Days 2 and 3 of the camino

Sorry this is a bit late, crappy wifi at the alberque yesterday. 

Yesterday, Feb 28th I made my way from La virgin de Camino to Mazarife, a tiny little town about 14 km away. The weather was awful, rainy and cold. I also made the mistake of planning to eat breakfast on the way, only to find the bar in the town on the route wasn't open. So cold and hungry, I trek through hilly country and summit this big hill just as the rain starts to die down. I look back at the town I had left and see a gorgeous full rainbow. It was something incredible, the kind of trail magic you hear about but never expect to see personally.

I was in a great mood as I made my way through the flat dessert land that makes up so much of this area of Spain. The wind and rain returned, and I eventually took shelter in a bar I found in a tiny little village called chozas de abajo. There a beautiful young Spainish bartender served food and drinks to the locals while singing and dancing to weird Spanish music with bagpipes. It was fun to see such joy and laughter and brightened my spirits from the cold.

Arriving in Mazarife I found that two of the three alberques I knew were closed, and despite nearly panicking, as the next one was a long 15 km hike away, Jesus (the alberque owner not the religious one) came through and was able to provide me with a bed in a pretty cool place where pilgrims have left messages on the walls, ceilings and beds for decades.  Food however was a different story, but I was able to camp out at the local grocery store and pick up some pasta, odd salad flavored lays chips, and a huge chunk of chocolate with almonds. For protein of course. Yum. 

Today was another pretty good day. I had layered up to avoid the cold, but it did stay warm most of the day. Today's walk felt much longer despite only being 17 km. Took a bunch of breaks, on the side of roads and in a nice wheat field. Read a book for a bit and generally enjoyed the Camino and the beautiful country.

Two fun history stories today. One town I passed through Villavante was once a smaller town, home to an young man who desired the hand of a beautiful Arab princess. Her father denied the engagement unless the man could prove his worth by building an irrigation system and enriching his lands around Villavante. He did so and so won the hand of the princess. Indeed today the town is a major center for agriculture and had a very complex system of canals and irrigation.

The last story is the very famous one of Hospital de Orbigo, the town I'm staying in now.  It's home of an ancient Roman bridge, renovated in the 13th century by the medieval government, where knight Don Suero de Quinones, scorned by his love, defended the bridge from any passerby, until he had broken 300 Lances. Knights from across Europe challenged him, only to fall. When he was done, he made a pilgrimage to Santiago to thank St James for freeing him from the bonds of love and restoring his honor. This is thought to be the inspiration for Don Quixote.

Another long day ahead of me tomorrow as I make my way to the city of Astorga, and my first rest day. Astorga is a fascinating city of cathedrals and innovative architecture. I'm very much looking forward to it.