We’re walking the Camino de Santiago in June 2022. Come along with us!
Day 2: A story in pictures
Day 2 begins in our albergue in Hospital de Órbigo with an excellent breakfast (see disastrous mistake of Day 1). I showed the proprietor the picture of her dog Niko snuggling with Will. She appeared to be horrified. (Es terrible!) We assured her that Niko was lovely.Leaving Hospital de Órbigo. Cloud cover, daylight breaking through. Our proprietor said, “It will rain by 11” and she was not wrong. First town in Day 2: Villares de Órbigo. The Camino trail is marked with helpful signs like this, as well as the near-ubiquitous yellow waymarkers.Since I’m mostly walking behind Will, all my pics have him in the frame. But here’s some proof that I’m on this walk, too.It was mostly a dirt/stone path today, through some lovely countryside. The storm kept being to the north of us, but we heard some rumbles of thunder.I must have forgotten to take a picture of second breakfast (croissant, zuma de naranja), because this is afterwards, with pack covers on just in case.And then out of nowhere, there was this lovely snack stand. The picture says: Este lugar es un regalo para ti (This place is a gift for you). Foods, fruits, nuts, drinks, everything a traveler could want… for a small donation.A fellow traveler, from Wales, played us a song about the Camino. This was the first of two serenades of the day. (Will shot video… see his upcoming post.)Lots of crosses/landmarks along the way.This statue is called Tengo Sed (I’m thirsty). This poor dude could benefit from a hydration pack. Also some fiberglass walking sticks with cork handles.Lunch in San Justo de la Vega. This is the “pilgrim meal” (aka, carb loader): tortilla española (potato and egg), hunk of bread. Seriously I cannot get enough of this juice. I think he squeezed 8 oranges to fill our order.If you squint hard, you can see our destination, Astorga, in the distance. I had to take a picture after passing dozens of these. They are little gardens, I guess, with locked gates and three foot walls. Somehow I feel like this wouldn’t fly in Modesto.Also this ridiculous pedestrian bridge over the train tracks. The couple walking ahead of us skipped the bridge and probably saved ten minutes. A little bit of an insult at the end of our hike. At our albergue! Ten beds in one little room, each with a locker and charging station. My bunk mate is Paul from Belgium (legs pictured). There’s one bathroom for the ten of us. 😬 We had a lovely communal meal prepared by Patricia, our Brazilian host and some great conversations between two Americans, one Brazilian (Claudia) and our Flemish roommates (Paul and Leva—I have to be spelling that wrong). So this is a horrible picture, but it represents my struggle to get decent ice cream in Spain. Despite the presence of heladerías everywhere, they always seem to be closed for siesta when we pass through. Here I ordered a hot chocolate and was told I could have a hot milk with cacao, which feels like something from the kids’ menu, but it did hit the spot. Seriously, I’m going to hit 34,000 steps today… can’t a girl get an ice cream in a cheap sugar cone?
And finally, thanks for your well wishes. I slept well, made sure I ate enough and had a good 12-mile walk. Tomorrow is much longer and more difficult—a 15-mile walk mostly uphill, with rain predicted 😬. Tonight walking around Astorga, which is lovely in the way of all ancient towns, we admitted our calves were VERY tight, and there’s a little pinch in the middle of our shoulder blades which I think is from using the hiking poles. We visited the farmacia for the good stuff (don’t get excited, I’m just talking about arnica).
And now, at 9:30, my belly is full and my body is tired, and life feels good. Here’s hoping none of our bunk mates is a heavy snorer. That means you, Will. ☝️
DeBoards in Spain 
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