Day 64 - Villadangos del Páramo a Hospital de Obrigo- September 17 On the Camino 26 days

 Day 64 - Villadangos del Páramo a Hospital de Obrigo- September 17

On the Camino 26 days 

OK I forgot some stuff from yesterday, so let's all put on our Star Trek uniforms and jump into the time machine. Beam me backwards Scottie!

Yesterday morning I was in the Cuarto de Horno, so referred to because it has an old wood burning oven (Horno) in it. Anyway the door to this room is at the foot of the stairs where the pilgrims come down from the dormitory. We slept on mattresses on the floor in that room the night before we left, so the new hospitaleros could have the Hospitalero room with the beds. For me it was also so I could start to get in the mind set of a peregrina living out of a back pack. 

Well while I was in that room I was talking to the bears asking them if they were ready to be bearegrinos again and stuff like that when I heard some Peregrinos come down the stairs. I thought "oh no, I might start another Ramon story." Ramon was a character in a book about the Camino by Irish travel writer, Jack Hitt. Ramon was a Hospitalero in a strange albergue that was falling down. He was shall we say really untethered. He talked to himself and answered himself in a different character. This moment was reenacted in the movie "The Way." I thought there could be a Ramona who talked to bears. lol 

As I was walking out of León one of the Spanish ladies slowed down so she could walk with me. We conversed in Spanish. She has a daughter who lives in Florida. When we got to her house she asked me in, but I declined. I was in a walking mood. Shortly after this I came to a gated community, in Spain that's rare. After that I came to. Cluster of houses built into the earth. It looked like Hobbitville. 

This morning I was the very last person out of the albergue. Stephen left quickly after I was awoken from a sound sleep at 6:50 am by some Peregrinos out in the eating area talking and laughing really loudly and asked "why the f*** are those people making so much noise." I think he had trouble with peregrina Nancy. He was used to hospitalera Nancy, who would never talk like that. I had already decided to slow my pace down a little and one reason is I've found it difficult to be on the Camino with people who met me as a hospitalera. It's just weird. 

Today I walked from Villadangos to Hospital de Obrigo. Last year I flew through this town early in the morning. I'm staying at a "green" albergue run by a bunch of Spanish hippies who looked like they are in a time space warp from the Haight Ashbury cerca 1968. They have vegetarian dinner and breakfast, so I'm having a big American style steak for lunch with some Pimientos de Padron . They also have a yoga class before dinner and a hydro massage shower. The Parador should have one of those. It was marvelous. 

I am incorrigible. I had baked chicken last night for dinner and steak today for lunch. But I haven't killed a fly in five days. The mornings and nights are chilly and the middle of the days are warm. The period of warm is getting shorter. It's Fall. 

OK the cow is getting it's revenge. I haven't eaten that much solid beef at one time in years. Even when I have a rib eye at Outback I can only eat half of a small one. I don't know what possessed me to eat half a cow along with French fries, Pimientos Padron and in a moment of final insanity a big dish of flan with whip cream. I think I exceeded my calorie, cholesterol, sugar, and every other level for the rest of the year. My stomach feels heavier than my back pack. lol Then there was an amazing vegan dinner here at the albergue. We had cream of string bean soup and baked eggplant stuffed with onions and the flat fungi, and vegan apple cake. All of it was delicious. I could kick myself for having such a big heavy lunch, but maybe my body needed the protein. Or maybe the devil made me do it. ;)

Tomorrow I go to Astorga and the Chocolate Museum. I'm wondering if it's anything like Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Also the fifteenth century cathedral is said to have a nice Baroque facade and one of the best Renaissance retablos on the Camino. And that is saying something. I'll let you know what I think when I see it. It was "completed by a disciple of Michelangelo." Usually the word apprentice, student or follower is used for people who have worked with or followed the style of a great artist. Like the Bears are my apprentices. :) But disciples is the word the guide book used. Maybe because it is a cathedral. It might be a close race between the Chocolate Museum and the Cathedral unless the retablos is made of chocolate. Hehehe

The yoga class was really nice. It felt good to stretch. It was similar to hot yoga because the door was closed and the sun was shining on the big plate glass window next to my mat. Now I'm going to stretch my sleeping muscles. Good night Peregrinos!