We started our adventure today with a small walk to a cafe where we planned to get cafe and watch our friend Joey who was doing the running of the bulls this morning. It was different than ever before to watch it live while in Spain. It was also different to actually know someone running. Joey survived and even got to touch one of the bulls in the ring. The worst we saw was a poor boy who was getting major attention from a black bull. Including his pants pulled down and goring in the legs. Luckily someone else pulled him away so he got a break. Serious business!!! I strongly dislike the idea of running with the bulls, but understand the old tradition. I even more strongly dislike the bull fight that happens every night afterwards:-( Today was day #4 of San Fermin, the festival, so there are 3 more days to go and each day the bulls and get more aggressive (probably the people too).
We found lots of food being grown. The neatest was garlic that we saw a few older folks pruning the dried leaves from it for selling. Their entire house top to bottom was full!!!! They were definitely proud of their crop. We also saw fields of hops. Dad, you'd love Spain!!!!! We also saw something new. Grape vines without support. They seemed a bit sad and sort of confused without having a place to go.. We have seen more than knee high corn and something else, maybe beets or turnips? We have pictures to help with your recognition.
We were greeted by a fabulous Spanish guitar player who was standing by the beautiful cross coming into Astorga today. He was very happy to take a photo with us and share his website to purchase his CD. He also asked us along with all others for something to remember us by... an American dollar. We are fairly certain he makes bank on the pilgrims, but he was entertaining and definitely worth a dollar.
Carson loves cats. I know this more now than when we started the camino. He pets them ALL and gives most of them food scraps. He met kittens yesterday in a bar we were having coffee in, and asked if he could bring one on the camino with us. Lol. Nice try!!! We have decided that when we get a cat we also will be getting a dog.
Spanish grocery stores and those in other foreign lands are some of my favorite places to visit. Today we found a really great one in Astorga where we bought makings for tuna pasta salad (carb loading for tomorrow's uphill trek), .98€ Spanish wine (tasted really good!), chocolate cookies, Greek yogurt and fruit. We have had to buy new soap a few times along the way and champu makes great shampoo, body and laundry soap.
Chocolate museum hours stink!!!!! We have been told Astorga is the birthplace of European chocolate. It first came here from the Mexican cacao bean by Hernan Cortes. The bad thing is that the museum was on siesta all afternoon and only open for a 2 hour time span, and we missed it! Instead we bought our own cookies and chocolate bar with almendras to make up for it... we will come again another time!!!
We visited the Gaudi palacio today. Gaudi was an amazing architect and started construction of the bishops palace but stopped before it was finished because the bishop died and nobody replaced him. Another bishop finished the palace in Gaudi style and turned it into a museum.
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