Astorga! Officially Out of the Meseta

The Camino holds a lot of rich and fascinating history.  I will tend to write more about interpersonal experience here than the historical part in case you haven't noticed.  I will say that the history we enjoy and relate to the most on this journey has to do with the Knights Templar.  They were defenders of pilgrims on the way of St. James in the early times.  Who doesn't like a hero? It is very romantic indeed.

The  landscape in which we walk is changing. The weather has been overcast and cool which is perfect for walking. Again another small thing to be grateful for. Our entrance into the medieval city of Astorga marks the end of the flat meseta that we entered weeks ago before Burgos.  I am thankful again.  While I did enjoy the meseta for what it was, it is nice to know there is something different coming our way. What will it be? I don't know. It's all part of the excitement. Hey, you have to get it from somewhere!

We were very tired when we arrived and made our way to the private hostel, San Javier.  The city didn't have a whole lot of option that we could find for something more private.  We checked into the very crowded place with creaky wooden floors and found beds on the lower level. As in not upper bunks.  We found that our Spanish friends Arnou and Rita were staying here.  We have been walking on the same trajectory with them for weeks and even though Arnou speaks a little English and Rita none, we have bonded.

After the mandatory shower and settling into our spaces, we ventured out.  We stopped for a snack of margarita pizza and two vino tintos, for which we were brought an entire bottle of wine!  We tucked into our much needed nourishment and marveled at the sights that surrounded us in this ancient plaza, watching the local life happening all around.  When the bill came we realized the bottle of wonderful Spanish wine was only 4 euro! We ordered a roasted chicken to go since the hostel seemed to have a nice kitchen.

Back at our "place" we checked on our laundry drying on the line and headed up to the kitchen where we met our Ozzie friends Greg and Melody, the later of which I found out shares my exact birthday, day and year! Wow.  We shared food and wine with Daniel, a  Dutch 19 year old and young Annabel from New Zealand. The young people we have met have been some of the most engaging and interesting of the trip!