Sarria to Portomarin – Day 30 – 22.31kms

Temps soaring once again to 32+ by late morning so I left at 7.30am and climbed to the top of Sarria…

It was an up start to an Up and down day!

A bit of street art for my street art followers…

More and….

And more!

Then I hit the top of town and about 300 school kids were gathering…evidently it’s a school activity to walk the last 100kms into Santiago! Needless to say…the day was spent…avoiding group photos, trouble getting past them as they spread across the whole track, talking incessantly while looking on their phones and playing loud Spanish music…a bit of a shock for a gal who’s just come out of two days solitary bush walking!

The views from the top of the hill at Sarria were spectacular as the sun was rising at 7.30am… I’d just got ahead of a large group of children!

Then a steep down hill past the town cemetery (nicely cobbled!) and..over the bridge!

Wound our way on the flat for a bit…beside a railway…

The regional train zooming past! Then it was up and up….for the next hour or so…

This bridge at ground level…then

Looking back down on it from the top of this first hill…bear in mind…stopping to take photos meant the school kids would scuttle past me and then I would have to navigate getting thru their masses again!

A bit of road walking along the ridge… until I reached the first coffee stop at Mercado Da Serra…here I caught up with a chap from Seattle, Mark, who had helped Bill and I look for Ron who went missing a couple of days ago…Mark and I walked together for the rest of the day…as our rest stops and pace seemed to be aligned…even the student struggles!!!

Up and down past cows and through numerous small villages….

Glimpses of the distant hills, and uphill forest walks…

The day was a lot more taxing than I envisaged as the ups and downs took their toll in the heat!

Second coffee stop and resident dog scavenging for food from all the punters!

More countryside ….

And more kisses from heaven!

Then reaching the village (no name) there were so many villages, too many to bore you with…but sporting the 100km marker, distance to Santiago de Compostela, our finish line!

The day was really heating up and I haven’t broken into this type of sweat since the Meseta…

Coming into a little village at the bottom of a hill…we came head on with a farmer moving his cows along the road, cars and walkers all had to stop and make way!!! These cows are huge….but very docile (probably because they are well fed)

We then took another drink and bathroom stop! Coca Cola this time…needing both sugar, caffeine and cold! It was by now 1pm and I still had a couple of hours and Mark 4 to his destination further on!

Not long after this, the children all disappeared, we think they were collected by a bus and transported the last 7kms!

Which was a pleasant relief…however there were still lots of new (clean) shoes who at started their Camino from Sarria….it was easy to pick the new walkers…clean shoes, makeup, clean clothes, shaven, haircuts….and talking all the time…us seasoned travellers…falling into silence and blocking out the rabble! If ever there was a need for ear pods….this would be the time!

First glimpse of Portomarín in the distance…

AND first glimpse of the lake….the first large body of water I have seen in over a month!!

Then having very cleverly taken the down hill option (downhill or uphill what do we choose) rather than the circular (slightly up hill) route….we hit the rocky goat track! That went down, almost vertically and very narrow and cobbled….poles retired… the only way down was to use all four limbs…hands and feet together navigating the rocks…I did not read my instructions that suggested I take the other way!!!

But it was worth it, the view from this side of the lake looking up to the village of Portomarin was amazing…

Over this long bridge, clasping poles and phone tightly…

Looking down the lake…(river?) and over to the other side; my journey almost over…but not before…

A charming flight of steps to enter the town…this is the character building exercise of the day!

We stopped in the bus stop, me to check my hotel address (of course it was at the other end of town) and Mark to get his bearings to carry on for another 8kms!!! My feet were screaming to get out…so I really did feel for him carrying on…in the heat of the afternoon!

I trudged off into the centre of town…

The city hall…

And the church … but over to the side, in the shade…the cafes were calling…a cold beer and a (large) salad for a late lunch…

Off to find my hotel around 4.30pm…bath, bath washing, legs up, don’t think I’ll need dinner, and setting off early tomorrow, with a picnic instead of breakfast…6am…longer day, just as hot…and try to beat the masses so I can walk at my pace!

Samos to Sarria – day 29 – 15kms

After yesterday’s long day…today promised a much easier journey!

I woke this morning to a very misty damp and chilly 9 degrees in the valley of Samos..

I decided to take breakfast – all of the above was accompanied by very crunchy ciabatta toast, and a coffee…filling in time to see if the clouds lifted …. I handed over the meat and cheese to a couple of Austrian cyclists at the next table!

As it looked like the clouds were here to stay, I decided to get out of the town a little after 8am! One or two walkers in the distance was comforting as I left my hotel…

And followed the path beside the road and river..

