Just back from exploring Astorga, or at least the older part of town within the city walls. The city dates from Roman times, with preserved remains of the forum, and sits high on a cliff overlooking the plains, ideal for defense. There's a park that runs partway along the wall with lovely views of geometric rooftops and cultivated plots below as well as the surrounding countryside. The town squares are bustling, mostly with pilgrims and tourists. It seems that the Camino has been very good for the local economy.

I visited the palace designed by Gaudi, and while it was good to experience it and put it in the context of his Barcelona works, it's much more restrained, more tied to tradition. Yes, there's whimsy and some hints of what's to come, but not the inspired, impassioned explosion of form that makes him such a towering figure. It's relatively early, but apparently he had already begun to work on Parc Guell, so maybe there were parameters of what he could and couldn't do. It now serves as a museum of art related to the Camino and there were some fine examples of 16th century paintings and 17th century polychrome sculptures, as well as works from the ancient and medieval eras. The top floor housed paintings from the 20th century, which I frankly found mostly mediocre.

But the cathedral was a delightful surprise. It's not on the grand scale of the great European cathedrals, and the exterior architecture was a strange melange of styles ranging from Gothic to Baroque, so I didn't have high expectations. But it's a jewel. Perhaps I visited at the best time of day--I entered at 11:15 AM--but the light was otherworldly. The sun through both stained and plain glass lit the interior columns with different hues and the whole place seemed aglow. And the sculptures were mind-boggling. I just looked it up and indeed Wikipedia says the 16th century large high altar by Gaspar Beccara is considered a masterwork of Spanish Renaissance sculpture. I was there for mass and the organ music added to the magic.

Today was another reminder of how blessed I feel to not have to race through the Camino, but to do it at my speed and to stop where I want and take the time to really look and explore. So many people do it so fast. I realize some of them are on tight schedules and have only a limited time off work. But there's something else at work with a lot of folks, almost a compulsion to race though and cover as much territory as fast as they possible can. I've met a number of people who think like I do, but we seem to be in the minority. In fact I keep running into this Swiss/German couple and we always joke about how slow we are. But, as I've said before, I think I'm missing the macho gene so winning the race isn't part of my equation, and I want to savor my meal rather than swallow it whole. I feel so lucky.