike the past few days when I hardly took any pictures, today I must have taken at least fifty. It felt wonderful to be back in nature.
Astorga is a wonderful city—my favorite so far of the large cities we've been in, after Burgos and Leon. With a population of about 10,000, it's laid out in a way that feels like a small town.
This is a historic place, founded in 35 AD. You can still see the remains of the ancient wall built to protect the town.
St. Mary's Cathedral is a must-see. Construction began in the 14th century but wasn't finished to its current state until the 18th century. I did an audio tour of the inside.
Right next to the cathedral sits another historic building, the Palace of Gaudi. I'm not familiar with the architect Anthony Gaudi, but apparently he was well known for his Gothic style. It's now a museum, which I also toured.
The third attraction is Museo Del Chocolate which, believe it or not, I did not tour. It wasn't as close as the other two, plus I still needed to do my wash in the sink and use the blow dryer to try to dry them somewhat, so I felt crunched for time. There was also a professional cycling race going through town today, La Vuelta Femenina Stage 5, so many streets were closed off making it difficult to get to the chocolate museum.
I'm in a very nice hotel tonight—not an albergue—right across from the cathedral and Gaudi Museum.
Every once in a while it's nice to have a treat.
Buen Camino
