July 7

July 7
Astorga to Rabanal del Camino 23.4km
39C or 102F. Knowing that today would be another hot one, we left just after 6am, almost cool enough to wear a light jacket, but we enjoyed the coolness of the morning air wearing only short sleeves and shorts. There were several small towns along the camino each about 5 or 6 kilometers apart. Except for the heat we knew it would be an easy day so we stopped for a little while in each town to visit with the many friends we have met on our journey. We seem to be moving with the same 200 or so pilgrims and you see them quite often.
The first 10km of our hike today was relatively flat and then we came to the foothills of the mountains (snow capped) and for the last 10km or so we began to climb. But, today was gentle climbing. Tomorrow will send us upwards to 1500m and then down the other side to about 600m. Something to look forward to.
As we hiked we passed a man leading a burro loaded with a pack heading the other way. On the camino you can hike by foot, by horse or burro, or by bike. This was our first burro. We had heard of a family using a burro earlier in our trip, but never did meet them. Once we got to Rabanal (the town we ended up in today) we saw a man ride in on a horse. The horse is tied up behind our algergue while the man went about his business like any other pilgrim. Finally, another man came up to the cafe next to our albergue carrying a falcon. He is a local from Rabanal. He tied the falcon to a bench and went into the cafe to get something to eat. When he was done, he collected his falcon and walked down the road. You just never know. Hopefully, the heat will break a bit as we get into the mountains.
Buen camino