We stayed at the Hotel Ciudad de Astorga, a 4-star hotel that lived up to its rating and is a stones throw from the cathedral and Bishop’s palace. The food in its outdoor restaurant was excellent.
My room had a view over a central type of courtyard and a very comfortable bed. We left the city with one last look at the impressive cathedral before a short walk took us back into the open countryside. This was a slightly warmer start than yesterday with the sun already being out and a lack of any breeze.
It was a pleasant walk as we headed west alongside the road with good views of the mountains in the distance and a military camp on our right. We passed enclosed gardens with interesting gates and had a good view back to the cathedral silhouetted against the horizon.
We stopped briefly at the Ermita del Ecce Homo for a stamp in our credential and continued on towards Murias de Rechivaldo. We saw a Guardia Civil car parked up with the officers putting on their high-viz jackets and thought no more of it. A few minutes later we saw a convoy of Guardia Civil vehicles heading back towards Astorga and, as we waked through the town, via the interesting iron bishop sculpture, there were more Guardia Civil minibuses and a cafe full of officers. We will never know the full story but it was intriguing to speculate.
It was a long, straight walk along a dusty path, gently gaining in altitude, with the sun beating down on us, as we enjoyed the huge open vistas on either side of us. At about half way we walked under an iron arch sculpture and through the town of Santa Catalina de Somoza. The initial path into town was tree lined and nice and cool – unfortunately it didn’t last very long.
Onwards and upwards we walked, although to be fair it was a very gentle climb that got a slight bit harder at the very end. As ever on this walk, the scenery was wonderful to look at. One last village – El Ganco – and a herd of pretty cows (and their calves) and we finished up our journey for the day. A shorter walk than yesterday which felt hotter (certainly sweatier) but definitely not as exhausting.
