Camino Trip Notes: Stage 26 (Astorga to Rabanal)
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Distance: 20.76 km
7:45 – For a town the size of Astorga, there aren’t many options for breakfast. It will be a while before the local McDonald’s offers all-day breakfast, mainly because there isn’t a McDonald’s (which I consider a good thing even though I’ve owned MCD stock from time to time). I have a two small packs of almonds and one apple in my backpack so that’ll be breakfast today.
9:53 – I didn’t get the name of this town but since nothing was open there was no reason to stop.
12:03 – I had read about the Cowboy Bar in El Ganso and it sounded interesting. In reality it was little more than a single car garage with a bar, one long table, and a few cowboy knickknacks. I had a traditional Spanish tuna sandwich (tuna baked between two layers of pastry) but only after ordering it did I notice that it was pre-packaged and likely came from some place like Costco.
I didn’t stick around the Cowboy Bar once The Groaner showed up. I don’t know his name or where he’s from but I’ve run into him a few times. It’s hard to tell if he’s in pain or pure ecstasy when he’s eating but he can be heard from 100 meters – which is a bit of an issue when he decides to sit about 6 inches from your right elbow even though the otherwise empty antique refectory table is about 12′ long.
14:19 – There were no single rooms and no bathtubs to be had in Rabanal but I easily secured a dorm bed at Refugio Gaucelmo. The first order of business was a shower. Second order of business was a beer on the sunny back patio. I could have skipped the shower and had the place to myself but I chose to be considerate.
An outgoing British gentleman of about 65 asked me to sit at his table. It was the only table on the patio, so I did.
Sid was from London and walking the Camino for the second time. When I told him I was from Canada and wrapping up a round-the-world trip, he launched into a seemingly never-ending story about the time he met Fred Langen in London.
Apparently they hit it off rather well. Sid ended up giving Fred a guided tour of Fortnum & Mason and the food hall at Harrod’s. Sid was clearly starstruck. He went into great detail about having a beer with Fred Langen and shopping for socks with Fred Langen and hailing a taxi for Fred Langen. He had a story about loaning Fred Langen an umbrella and it went on for a good five minutes.
When Sid was transitioning to yet another story about Fred Langen, I had to interrupt. “Sorry,” I said, “but I have one question: Who the hell is Fred Langen?”
“You don’t know Fred Langen?” he asked incredulously.
“Well, the name’s familiar,” I said, “but I can’t place him.”
I could tell that Sid was seriously questioning my citizenship at this revelation. He excused himself for a minute, saying that he had to go to the “loo.” But rather than turn to the right, where the washrooms were located, Sid headed straight to the hostel’s front desk. I couldn’t hear the conversation but I saw him talk to the hospitalero for at least a minute. I’m sure he asked if the bald guy on the patio had used a Canadian or American passport at check-in.
While Sid was lingering at the desk, I Googled “Fred Langen+Canadian.” The search revealed that Fred Langen was a longtime business reporter and host on CBC Newsworld. He’s now retired from CBC but an online bio noted that he is also a “ghostwriter of several books and author of more than 2000 obituaries.”
I can see why Sid was smitten. How many of your friends can claim to have authored several books (but cannot divulge the actual titles) as well as over 2000 obituaries?
One Response to “Camino Trip Notes: Stage 26 (Astorga to Rabanal)”
Sounds like your having a ball. 🙂 🙂