Back Again!

Hi Everyone,
You can see by all my typos last blog that I had to get off the computer very quickly as another pilgrim in the Albergue was wanting to use it and I´d been on it a while - I´m not a super fast typer. She was also VERY insistant - most un-pigrim like I thought. But I´m trying to mot have judgemental thoughts. I did say ¨trying¨!

So, as I was saying, the call of the countryside is so strong now. I saw the sights of Astorga with a restlessness. As thouigh this was not what I was here for. The silver and gold chalices, crosses, richly embroidered historical vestments, grand Cathedral all left me cold somehow. I wanted to be back in the grandest natural cathedral of all. Having said all that Astorga was a lovely small city. I walked in to be greeted by my Manchester friends Jane and Brian who were sitting in the Plaza Mayor having a late lunch. They sat me down with a beer and forced the large amount of leftover tapas on me. After the walking they didn´t have to press too hard mind you.They had ordered too much and the waiter was so mortified at their paltry attempt to eat it all, that as soon as he saw me, he whisked a placemat and cutlery in front of me so he didn´t have to confront the no doubt tetchy chef with left over food. It was delicious too. Calamari in it´s own inky sauce, octopus cooked with potato, tomato and copiuos amounts of olive oil. black olives and good bread to soak up the tasty juices. What a way to end a long walk!
I see Jane and Brian a lot now and we eat dinner together most nights when we are in the same town. It´s usually very easy to catch up´- we find each other at the bar. If there is more than one, they are usually around the Plaza Mayor so we find each other eventually. They are great company and we have a good few laughs at the end of the day. And they speak English!

Astorga to Rabanal 21.4km
This was a short and easy day. I took it slowly at first to enjoy the track which was lined with head high broom - a yellow guard of honour in the red soil. Beyond, the blue mountains. I´m really into all the colours as you can see. So much of the day living in the city is grey with splashes of colour from bilboards. I don´t help either as I´m usually dressed in black for work. So the eyes are on holiday too.
Some of the tiny villages along the way are being brought to life by the Camino, and one such village is El Ganso which has a themed bar - a Cowboy bay, with all things wild west adorning it´s walls. It´s about the only place in town, but if there is a village there must be a bar. I read the other day that a Spanish Govt survey done in 1990 dicovered Spain has only slightly fewer bars than the rest of the European Union put together! They are a social lot. To my delight, they all have an Espresso machine - even in the middle of seemingly nowhere.
Well fortified at the cowboy bar, I took off once more, this time into a head wind. So I upped the pace. I have been given the nickname of Turbo Australia by some funny Germans - yes there are some funny Germans. So I charged the turbo and was in Rabanal in time to enjoy some afternoon sunshine and relaxation before Vespers.
In Rabanal a Benedictine Order of monks from Germany has recently taken up residence. They are restoring the tiny old church and at 7pm every night the four monks chant the old Gregorian Vespers. It is a drawcard as you can imagine. The little church was packed with pilgrims particularly as half of it was closed off as it was being excavated. This was a bit creepy as there were bones sticking out of the earth below the floor level´- lots of them!
In this run down tiny church there was more reality and spirituality during the vespers than I had felt in any of the grander churches. In the Cathedral in Estella the priests looked so bored I walked out in disgust. (judgemental again!) I see one of the monks from Rabanal now on the trail - must be doing his Camino- minus the robes- they´d drag in the mud.
This was a lovely place to stop and the forerunner of some magic days ahead.
But yiu will just have to wait to here bout those.
Until next time...
Cheers,
Annie

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