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326 km left. I've crossed the
half-way mark. My ankle was swollen, I had 7 blisters, and my little
toe looked like hamburger, but I was making it.
Though I was limping and needed to rest I wasn't going to the hospital, as the sign says. That was the name of the next town. |
| On the hill overlooking San Justo de la Vega. Many towns placed crosses on the hills above them like this. |  |
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The Cathedral of Astorga. In this town it was a market day when I was passing through. I got lost a few times because there were so many people and I couldn't see the arrows pointing the way. |
| I decided to stop in a very small town called El Ganso. I knew there was an albergue, but I didn't know the conditions. It was just a room in a government building with beds, nothing more. It didn't even have a bathroom or showers. I had to wash what I didn't mind exposing in a nearby cattle fountain. At least this one was free. Fortunately there were two cafes serving food, and most important, a Coca-Cola machine. |  |
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The Cruz de Ferro. (Cross of Ferro) This was at the highest point on the trail. It was just a small cross on a 6 meter pole. |
| Rabanal del Camino. This was one of the saddest towns I've seen. It was a tiny mountain village. On the left are the ruins of a church. |  |
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In Foncebadon. This is either a cross or an arrow on the side of a house. In this part of Castillia y Leon Province there were many houses build with stones. Most were abandoned and the roofs had caved in. |
| 222 km to go
I made pretty good time over these days. This was taken in the village of Manjarin, population: 2. No kidding, the town was completely abandoned except for one albergue. I bought a soda and had lunch nearby. |
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What a strange place to put a town. I've never understood how people end up living in places like this. |
| All over the mountains in the area there were these purple flowers. |  |
