The walk from Astorga to Molinaseca was spectacular. Where do I begin? Well maybe in the beautiful township of Castrillo de los Polvazares. On the alternative route from Astorga we visited this quaint little village. First curious thing I noticed was the lack of people. Maybe not so unusual for 8.00am in Spain! So, walking through the village I met a beautiful spaniel who just knew I needed a cuddle. 🙂 I sat to admire the church (which was closed, of course…) – check out the stork nest on the right…

Another curious thing are the storks. Storks are prolific in this part of Spain. They’re amazing. In childhood stories I remember, storks were always reported to bring babies  and I can see why. Their nests are about a metre in diameter – they’re huge, plenty of room for babies (oh, if only it was that easy!!!) and are always perched at the highest points of the towns and buildings. I feel quite lucky that I have seen storks in person in my lifetime. Curious phenomenon number 3 – Spain on Sale. Every town we walk through now has at least a third to a half of the houses and buildings for sale. In various states of (dis)repair. I guess people ran out of money and now trying to recoup. Some are just shells of buildings. Albergue, anyone?

Curious phenomenon number 4 – the Italian Stallions. I thought I would spare you the photo but why would I deprive you of that?? The Italian Stallions travel the Camino by bike. Usually in packs. And always in Lycra shorts. At least two sizes too small, if you get my drift…

Curious phenomenon number 5 – Snorking. Otherwise known as ‘snoring’ back home, but it more often refers to the bone shattering, gutteral noises that reverberate around the whole dorm, keeping everyone within a 5km radius awake except, of course, the snorker themselves. Seriously dudes. If you know your snork, please have the decency to separate yourself from the rest of the dorm. Get a private room. Sleep outside. I’m really over it. I’ve heard there are albergues with separate rooms for snorkers. If I had an albergue, this would be a feature. I got talking to a guy who was a terrible snorker (i didn’t find this out until later that night). He told me he was doing the Camino because his wife told him to go and find himself. I think she just wanted to get rid of him for a few weeks so she could get some sleep. So aside from the curious phenomena, the walk from Astorga to Molinaseca was spectacular. The colours of the wild flowers were amazing. Such spectacular scenery. Here are some photos…

We did pass the Cruz de Ferro. It was a little underwhelming. I think the selfie chick who insisted on climbing the mound of rocks, positioning her tripod just so, for more than a few minutes, may have taken away some of the atmosphere for me. However I did leave my rock, Rigan’s rock and a pine cone for Flynne. Not burdens. Just nice that my girls and I could be there together.

Next stop – Trabadelo and the wonderful Susi from Casa Susi!