DAY 20 To Villares de Orbigo

We had 31 Kms yet to walk to get to Astorga.  We wanted a short day so we decided to walk two 15.5 days.  As luck would have it the villages along the way allowed that for a change.  We started out at a brisk pace, but I was soon slowed by having to walk on asphalt.  This stuff is the slayer of the sole.  Yes sole!  My feet were killing.  I can't wait to get back on a dirt path.

Along the way we saw countless snails.  Farmers must hate them for the damage they do to their crops.  It is no wonder they came up with a marketing gimmick to get the French to eat them.

Both sides of the road had deep irrigation ditches.  With the warm weather we've been having, the frogs were croaking for mates.  At times it was very loud.  A nice distraction from the pounding the road was giving us.

We came upon a farm with a fence topped with three strands of barb wire.  This is the first farm we've seen with a fence around the crops.  We first thought it was a prison farm.  It turned out to be a government agricultural project.  We told Pablo, our Albergue host, about it.  He laughed and said they don't have prison farms.  He said the only time they see them is in American movies.  Well that pretty much says it all.

We stopped for lunch at Puente Orbigo.  Pizza at a roadside bar.  Delicious!  We recommended it to some of our Aussie friends and they ate there too.  It is funny how you see some people and then it seems they're gone.  When you least expect it, here they appear again.  The reappearance of a friendly and familiar face is one of the gems you experience on the Camino.

As we left our lunch stop, I turned and gazed upon the Rio Orbigo bridge.  The bridge is just under 300 meters with 20 arches and was built in the 10th/11th centuries.  It is the longest bridge on the Camino.  Many jousting  battles were fought in the 1400s by knights looking to earn glory by defeating Passo honrosa the courageous.  Vic was somewhat uninspired.  She just wanted to get to an Albergue.

We set off to Villar de Orbigo.  The Albergue is private and had a room with only two beds.  We jumped on it.  A private room in an Albergue two nights in a row.  Not sure if we are living right, but in the transient world of Albergue tenants, we are living large!

 They had a common kitchen so I went to the store and bought the ingredients for pasta diablo.  No fresh tomato and they didn't have spicy Italian sausage so I bought the hot chorizo.   There was another couple staying in the Albergue.  Peter, a Brit, and Connie from Germany.  Connie came in and said the cooking smelled very good.  I told her it would be better if I had a fresh tomato.  She had one and offered it to me.  I told her I would accept the tomato if they would dine with us.  They were happy to join us.  We had vino tinto, bread, and pasta.  It turned out to be very tasty.  It was all quickly eaten.  Since I cooked, they did the dishes.  Vic lucked out all the way around.

Our  host Pablo saw we didn't have a desert and brought us ice cream.  Thanks again Pablo.  Pablo and his wife Berlin (sorry if I got your name wrong)  are caring and generous hosts.  They also keep the Albergue very clean and are continuing to rehab the place.  I recommend them to all future peregrinos.

Tomorrow we march on Astorga.