The pilgrimage to Santiago began thousands of years
ago, when the Apostle’s tomb was discovered in the early 9th century. At the
end of the 12th century Santiago evolved to the most significant pilgrimage in
Europe and the attraction of this city seems to be increasing every year. Many
monasteries and hospitals were built along the route to assist the pilgrims and
nowadays several of them will be restored for the pilgrims of these days.
After picking up our credentials and having a nice lunch, our bus will
transfer us to Puente de Orbigo were we began our walk till San Justo de
la Vega. In this town were held in 1434 the famous jousts organised by Suero de
Quiñónez, during which he challenged many European knights. Pilgrims will find
the church of San Juan, built by the Knights Hospitaller. After leaving this
epic village the Route crosses Santibáñez de Valdeiglesias which lead us to San Justo de la Vega. From here our bus then drove us to our accommodation in Astorga. Today we have had a mixture of weather, sun. rain and wind all part of the adventure.,
Astorga is a beautiful village of old and new, the extraordinary Gothic Cathedral, from the
15 C presides over the town. It has a Baroque façade and some Renaissance
elements. The second day of our walk we departed at around 9am it is still dark at 8am, the bus transferred us to Castrillo de los
Polvazares a town that has an outstanding
architectural heritage, where the genuine atmosphere of the region of
Maragatería still remains. Our way then continued to Rabanal del Camino a quaint village and authentic hotel.