A couple of kilometres up the road the yellow arrows once again had me crossing the road and diving into deep deserted bush…the walkers in front took off at a great speed, I tried to keep up (so I was not alone on the “deliverance” pathways) but as the track once again became tedious….

I lost sight of them…Kevin then phoned so I chatted while ploughing my way through…

Cliffs on one side and drop offs to the river on the other side! Then of course call cut off and I lost reception for about an hour!! Alone with nature and gargoyles! That’s what the trees looked like, and also some challenging up and downs! My poles once again my best friend…

Past a couple of ghost towns…no sign of life..

Over bridges, from one side of the river and then back over it …after climbing another hill! I swear this route just looked for the hilliest way!

Then a paddock…I could breathe…

More bush and waterfalls…I kept telling myself I should try to enjoy this solitude and nature…as the next five days promise to be like the streets of Manhattan …but when it felt like I seemed to have done a full circle ….I GPSed my destination and followed the most direct route to join the main track and all the other walkers at a village called Aguiada! Only 5 kms out from Sarria…

Once entering and passing through this village there was more sign of life.. walkers and livestock!

Some lovely big black and white girls grazing beside the road!

First glimpse of real civilisation before 11am…and arriving in town just a little after…3hours for 15kms…good work!

I found my hotel and left my pack in my friend Jean’s room (as mine wasn’t ready at this hour) while we went out to the Laundromat and for a coffee!

Jean put her €7 in the machine…turned it on and we walked away…only to come back in half an hour to find it hadn’t worked…clothes still dry and dirty…(Jean had all the luck!) …so more euros, another machine, another half hour…before the 15 minute (very efficient) dryer!

Grabbed our coffee, collected Jeans washing and came back to Hotel…

Over the bridge, I could now get into my room, bathe and sort my life out for tomorrow….when temperatures are once again soaring.

I’m now going to go for a wander to the church and old city and have a look around!!!

O Cebreiro to Samos – day 28 – 33.67 kms!

After a quiet day yesterday…a good evening meal and no beer!, I got up early and left O Cebreiro at 6am…. Giving myself a leg up for my 30 km day!

The sun was not up but the sky was lightening….

And the clouds were floating around below me…it was magical!

Then the sun came up and the temperature was 4 degrees…it was a jacket and thermal morning for sure…but good to get moving and there were a few uphills to start the day!

Went through the first town about 5kms in and grabbed my first coffee… then carried on over the mountain top…

Taking a right turn… then missing the left one along the ridge, I had a wonderful (quite steep) walk down a deserted road in to the valley…at this point I realised I had not seen a human or a yellow arrow for quite a while…and a farmer came out of his driveway on his tractor.,.waving his finger at me…and pointing back up the hill (mountain) I had just descended! Yep I had taken a side trip! Oh my goodness up was a lot further than I thought I had come down (an hour of my early start lost in a hundred heartbeats!!!)

I rejoined the track, with humans and yellow arrows…

And cats, only to be greeted by the steepest uphill yet!!

The views were good, but I was a bit cross with myself and God for punishing me for not climbing the mountain yesterday…I guess what goes round comes round!…

Thank goodness there was another cafe at the top of this climb where I could take my second coffee and regroup!!

Met up with a couple of Spanish blokes (one I had met before) and chilled for 20 minutes…

This very long legged pooch was basking in the sun…and as the day was warming I removed one layer!

Even though by this stage … now downhillish, the views were still amazing…walked through several little villages, not needing to stop (as I had a bit of time to make up!)

The paths were mostly downhill by this stage

With the odd (closed) stone church….in the deserted villages…

Not quite deserted…the livestock watching the silly humans click clacking their way down the mountains!

The odd cow on the way…ringing their neck bells as they munched away..

Through the village of Pasantes… this attractive chap keeping guard…

Having ventured out of his tree hut!

And nearing the larger town of Triacastela…yours truly posing by this 1200 year old tree! Makes one feel like a mere child!

And over the bridge, spied a fellow pilgrim…whom I joined for my 3rd coffee of the day…most of my Camino friends stopping in this town as I rolled out for my last 10kms…just saying after my rest day yesterday feeling like I still had the legs, even though I had taken a detour earlier in the day…it was now 1pm!

So off I went over the exit bridge and out of town, turning left towards Samos…

A little (maybe 2kms) of roadside walking but on boardwalks high above a river that I could hear but not see…and under the shade of large trees, as I followed the road through a gorge…slight incline…until the top of the hill where the yellow arrows sent me across the road and into the bowels of I don’t know what…

I kind of followed a river for a bit…then climbed high and down steep hills…on a very narrow(at times over grown) stone track…

Passing several ghost towns…with barking dogs only, no humans in sight…let me say here…I spent two hours on this inland hilly track without seeing another human…

I was concerned for my life..my sore feet paled into insignificance with the desertedness… There was the odd faded yellow arrow…which I held on to…and kept moving forward (very alone)

Finally it opened out a bit and a few cows kept me company…

Then I came to this sign…suggesting I was in the last outpost….a few crumbling stone dwellings (can’t call them houses) with smashed windows…I felt I was in the middle of the movie “Deliverance” and was waiting for someone to jump out and attack me!!!

