Camino Day Twenty-Six- Villavante to Astorga- (13.5 Miles)

We were back at work early- walking! We walked through five small towns with five lovely churches all closed, but admirable to see. There was a climb today-a 1,108ft climb into Astorga. The next few days will be all about climbing, working our way to the highest point on the Camino. Our bodies are in good shape- just a couple of small blisters on our feet here and there. It is truly amazing what we’re asking our feet and bodies to do!!!

We climbed into Astorga and scaled another Roman wall but got to our hotel too early to check in. Dumping our backpacks and changing our shoes to sandals we went exploring. We had 3 hours before our late lunch reservation at 3:45. We toured a Church dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima and the Astorga Cathedral, walking through narrow, picturesque lanes. Finally, cheked into our room, showered and hungry we set our to have our late lunch. We ate at Las Termas, experiencing a cocido Maragato- a meal that is upside down. It is a stew made with 10 different meats-the stewed meats served first with crusty bread and sliced tomatoes and a bottle of red wine. The second course is the most delicious garbanzo beans cooked with potatoes and cabbage in a rich stewy sauce. Finally, we were served the soup with the richest broth ever and tiny vermicelli-like noodles. An amazing meal! And our last meal of the day!

Sated, we walked slowly back to our hotel to start the wait for the Mariner game to begin- at 2 am!!!!! We plan to sleep a while and then wake up. We’ll see if Chris really wakes up to listen for long. We have a short walk tomorrow (10 miles) so we may sleep in a little