Walking Beyond Our Limits on the Way to Astorga

October 7 - 8

The suggestion was first made as an offhanded comment at breakfast and, not surprisingly, on the heels of a day of rest in Leon. "Why don't we walk a marathon today?" There were blank stares around the table with reactions ranging from "let's see how we feel after 10 or so miles" to "that would be nothing short of a fool's errand." But, after much back and forth and a few miles of walking, the idea took hold. So, under the influence of an enthusiastic cheerleader and the support of a thoughtful pacesetter, the marathon was on!

We walked most of the 26.2 miles on wide, natural paths with a slight breeze at our backs and under incredible cloud formations. It was a day of solitude with what I suspect were passing thoughts by some about why we were adding a marathon to an otherwise challenging Camino. At times, the road ahead seemed endless and the next town out of reach.

Along the way, we stopped to stretch, snack and plan our next steps. Eight hours later we crossed the finish line in the town of Hospital de Orbigo. Mission accomplished!

Given that we now had a relatively short walk to Astoria, and our bodies were calling for extra rest, we did not suit up the next morning until close to 10:30 am. I also got the strong sense from my Camino family that they were not interested in any more of my bright ideas for adventure, at least not for now.

The walk to Astorga, in stark contrast to yesterday, was a short 10 miles and somewhat of a Camino frolic with time to smell the roses. See for yourselves . . .

All is well that ends well. On Camino Jim's recommendation, we had an incredible dinner at a family-owned restaurant across from the Catedral. As we toasted the last 2 days, I silently raised my glass to only 12 more days of walking to Santiago!

~ Buen Camino, Carol ~