This certainly made me keep moving…I’m sure this solitary two hours was a character building test….i just kept telling myself …. There will be light at the end of the tunnel! By now I was very hot, had stripped off all my layers…and was contemplating getting down to my underwear….like there was no one to see me!

But there was more…my walking poles my best friend…down and up a few more times and voila….

The tunnel I had been praying for…and on the other side of the tunnel, a car road (albeit small) AND…

Over the other side of the road, a glimpse of my destination…after 34kms (a few extra than anticipated) I spied a town…

My town!!! Now the feet were hurting as civilisation crept into view…so there is a Monestry here (well worth a visit they say!)… but…

The bar across this river was beckoning for a nice cold, well earned, beer!!!!

My 8 hour day had become a nine and a half hour day…

So after a half hour relaxation, I headed to the other end of the town and my hotel for the night….funny how they always know my name when I arrive, as I seem to manage to be the last to check in for the day!!!

Great room, a bath for washing me and everything I had worn today…a terrace and clothes horse outside, with pegs even!

Dinner not until 8.30pm, but I can handle this as I can have a later start tomorrow with only 15kms to walk!!! (I hope)

Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro – day 27 – 0 kms

This morning…I felt a little dusty after last nights socialising! And drank two bottles of Tap water, something I have been avoiding this whole journey…this did not go down well! Actually it went down and straight through me…so my thought of breaking up the mountain day with a little taxi ride – then walk, was very quickly changed to a big taxi ride!

Leaving my Hostal at 11am to catch the Taxi…meant I could stay in my room for the morning…and arrived at midday at O Cebreiro on the top of the mountain…in rain and cloud! And Cold!!! Of course the room wasn’t ready, so I managed to take a coffee..and get into my room by 1.30pm, where I put on a few more layers! Mid afternoon it cleared up, and I had a wander around this mountain village, dating back to the 1st century, rumour has it the church here houses the holy grail!

There is, most of the time a monk guarding the entrance!

The mountain views from up here, once the clouds moved off are amazing…1300 above!

And one from the other side!

Sitting on the stone wall at the entrance to the village…it was nice and warm doing exactly this for an hour or so…. As the stone accommodations are rather chilly!

These round stone houses with straw roofs are the ancient dwellings…this one is a museum

The lounge with open fireplace…like really open, in the middle of the floor..

Perfectly symmetrical stone steps!!

The kitchen area…

There are 9 of these still intact in the village.

The view from the church garden, of course on the highest point!

I have heard a few familiar voices out my window which is just above the bar!! But I have booked dinner at 6pm as I really need to eat if I am going to sustain another 30km day tomorrow, and my stomach is rather empty after today’s activities!

Have to say my legs feel rested!

Molinaseca to Villafranca del Bierzo – day 26 – 30.63 kms

If you had asked me before I started this trek if I can walk over 30 kilometres in one day? The answer would have been NO! However not reading my itinerary until I arrived….i realised I Have four of these days in a row! Yesterday was one!!! The last 10 Kms being up and down hills through vineyards….i didn’t get to write my story last night…so here is yesterdays adventure…

The bridge into Molinaseca – the evening before, where the locals were sunbathing and swimming in the little bit of water trickling through!

Yesterday morning, I left Molinaseca at 6am…as twilight was breaking…

Kind of deserted on the trail…from here to the larger town of Ponferrada…where most pilgrims were staying for the next days walk…

After the first 7kms I entered this town…

Over a bridge of course…followed the yellow arrows, knowing these would lead me to the Town centre and then out the other side! Ponferrada is quite a large town…I was gasping for my first coffee of the day and thankfully at 7.30am the cafes by this castle were opening!

The Camino signs were popping up again, but the lady in the cafe also gave me a map showing the trail out of the city which was really helpful..

However, as I snapped (photos) away, I did get a little off trail…this is a really pretty city, with lots to look at…but I needed to get on as, really my day was just beginning!

Street art under the motorway bridges…

And on the tunnel walls…there weren’t a lot of backpacks to follow as they had probably already left town!

Finally around 8.30…I came to the edge and out into the countryside…mainly regional road walking, which is kind of hard in my trail shoes…

Street art on the back wall of a church!

And those Storks….this one making its home on a lamppost…all the church spires nearby had already been taken!

