Ups and Downs and Decisions

Today I was set to try a short walk without my pack. So I sent my pack ahead to La Virgen del Camino. Despite a late start at 8 am, I got there before 10. Toured the church which commemorates someone's vision of Mary.  It's a modern building.

The Albergue didn't open until noon, and by then I had decided to collect my backpack and take a bus to Astorga, the next largish city on the route. Alas, when they opened it was discovered that the message to the backpack carriers had not gone through. My backpack was still back at the hotel. However, it is amazing how much faster buses are than feet. The bus back to Leon left at 12:45. By 1:35 I was back at the hotel repacking everything and heading for the train station to get to Astorga. I checked into the hotel at 4:00, recovered until 5:00 and "did" Astorga until 7:00, including Roman ruins, the Cathedral, two Cathedral-related museums, and the chocolate museum. It appears that chocolate has been made in Astorga since the sixteenth century. In its heyday there were 400 different chocolate making establishments in the city. I also bought a ticket for a train to Sarria. I had a choice between one leaving at 3 am and one leaving at 5:35 am. Later trains are sold out. So as soon as I finish this post I'm showering, setting the alarm and collapsing into bed. Sarria is the starting point for the last 100k of the Camino which you have to walk if you want a certificate of completion. Because of the ankle I'm going to skip the rest but head for the goal of completion. 

The Astorga CathedrL is probably what the audio guide in Leon called "florid Gothic". Lots of ornate carving, very detailed work. The front altarpiece is filled with naked cherubs between the biblical scenes. I don't know if it's Renaissance or Baroque but these aren't cute little naked babies but naked teenage boys, though posed to avoid showing any genitals. It's still a bit distracting. 

I was impressed at the scenes displayed over the main church door. These are very deeply carved. In addition to a picture of Jesus being taken down from the cross they showed Jesus cleansing the temple and Jesus toting on the ground when they brought him the woman taken in adultery.  Astorga has a history of being one of the few cities along the Camino route that was willing to open up its Albergues to house homeless people when that became necessary. I wonder whether the kind of stories that their church displayed fed into their being willing to help the poor in a special way in a time of need,

Finally, I liked this picture in the Church Museum. The subject is Saint Anthony, one of the first desert fathers. He fought with demons who tried to beat him up, but he ultimately prevailed by the name of Jesus. I kind of like the imaginative detail of the demons here.