Star Gazing in León
Last Updated on August 2, 2017 by lydiaf1963
Rick and I took advantage of a great rental rate to pick up an SUV for the weekend. We ran a few errands to pick up stuff for our apartment and decided to get out of town for a night to watch the Perseid meteor showers. A quick internet search led us to the little village of Las Herrerias de Valcarce in León, right on the Camino de Santiago.
It was a pleasant ride from the fields of wheat in Valladolid– bronze from the harvest– to the green mountains of León. We arrived in the pueblo of Herrerias with plenty of daylight left to explore. The Camino runs right through the town. There’s an albergue, which is like a hostel with communal sleeping areas and shared baths. It’s the least expensive accommodation and along the Camino is usually reserved for the genuine pilgrims. For those who aren’t on pilgrimage or who prefer more privacy there are also a couple of inns as well as a few bars and restaurants to serve the forty or so year round residents and anyone else passing through.
We stayed at an inn called El Capricho de Josana and were fortunate to snag the last room as there were other star gazers in the area. It was small, but comfortable with twin beds and a private bath.
There’s an old bridge dating to the 15th Century on the way into town. We saw peregrinos, as the pilgrims are called, wading in the river to refresh themselves. We made a point to try the local red wine. The region is called Bierzo and the wine’s not bad although I prefer a more robust red.
We had dinner at the Paraiso del Bierzo, another inn, which offered a full menu. At dinner we tried another Bierzo, this time a reserva which is usually considered a superior wine. We don’t normally buy the reservas. They’re naturally more expensive and there are very good wines to be had for less. Anyway, this was definitely better than the one we’d had earlier and we enjoyed it with our meal while listening to the cow bells chime in response to the cattle grazing below. There were two dogs out in the field with the cows and it was rather amusing to watch them interact with the calves.
Eventually the sun slid behind the mountains and the moon rose. We were eager for the meteor shower to begin. After our eyes adjusted to the darkness we could see a ton of stars, but sadly, no meteors. Rick and I went in around 230am. Turns out we missed the show by about an hour. Can’t say I was terribly disappointed!
In the morning we were awakened by the sounds of the peregrinos walking along the camino with their walking poles click clicking on the pavement. Many of them stopped at the inn’s cafe to grab a coffee and a pastry. The waitress obligingly stamped their credentials as proof of their passing through Herrerias. Rick and I will have to content ourselves with a few photos as a remembrance.
