Day 24: Astorga to Rabanal (Wendy)

 Goodbye, Nebraska, hello Utah! I think we’ve talked before about how satisfying it is to watch the landscape change at a walking pace, rather than whizzing by at our typical car or even bicycle speed. But even with such slow unfurling, the distinction between the cornfields of yesterday and the foothills of today is startling. With an hour or so (about 3-4 miles) the cornfields were gone, and we were surrounded by fields of red clay and scrubby oaks that Seek tells me are Sweet Acorn oaks.

Of course, we started the day in the dark with the usual procession of gorgeous old buildings as we left Astorga, including some ruins of an ancient Roman fancy house, complete with a three-pool spa. These are located, you guessed it, beneath and next to a not-quite-as-old Catholic church built on top. 

Added bonus today was the full moon which, combined with the general darkness and turning leaves, gave everything a delicious autumnally eerie feel.

We ended the day with a gentle incline of around 5 kms into Rabanal, where we’d booked a room at “Susana’s Place,” an alleged albergue that isn’t findable on any app or Google search. But we were given the name and WhatsApp number from the proprietor of the most popular albergue in town, so we hoped it would be ok.

Turns out, Susana is a lovely woman who runs a little convenience store out of the front of her home and has a little home with two rooms in the back courtyard that she rents out to peregrinos. Granted, the kitchen has no fridge (but does have a washing machine!). But since there is no heat in the entire place save a small space heater she turned on when she showed us our room, I think my ham and cheese provisions will be fine sitting on the counter.

Tonight, we’re going to listen to some Gregorian chants at a church that Susana recommended. Tomorrow, we enter the Calabrian mountains for real, including passing by the famous Cruz de Ferro. Bob will tell you all about it in tomorrow’s report. He’s already getting anxious about the stone he hastily picked up from the path today, having belatedly realized he was supposed to cast a stone he brought from home onto the pile at the base of the cross.