The Tasty Pilgrim

I had almost forgotten what a wonderful Spanish invention this is. You have a meal at two and then take a nap to rejuvenate. When you are on the road for such a long time, you tend to lose all notion of time and what day of the week it is. Yesterday when I left Rabanal, the taxi driver told me it was Sunday. For Spanish people Sunday is excursion day. We regularly met groups of people walking together and a few kilometers away stood their bus. Lots of families with children walked a stretch of the Camino here, as it is such a lovely walk with snow covered mountains in the distance. Upon arrival in Astorga I checked in the private refugio and first visited the cathedral. There was a pilgrim´s mass in progress and I sat down to listen. Then I walked the city and noticed little old ladies all dressed up and families with children in Sunday attire, the girls in a kind of cocktail dress and the boys in a white suit. I entered the reatutant of the Gaudi Hotel and noticed they had a Menu Festivo. On a Sunday you go out at two or three to have a special lunch, in reality a rather large dinner. I gave them the voucher from the refugio and selected something tasty from the festive menu.

As I love paella I had it for starters. A large plate laden with special rice and all kinds of sea food. A meal fit for a king ! Then I had the lenguada relleno, which is sole. The fish is rolled in a special ham and then covered in breadcrumbs and baked in the oven. It is served with two cooked potatoes and three slices of tomatoe with a special sauce. It tastes so good ! Like the angels peed over my tongue. As usual I had ice-cream as a desert. Then there is a bottle of wine from the region placed on the table. Only then I felt how tired I was, so I had a great siësta from three till five.

In the late afternoon I walked around the city some more and found a jewel of a building dating back from the middle ages. It turned out to be the town hall. In the evening I had another meal at the Gaudi hotel. This is the good life. On the other hand if I would stay longer I would grow very fat and end as an alcoholic. The wine is so wonderful and it does not leave a headache as all the wines here are organically grown, meaning no pesticides etc. are sprayed. This morning I woke up early as lots of pilgrims tried to leave at five. The weather is very warm and in the afternoon I could not walk in the sun but kept in the shade. In this refugio they do a good breakfast. Now I am ready to take a bus to Leon and from there to Bilbao. Found a book here the lonely planet version of Spain. Very nice section on Bilbao and good places to stay at moderate prices. There is also a Gugenheim museum, which I intend to visit tomorrow.