· James Torr · Personal · 2 min read
Day 18: León → bus Astorga → Astorga – Rabanal del Camino.
The bus journey to Astorga takes me past pilgrims walking along the road. There’s a lot of that on the Meseta, particularly the second half. Maybe I’ll come back and check that box, for now, let’s skip ahead to the good bits. Leaving Astorga, a pretty town centre with a cathedral and Gaudi designed building in the centre, I see the countryside start to transform. Low hills straddle the path. We’re still walking along a road course, but with very little traffic. I decide to walk along it a while to preserve my blister, trading a soft, uneven surface, for hard, flat asphalt.
It’s still hot. I left Astorga at 10am, so at midday, I’m only halfway through my hike. A come across a cat on the path, he flips down in my shadow. We’re miles from nowhere, so he’s a stray hunter. I guess he’s miaowing for hunger. He doesn’t take the water I offer.
I near my final destination and the sky darkens in front of me. A long, rolling thunder cackles across the sky. Behind me is the sun of the Meseta. This feels refreshing, but slightly ominous. It’s a dramatic sign of what’s ahead of me. After half an hour, rain dances across the path, kicking up smells of dust, ozone and pine needles. I meet a young Frenchman, my first co-hiker of the day, as we start chatting, the rain thickens. On our ascent into Rabanal, we walk, still parallel to the road, through a beautiful forest path. Sticks are pushed through the fence on our right in the shape of crosses are covered with moisture-loving lichens. In just a few hours, we’ve gone from flat, desert-like plan to cooler, temperate rainforest conditions.
The air is cooler. The architecture has changed. We’re now very much out of the Meseta. I’m not unhappy about this. This is why I’m here, to see a country, not walk along roads for a week. Evening meal (a really good paella) is shared with a group of friendly Italians. We drink the wine dry, and ask for another bottle. It’s a lovely evening and I could ask for a better way to start the final section of the Camino.
