2016 Rigdon/Meyer Camino (Unfinished Business) blog post links are available in chronological order on one page. Several posts include a short video of the day and we are relieved that we aren’t still looking for Randy somewhere in France!
So, grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, click on the photo below and travel along with Randy, Joyce & Joan. ~Buen Camino!
For more of our escapades, including hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland, go to rjmeyerarts.com
September 24, 2016: Camino Completion ~ third time’s a charm. Another dot is connected as we walk into Astorga, Spain.
Cruceiro Santo Toribio is a stone cross that commemorates the 5th century Bishop Toribio of Astorga who supposedly fell to his knees here in a final farewell having been banished from the town. Wonderful view of the city of Astorga with the mountains looming in the distance.
This gentleman has welcome wagon duty today along with tending to the flowers and shrubs near the stone cross.
Tonight we sleep in the loft of a very old building, Albergue de Peregrinos San Javier located on a narrow street near the cathedral. 110 beds and we are up three levels in the top loft area. 
As you can see, we both get a front and center bottom bunk tonight surrounded by our international roommates. Friendly conversations are a bonus to this situation and we experience absolutely no bedbugs. A full kitchen is on the bottom level of the building so we are able to cook our own meal tonight and converse with other pilgrims doing the same. Flashlights are close and ready for action in case we need to walk down the dark staircase during the night to a lower level to use the facilities. Watch to the end of the video on this blog post and you will take a walk with me from top to bottom of the albergue. I’m glad there wasn’t a fire during the night because we would surely have been toast.
Inside these doors… Astorga’s cathedral was built between the 15th and 18th centuries and combines various styles including Gothic and Baroque.
The edifice was begun in 1471, within the same walls of its Romanesque predecessors from the 11th-13th centuries. Construction lasted until the 18th century which explains the inclusion of elements from later styles. ~Wikipedia
Is Harry Potter home? Opposite the cathedral is the Palcio Episcopal designed by Anton Gaudi for the bishop of the time who was a fellow Catalan. The palace’s bizarre appearance and enormous cost horrified the church and no future bishops ever lived in it. It is now home to the Museo de los Caminos, an excellent museum of the pilgrimage to Santiago. ~spainthisway.com
We were not able to visit Museo Chocolate also located in Astorga, Spain. Here you can see a display of tools and objects that represent the history of chocolate production: instruments for roasting, refining and rolling, as well as pans, mortars, moulds and machines from the early 19th century.
Top three photo picks of the day:
September 23, 2016: Two options today ~ follow the highway path or take the longer alternate path. We naturally opt for the longer route since we rarely seem to do anything the easy way.
Short video of the day featuring the inspiration for our morning mantra ~ …Coffee Town:
As usual, we follow an arrow to proceed straight ahead. What’s this? A set of large railroad tracks loom ahead and we are hesitant to cross since neither of us like to break rules. Hmmm…? Turn around and back we go to find this little arrow pointing to a road that winds us through town, up and over a pedestrian railroad crossing. Safety first and it’s a good thing we like to walk.
The 13th century bridge taking us into Hospital Orbigo is the longest one on the Camino at 204 metres long (approximately 670 feet) and has 20 arches. The river that it crosses doesn’t seem to appear to warrant such a lengthy bridge, but prior to a dam being built at Barrios de Luna the river was a lot wider. ~Galicia Guide
This bridge has facilitated trade since Roman times including the passage of livestock as part of the cattle trail Camino de la Canada, as well as sweaty pilgrims. ~John Brierly
I see our albergue! A sign can be spotted from the bridge so we have finally arrived. The albergue tonight is connected to a bar/restaurant which means we have a zero kilometer walk tonight. Yes!
Top three photo picks of the day:
September 20, 2016:
As we leave town on this chilly, dreary day we are joined by a few fellow pilgrims so conversation flows freely.
Dorothy and Ruby, along with Joan, enjoy a Kodak moment in front of Bar Elvis. Unfortunately, Elvis has left the building… it’s closed.
Reliegos, Spain is our stopping point for the day and we find parts of the medieval walls still intact.
18th century St. Mary’s church in Reliegos is built on top of the previous 12th century church.
Many artifacts from the 12th century church can be found inside.
Altar is fine baroque 18th century.
No reservations and bunkbeds are already spoken for at Albergue El Jardin del Camino…
…but we are happy they allowed us to stay anyway. Mattresses on the floor near the albergue bathroom are just perfect.
The local hangout cafe for the community and pilgrims is directly below us and the spacious yard includes laundry tubs along with clotheslines. Doesn’t get much better than that, right?
Top three photo picks of the day:
September 17, 2016: Pretty level day as we plod along enjoying the company of Alabama John (Hence, the video song choice) and Blair today. Poor Blair’s blisters are becoming quite a struggle, but she is one tough cookie.
Blair, Joan and I are staying in Ledigos tonight while Alabama John continues on to the next town meaning we, most likely, will not see him again. Thank you being a part of our journey. Buen Camino, John!
We take a stroll around this quaint little village of Ledigos with its interesting buildings constructed with mud and straw. We walk up a hill to the church and discover a woman just finishing up preparing for Sunday service tomorrow. She allows us in and gives us a little tour.
Top three photo picks of the day:
9-15-2016:
We leave Castrojeriz only to see a huge, steep hill ahead of us. What’s up with that? We are in the meseta, so shouldn’t the way be relatively flat? Trudging halfway up the hill I look back and the view is breathtaking!
Once we tackle the hill, the rest of the way is easier and I can see for miles. It’s windy and the temps are cold, so poor Joan is still suffering from Hiking Pants Envy wishing her legs were covered, too.
Our bed tonight is in Boadilla and many bunk beds are crammed into a room with a ladder leading to a loft above. I feel much younger now having discovered one of our roommates is well into his 80’s and has completed over 20 caminos. He always takes the bed by the ladder in the loft when he is in this albergue, so up he goes.
The garden area includes interesting metal sculpture art and murals.
We top the night off with a delicious Pilgrim meal.
Top three photo picks of the day:
9-14-2016: It’s a dreary Tuesday and we bid farewell to Randy who is taking a bus from Burgos to Madrid to catch his flight home.
We trudge through parque El Parral which, we decided, was the park in the film, The Way.
As you can see by the map, it isn’t totally flat terrain, yet. We are expecting much flatter terrain, but find the ups and downs to be just fine.
This man reminds us of Randy as he is so proud of the hair brush he found along the way. Joan is not jealous as she already has a nice comb.
No reservations, but we have our minds set on Albergue Hornillos so we hustle along and get in line for a bed. Joan and I are lucky and snatch the 2nd and 3rd to the last beds while Alabama John (Young man with the cowboy style hat on the video) gets the very last bed. Bonus is a grocery store nearby and little old church to tour next door.The Camino did provide!
Our beds are near this kitchen where we drink our wine, cook supper and visit with the other pilgrims. These experiences are some of my favorites of the camino – listening to other perspectives and journeys in life.
Joan is in a tiny room with another lady next to this dorm room and I enjoy this view from a top bunk near them. Nice and cozy. I listen to the conversations in the kitchen from my bed and soon I am lulled to sleep. Buenas Noches!
Top three photo picks of the day:
9-12-2016: Today we are tourists exploring the city of Burgos, Spain. Click on the link below for a short highlight video :
Construction on the Cathedral began in 1221 and was completed in 1567 which included a hiatus of nearly 200 years with the work resuming on the Burgos Cathedral towards the middle of the 15th century and would continue for more than 100 years. The work done during this time consisted of embellishments of great splendour, assuring the Cathedral’s continued world-renown status. ~unesco.org Audio tour is full of historical facts and I find it difficult to absorb all of the grandeur and history. Truly immense and I’m in awe.
We are seeing more beggars in the tourist areas of town. Scam artists? Hmmm…
We climb the hill and explore massive fortifications of the rebuilt Castillo de Burgos. Dating from the 9th century, the castle has a turbulent history, suffering a fire in 1736 and blown up by Napoleon’s troops in 1813. There’s a small museum featuring the history of Burgos.
The impressive view from the castle reveals an aerial view of our hike yesterday and we can see why the Camino path into Burgos seemed endless. We also view the route we will take out-of-town tomorrow as we face the meseta.
A special happy hour tonight since it’s Randy’s last night with us. We improvise by making a tablecloth from a disposable sheet Randy saved from a previous albergue. This will aid clean-up since we aren’t suppose to eat in the room.( Sh-h-h-h… don’t tell!) Add bread from a local bakery washed down with very cheap (0.62 euro?) box wine and life is good. Don’t judge…
We meet Jim and Mary Ann (Leascomadventures.com) for the evening meal. Last time we see this lovely pair as they will proceed down the path ahead of us from now on. Buen Camino!
Top three photo picks of the day:
September 10, 2016: Belorado to Ages ~ 28 kilometers
Over-achievers today as we go a few kilometers past the elevation map above.
We find beds in the Ages Municipal Albergue and wander the streets exploring the village.
While exploring Ages we stumble upon a small museum of miniatures that Marcial Palacios creates of regional sites, as well as historical methods of labor in the village and on the farm.
The passion that Marcial puts into his works and animated explanation of each miniature is interesting as I try to comprehend with my limited Spanish skills along with gestures. Best salesman ever as we purchase a small, lightweight toy.
Junk sculptures line stone fences and fill the yards of this unique street in Ages. I couldn’t find info about these displays so your guess is as good as mine.
Shout out and buen camino to Jim and MaryAnne Leas of leascomadventures.com.
Top three photo picks of the day:
September 8, 2016: A short video of the day…
This morning finds us departing in the dark hoping to find available beds in Santo Domingo. We are meeting more Camino friends as we trudge along and cherish these conversations and chance encounters. You know who you are!!! We look forward to and enjoy the e-mails updating us on their Camino journeys and life in general.
Best welcoming committee on the Camino with wine in a jug, tapas and friendly staff at the Santo Domingo de la Calzada albergue operated by the Spanish Confraternity. Nice backyard area with outdoor laundry facilities, kitchen and spacious lounge/dining area. A bonus is that many of the pilgrims we have encountered along the way are staying here.
Apparently, English and German-speaking pilgrims need rules, so we make good use of the wonderful laundry facilities in the backyard. Randy is extremely impressed with Julio’s Scrubba Portable laundry bag (Click on link).
Our Irish hospitalera enjoys friendly conversation with Randy and leaves him with a bro hug. 
A tour of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada includes viewing a live rooster and hen. A gothic henhouse was built during the middle of the XVth century to keep alive a hen and a rooster in memory of the most famous of Santo Domingo´s miracles. Click on this link: Hen and the Rooster Miracle for the full story behind this live display. I was told they switch out the fowl every 14 days, so I’m guessing chicken soup is on the menu every couple of weeks.
After wandering down our street we pathetically gaze inside a restaurant at 6 p.m. and inquire as to evening meal service. 7:30 p.m. is the meal time and our sad, hungry faces must appeal to the gentleman’s heart-strings as he pauses and decides to make an exception. He rushes around and quickly sets a table for us. The best paella EVER!!!
The Irish hospitaleras invited us to a prayer service in the basement of the albergue, so this early meal time means we return in time to attend. Hard to stay awake, but glad we participated since we need all the help we can get. Bonus is this piece of artwork on the wall of the prayer room.
Top three photo picks of the day:
RJMeyerArts 
