Grogan
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Francis (April 2015)
16 April 2015 -- Villadangos del Paramo to Astorga -- 30.5 Kms
The day started out perfect -- overcast -- route clear -- did not see any other Pilgrims walking for the first hour or so -- when I did finally meet up with one -- it was -- well different -- saw a couple (I assume a couple) taking a picture -- as I walked by the old guy calls out to me -- I figure they wanted me to take a picture of them both -- but -- Nope -- they needed help on how to close the lady's ruck sack -- Pretty Easy Fix -- clips and buckles -- I mean even Infantry guys can figure that out -- and in fact Infantry guys would just tie the two straps together and avoid the clips over all -- oh well -- Camino Magic --
So continued to moved out and made my way to Hospital De Orbigo -- what an absolutely cool city -- lot of pictures - and all of a sudden a major infestation of pilgrims -- no idea where they all came from - must have been the scenic or alternate route merger.
Coming out of town you have two options -- right on the scenic route or left and follow the road -- difference 1.5 kms -- do yourself a favor -- follow the road -- I did the scenic route and it was not fun -- first -- started to rain -- second -- no one mentioned that they were cutting new roads with really big bulldozers -- so two problems -- following the route, a bit harder -- with rain -- up to your @@@ in mud -- Yep -- not fun -- only good thing -- I had Goretex boots -- other than that it was a hard march. Take the road route --- unless you are into pain.
About 2/3rds of the way through the scenic route -- ran into a little oasis in the middle of nowhere -- not sure what I was seeing -- kind of walked in to see if I recognized anybody -- did not -- the dude that set up the place basically said it was a "The Camino Provides" or if you are in the US and walking the Appalachian Trail -- "Trail Magic" -- pretty cool.
Major Equipment Failure: So was using Lush Toothpaste Tab for toothpaste -- forgot to put them in the plastic bag -- day of rain -- yep-- not good -- so bought some local toothpaste -- got to my room and dropped it -- hard plastic lid broke -- McGiver solution -- poured the toothpaste into one of the snack baggies I had -- guess I will be dipping my toothbrush in the paste -- just hope the baggies does not break -- that could be messy -Yep -- I know -- easy solution, get a new tube of toothpaste --- but you need to understand that toothpaste is more expensive than beer -- rather have the extra beer money.
Finally made it to Astorga and was planning to push another 5 kms -- but it was a really cool town -- so decided to spend the night -- went to the public Albergue -- 5 euros -- checked in and got settled in my room with 6 others -- Lots of options in Astorga for where you want to stay -- awesome town.
Buen Camino
The day started out perfect -- overcast -- route clear -- did not see any other Pilgrims walking for the first hour or so -- when I did finally meet up with one -- it was -- well different -- saw a couple (I assume a couple) taking a picture -- as I walked by the old guy calls out to me -- I figure they wanted me to take a picture of them both -- but -- Nope -- they needed help on how to close the lady's ruck sack -- Pretty Easy Fix -- clips and buckles -- I mean even Infantry guys can figure that out -- and in fact Infantry guys would just tie the two straps together and avoid the clips over all -- oh well -- Camino Magic --
So continued to moved out and made my way to Hospital De Orbigo -- what an absolutely cool city -- lot of pictures - and all of a sudden a major infestation of pilgrims -- no idea where they all came from - must have been the scenic or alternate route merger.
Coming out of town you have two options -- right on the scenic route or left and follow the road -- difference 1.5 kms -- do yourself a favor -- follow the road -- I did the scenic route and it was not fun -- first -- started to rain -- second -- no one mentioned that they were cutting new roads with really big bulldozers -- so two problems -- following the route, a bit harder -- with rain -- up to your @@@ in mud -- Yep -- not fun -- only good thing -- I had Goretex boots -- other than that it was a hard march. Take the road route --- unless you are into pain.
About 2/3rds of the way through the scenic route -- ran into a little oasis in the middle of nowhere -- not sure what I was seeing -- kind of walked in to see if I recognized anybody -- did not -- the dude that set up the place basically said it was a "The Camino Provides" or if you are in the US and walking the Appalachian Trail -- "Trail Magic" -- pretty cool.
Major Equipment Failure: So was using Lush Toothpaste Tab for toothpaste -- forgot to put them in the plastic bag -- day of rain -- yep-- not good -- so bought some local toothpaste -- got to my room and dropped it -- hard plastic lid broke -- McGiver solution -- poured the toothpaste into one of the snack baggies I had -- guess I will be dipping my toothbrush in the paste -- just hope the baggies does not break -- that could be messy -Yep -- I know -- easy solution, get a new tube of toothpaste --- but you need to understand that toothpaste is more expensive than beer -- rather have the extra beer money.
Finally made it to Astorga and was planning to push another 5 kms -- but it was a really cool town -- so decided to spend the night -- went to the public Albergue -- 5 euros -- checked in and got settled in my room with 6 others -- Lots of options in Astorga for where you want to stay -- awesome town.
Buen Camino
