Vision on the road to Astorga

I assumed it was a pain-induced mirage when a cart serving drinks, fruit, organic muesli and biscuits  materialized on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere.  Maybe I’d just been walking for too long.

Maybe the lack of breakfast away back in Santibanez was affecting my reasoning. Could a beautiful, bronzed, barefooted man really be providing sustenance for pilgrims in exchange for a donation?

But David was real and lived up there in the ruins of an old farmstead most of the year. And gentle David had a message for the world:

“Ego destruction, love construction” was his mantra.

It wasn’t far (and all downhill) to the town of Astorga where we needed to do some sightseeing and shopping. This town had  Gaudí architecture and we needed toothpaste, shampoo and, most importantly of all, a fleece. We’d be heading up into the mountains soon and I needed something warm for the early mornings.

It was market day so we ploughed through the crowds then somehow became ensconced at a café table in Plaza Catedral for hours, drinking cervesas surrounded by the turrets of Gaudí’s Bishops Palace and Astorga cathedral.

Many friends stopped by: Suzanne, Lisette, Nathan and Carmen. Then we explored the museums and cathedral before finding bunks in the municipal albergue.

The day ended with a happy dinner, rested feet and a cozy fleece to wear in the morning.  All was well with the world.