Day 21 - Hospital de Órbigo to Santa Catalina de Somoza

I’m not one to believe in miracles, but as I’m on a pilgrimage, I wouldn’t entirely rule out the possibility. From not being able to walk last night, the pain in my shin had abated by morning and what with sending my pack onwards, as opposed to having to carrying the bloody thing, today’s 17 miles was really pretty comfortable. I suspect this had more to do with ‘Saint’ Sofia, the elderly pharmacist in Hospital de Orbigo who strapped my leg and sold me a plethora of pills and potions, than any divine intervention, but either way I’m most grateful.

It felt like the first proper day of summer today. Clear blue skies and temperatures close to 30 degrees replaced the grey of recent days. Spent the morning chatting to an Irishman who’s been working for the ECB and is about to start a new role with the Irish Central Bank. He’s using the Camino to escape from his concerns about the state of the world in general, and about AI specifically. We found an Irish pub in Astorga and decided the world would look much better through the bottom of a pint glass.

I’m in a village called Santa Catalina de Somoza this evening. As I got there before my Albergue opened, I stopped at a tiny bar run by a very boisterous German Monty Python fan. ‘Don’t mention the war’ he sang when he realised I was a Brit, and immediately lent me his copy of the ‘Battle of Corunna and the retreat of the British army’. A notable moment in the Peninsula War against Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century. Our path crosses the landscape over which this campaign was fought and a few years after the ‘retreat’, the British and Spanish defeated French forces after the siege of Astorga in 1812.

 

This evenings Albergue is called La bohème and it absolutely is. Big room full of random beds, big fridge full of random wines and David our host tells me I have a ‘very’ vegan meal to look forward to this evening.




 

 

 

 

 


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