Camino de Santiago Frances
INTROThe Camino de Santiago is a network of long distance pilgrimages throughout Europe, primarily Spain, leading to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Boardwalks over rivers
I am currently on the Frances route which began in Saint Jean Pied de Port, France. This route is roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers). This is different from an other backpacking I’ve done; less wilderness, more showers/town food.
Day 17 -19 took me from Bercianos, Spain - Astorga, Spain.
OVERVIEWDAYS3
MILES/kilometers57.1/91.4
TOTAL ELEVATION GAINED2126 ft
TOTAL ELEVATION LOSS2101 ft
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The social component of this trail continued to be a treat!
Completing the Meseta section in its entirety.
Running into another Camino hiker from the Appalachian Trail in 2025.
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Hot day, long miles.
Hiking into and out of a large city leads to many road walking miles in industrial areas.
Entering Leon
In Depth
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Accommodation: Albergue San Pelayo
Distance: 20.1 miles/ 32.2 kilometers
Elevation Gain: 383 ft
Elevation Loss: 555 ft
After the uncomfortable interactions with the volunteers the day prior, I tried to eat breakfast and exit this hostile hostel as quickly as possible. It had rained the entire night, but the rain held off for the morning.
This was another Meseta day, so the hiking was quick, but there was not a lot to see for many of the miles. We all had lunch together in a lovely rest area in the shade. Reminder that the Meseta is a high plateau section that does not have much shade so when it was sunny and warm out, there was a little protection from the elements.
The group ended up at an albergue that was off the main path and did not look to be too frequented. After the night before, it is always a gamble if an albergue will be a good experience or uncomfortable one.
This felt like a heavenly spot. The interior was cozy as could be and there was a beautiful garden and patio area. I was able to catch up with some friends and family while enjoying a sangria.
The group ended up doing the menu of the day provided by the albergue and it was a lovely dinner. Specifically I talked to Darren (America) and Annie (Romania). It is a unique thing on the Camino to be able to speak with people from around the world about a shared, lived experience.
After dinner myself Alex and Jac chatted for a while all well playing with an albergue cat that would end up bouncing from bunk bed to bunk bed at night.
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Accommodation: Municipal Albergue Villadangos
Distance: 20.2 miles/ 32.3 kilometers
Elevation Gain: 1151 ft
Elevation Loss: 870 ft
Another Meseta was on the books and this time we were going to be entering the large city of Leon. This meant every mile up until the city was suburbs/industrial areas leading into the city which makes the day feel much longer.
Alex and Kim got a head start so we met them for breakfast in a picturesque place. Similar to Burgos, the cathedral in Leon was epic. When just visiting these massive cathedrals, it is hard to imagine how long it took to actually build them. I appreciate the architecture and art, but it took decades if not centuries to create this. All without modern tools and technology. Truly masterpieces.
We had all decided to meet up at a location to leave town together, allowing freedom to explore. Myself, Alex, Kim, and Sebastian got ice cream and went to a park where there were peacocks? Unsure why there were so many peacocks walking around, but they did provide entertainment when they went on full display. Turns out Dmytrii had already left town so that set us back to get to our hostel.
Similar to getting into town, the scenery was similar leaving; industrial. This was one of the hardest days for myself and Kim. To help we turned on loud music and hoped that would propel us to the hostel.
This was again a donativo albergue where we were a bit scarred from Bercianos, but it ended up being so lovely. We made dinner as a group as they had a great kitchen.. I chatted with Dave from South Africa for quite some time about my time living in there. We connected over our love of the national parks, the bush, and all things uniquely South African. This experience made me appreciate my prior life living in Cape Town, South Africa and traveling around to southern Africa, including the Botswana and Namibia.
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Accommodation: Albergue de Peregrinos de Astorga
Distance: 16.8 miles/ 26.9 kilometers
Elevation Gain: 592 ft
Elevation Loss: 676 ft
The albergue provided breakfast so we all ate what we could while talking with others. Luckily we had a shorter day planned as compared to our most recent days.
We entered Puente de Orbigo and stopped to have coffee and learned that this was a medieval jousting area. Seemingly a benign field to the left was the space for both serious entertainment and battles. We crossed the bridge and looked on with fascination.
The goal for the day was to get to Astorga, which was the official end to the Meseta section. This was also a medieval town that offered beautiful buildings within the formal city walls. The remainder of the hiking day went by quickly as it was shorter, and we all arrived to the municipal albergue and were pleasantly surprised by the facilities.
With our group we were able to get a private room, which meant there was no snoring! Hallelujah. We were also able to do an actual load of laundry, which is a gift after handwashing for so many times.
I decided to just eat snacks for the evening so I went to the market, but unfortunately a rain deluge was happening at the time so though I avoided rain while hiking, it greeted me in the evening. When I thought the hiking world could not get much smaller, I ran into Bluebird and former AT thru hiker that I met in summer 2025 in New Hampshire. We both recognized each other and caught up for a time. You truly never know who you will run into.
The rain continued for the evening so I stayed in and hung out with the girls. It was a lovely relaxing evening.
GALLERY
