Feets Do Yo Stuff: Camino Day 21, June 25: Leon to Hospital de Orbigo

Camino Day 21, June 25: Leon to Hospital de Orbigo

Numbers: 20.2 miles per Garmin GPS. 46,714 steps, 54 floors, and 382 active minutes per Fitbit (so far..the day is not over. :-) (Ok...went for our walk back to old town and steps total over 50,000...woohoo!)

Dave voice

This being our longest mileage day, we have cheated by having paid helpers lug our packs to Orbigo while we waltz through 22 or 23 miles with only water on our backs. Groovy, until we pass the first pilgrim who has a full pack. We quickly mention to this absolute stranger that we’re doing 36K today so…it’s okay we don’t have packs. They stare and shrug, perhaps wishing they didn’t have packs – and certainly wishing we’d go away.

We go away, passing fully "packed" pilgrims left and right and thinking, in a classic justification, that these people are suckers and hypocrites to boot for carrying their damned packs while we’ve liberated ourselves. Of course, this it total BS, but it is nice to hit mile 15 and feel that the rest of the day is a piece of cake. And it turns out to be less than 22 or 23; a mere 20.2, so easy that we’re going back into town to look again at the splendid bridge, the legend of which is that Zorro or someone, was such an awful knight (In days of old when knights were bold…) that he was defeated hundreds of times in jousts. Finally, the judges, thinking how easily the guy could get a concussion and sue, granted him the right of crossing the bridge (or of wearing a bridge, the details aren’t clear) in honor of his perseverance, if not his skill.

The town is named Hospital after the number of times the knight was carted off by EMTs for medical treatment and Orbigo, which is Spanglish for bridge. Like many of these small (population 1,100), but vital little villages, the place seems bigger than the population would Indicate. As is often the case with people in small towns, no one seems to know they’re missing out by not being In a city.

Our hotel, after we find it, offers us a queen-size bed, bar soap, and air conditioning, the trifecta. Plus, by walking further today, we have a short day (though with packs) tomorrow. No injuries to speak of. All’s right in the world. Uh, except the a/c’s dripping rather loudly on our floor. Quite a bit of water collecting around the towel we put there. Can it be that our dream of air conditioning is actually a nightmare?

We stroll back into to town at 5:00 PM, the beginning of the heat of the day here now (est 90 F). It’s no surprise that businesses, including banks and stores of all kinds, close between 1:30 and 5:00. Don’t know if anyone actually takes a siesta, but, based on how late dinner starts (8:00 PM), it seems likely. We do not sleep; we tip back cerveza (a Mahou, for those of you keeping score at home, and as ordinary a brew as Milwaukee or St Louis ever produced) and enjoy the bridge from a patio bar until smoke gets to us and we depart. The bridge (see Scout’s photo) is long, long and XIII century. Once, the Orbigo River ran between all thirteen support pillars. Now all but a tiny portion of the space is covered with soccer fields and the Orbigo is a polite little boy in his corner.

Hotel gripe of the day: double beds with a single pillow on them. True, it goes from one side to the other, but it ain’t natural. A feller (or a gal)’s got the right to wrestle with their own pillow at night, moving and mashing it as nature intended. Not so, here. First it was unisex; now this.

Delightful European discovery of the day; agua con gas. This used to be called Seltzer or Club Soda in the U.S. and was darned handy when you’d spilled something on your cravat or your seersuckers.. What it also does is turn table wine into sparkling wine and it’s refreshing cold. Besides, who doesn’t need a bubble now and then?

Highlight of the day: seeing stork nests in the bell towers of a couple of small towns. Big birds in big, big nests.

Deb voice

Nothing to add except if you'd like the real scoop on the bridge legend, read here - the legend of Don Suero and his duel. Will also provide a photo or two.

We will end our short day tomorrow in the town of Astorga, with a population of 12,000 - big for a Camino town. You can read about its long history here.

And for some photos!

Picture of festivities in Leon yesterday: