Dinner (last night) was quite enjoyable in the hotel with my Camino friends, Mike and Madeline. We were the only guests in this small B & B. They are from Omaha, Nebraska and owned a trucking company in Alabama. They are mostly retired but he still does consulting work in the trucking industry. They were the exact people I would be proud to call neighbors and friends...salt of the earth. Salt of the earth sounds so boring when in fact, they are both very attractive and great dinner companions (translate...lots and lots of fun). No ugly Americans here. They have four children and eight grandchildren. I suspect laughter rings loudly in their house on many occasions.
On the outside of Madeline and Mike are are hostelarios, Mercedes and Maximo. They are the most gracious and friendly hosts you could ever dream up. You feel like you are staying in their home, which, actually, you are. Mercedes is an excellent cook and we had veal scallopine last night and there wasn't a bite left on any plate.
I had a little bit of a goof up with Camino Ways...probably equally my fault because I didn't go over my itinerary with care. I only had about a 2 mile walk today. Was I shocked when I realized I was already there. I was so early that I didn't even try to check in. I wandered the town for four more miles. Actually, I went to three different bars and ordered a coca-cola light, took my time and then wandered and then drank and then wandered.
These are the old Roman bridges leading into Hospital de Órbigo. If you look carefully, you will see that the bridge is unusually long.
Okay, so I can't actually read what this says but according to wikipedia, "In 1434, the Leonese knight Suero de Quinones held a tournament in which he or one of his companions challenged all men of equal rank who wished to cross the bridge here to a jousting tournament. Do Suero holding this bridge in the name of unrequited love. By 1434 the skill of jousting was not a standard part of military training but the challenge was taken seriously. Since 1434 was a Jacobean Holy Year, the traffic upon the Road of St James was considerable. The tournament lasted from July 11 until August 9nth and Don Suero claimed to have broken 300 lances by the end. Twenty four years later Suero de Quinones was killed by Gutierre de Quijada, a knight he had beaten at the 1434 tournament."
My hotel is very quaint with old world Spanish charm. It is clear that these people take great pride in their Hotel Rural.
This is the back fence. Note the black cat on top of the fence.
My biggest entertainment was watching the "gatos" I was sure the black one was going to fall in chasing a leaf through the water. There was also a Siamese. Between the tile roofed shed, the corrugated fence top and the little pond, it was like a giant kitty play house.
Look at the beautiful vegetables. There is not a blasted thing to do in this town. I can't even find a church to go into. At 4:00, I am going to go into the only bar left and have wine! Salud!
Grand total for the day: 6.6 miles and 15,140 steps
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