Hospital de Órbigo

Leon – Hospital de Órbigo 30km

Before you all start crapping yourselves, No I’m not in hospital, its just the name of the place. I probably should be in hospital because of the distance I’ve covered and the amount of beer, wine and croissants I’ve ate, but no I’m lying in my sleeping bag with a full tummy and writing this damn thing!

Today I left León at 7:45 and had to walk about 5k to get out of the city. I was sad to leave this city as it is a wonderful under-rated place. I was supposed to stay at the Parador hotel in Leon which is the big fancy hotel that the cast of ‘The Way’, stayed at near the end of their journey. Leading up to last week it was £200 to stay at this parador for one night. Checking at the start of this week it had jumped to £375. One thing I’ve learned on this Camino is that we don’t really need luxury. A sleep in a well run albergue can be just as rewarding with the people you meet and the excellent hospitality provided. So on seeing the price hike, I just decided no. That amount cannot be justified on a pilgrimage or in real life.

So on I walked and got a bloody good look at the place instead. The walk today is still part of the Meseta and is a long flat road that will test the weak minded. I stopped at a stall along the way taking donations for drinks and foods and got my picture taken in a cardboard cut out of an ancient pilgrim. I met up with Pete and Megan from New Zealand again and walked with them for a while.

Going through La Virgen del Camino, I thought I’d better call in and see the Santurio de la virgin del camino – a fancy chapel in other words. It was a beautiful building.

We reached the village of San Miguel Del Camino where there was a nice little cafe I decided to stop in. I hoped that I could have a San Miguel in San Miguel Del Camino. Not a chance! The best I got was a small tin of Estrella which is quite nice so it softened the blow.

I met Kylie again and walked with her a little while before I stuck some music on and got into my rhythm. With about 7km to go I felt a hotspot on my heal and stopped in a cafe to take a look at it. Two blisters on my left heel. I only get blisters when the soles of my shoes are done. It creates an imbalance and leads to friction on a part of my foot. I quickly wrapped it up and put some moleskin tape on it- great for blisters.

On my way again it was a slow 7k to Hospital de Orbigo. When I finally got there I was delighted to see such a delightful looking town that seemed to be preparing for a festival or parade.

Got checked into my albergue (Albergue San Miguel a recurring theme today – and No I didn’t actually get a San Miguel) which was a nice little place with a good warm shower. I got my dinner in a restaurant called Los Angeles. A three course peregrino meal with a bottle of red wine for 14 yoyos. I shared the wine with a fellow peregrino Shaun from Oxford. We had a good chat and then went back to our albergues for the night.

Its going to be a slow 20km to Astorga tomorrow but hopefully I will be able to get new trainers and get back to pain free walking. Buenas Noches! 😉