Passing through a couple of little villages…cherry trees laden with almost ripe fruit…I came across a little old lady on the side of the road selling bags of cherries..which I didn’t really want to carry, so I gave her a donation and just asked for a couple to eat!

Roses sharing the limelight with these hydrangea bushes!

And the promise of things to come….those mountains!

I stopped for my second coffee in a village called Camponaraya…and met up with a young lady from California…we walked together for the next stage…

Spying this John Deere (miniature) tractor adorning someone’s front garden!

More street art!!!

Leaving Camponayara there was this monument to an Olympic (woman) weightlifter …. Hailing from this area? …I researched and yes…. Lydia Valentin who medalled in the 75kg weight in three consecutive Olympic Games from 2008-2016!

We hit the under 200km to go mark…although I’m not sure how accurate these are…as the next one might be a few kms higher!

We were then back into wine country…as we got closer to the next mountain range..

The next town was Cacabelos, here I met Jean, who had taxied there with her sore leg, for my third and final coffee of the day…

Knowing I only had 9 kms to go and having, so far, had relatively flat walking I was still in high spirits… convincing myself “you’ve got this!”

Little did I know as I marched out 1pm ish!

Over a bridge….then up beside a road for a couple of kilometres…

Leaving this last(I thought) town behind me.

At the top of the hill I could see my destination, in the distance, at the end of a long straight road…but the arrows turned me right…Camino challenge…but being alone with no other walker in sight, I, like a good pilgrim followed the track…taking me deeper into the hills and what seemed like away from where I was heading…

Dragging my feet and my heart (a bit) up and down hills through acres and acres of vineyards…until I came across a ghost town it seemed! As you can imagine I was really beginning to wonder where I was…

I could still find the odd yellow arrow which took me on a U turn out of this village, here I spied another backpacker sitting on the only bench eating a sandwich…yay I was not alone! I sat and took some water!

Then headed out past this little display of Christmas?

Then it was up and down these tracks…surrounded by vineyards…for what seemed like miles!

Rows and rows of grapevines… just when I was about ready to sit down and cry…I topped a hill and could see my destination once again, still in the distance!

Ok, so the views from this last 9kms were spectacular, however the enjoyment had long since faded! It was certainly a trek of one foot in front of the other…until I reached the town!

Just a couple of tired snaps from my entrance into Villafranca del Beirzo!

Then of course finding my hostal was tricky as gps does not accurately pinpoint in these small places… collapsed with a beer….relieved to have arrived with no intention to venture out, but the chef in my place was off and I was hungry!

So after a shower I headed to the square…down a cobbled steep street…around 5pm…I had already been on my feet for 10 hours so what was a bit more!

I met up with lots of familiar faces…had a pizza and a few more beers…big mistake…then as I was heading back my German friends bought me a big glass of Brandy to finish the evening! BIGGEST mistake! I wobbled my way back to the hostal, couldn’t remember my room, there were no numbers..and when I did couldn’t get the key to open…a couple of deep breaths and finally got in around 10.30pm…the rest is history! I am not walking today…I am taking a taxi to the top of the mountain (what was to be a 29km climb UP!)

Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca – day 25 – 24.62kms

Today I left at 6am…to get an early start on a very mountain day!!!

And was greeted with 1.5hours of this uphill…lucky I don’t read what’s ahead…I had had a coffee at the Albergue (decaffeinated) but hot…and off I went…as the sun was slowing rising!

More up…some parts not as bad as others…

Others kind of nasty…no looking up… just keeping an eye on the foot placement…Anyway…

The views were getting amazing … and I reached the first town, first coffee around 7.30am – Foncebadon! Got my coffee and basked in the sunshine… this is where my day changed!

The man at the next table was waiting for his friend…he had taken the road as he had a sore knee, his friend…ahead of me had taken the rocky path that I had and hadn’t turned up as planned for their first coffee…half an hour had gone by…he had a friend who just chose to walk on her way, and he had his friends phone on GPS and had him at a spot – about 2kms back down the track(that I had just climbed) and hadn’t moved for 30 minutes! He thought he better go look for him (these guys are 70!) I said I would come with him (who knows what we were going to find!) we left our packs at the cafe and headed back down the rocky path…on the way down (Bill) dropped his phone…so when he went to check the GPS again his phone was gone….so I climbed back up again another km and luckily found it so we could pinpoint his friends location ! We couldn’t find him or the phone anywhere…it was starting to get a bit scary!

So Bill and I climbed back up (2kms) to the cafe and thought he would use their WIfI to see if he could get a better location reading…just as he was about to do this, his friend sent him a picture of himself about 3kms up at the Cruz de Ferro!

Bill was furious with his mate who had turned his cell service off to save money !!! So the GPS was showing where he turned it off!!! And we both had wasted an hour an and a half of our walking day…and added another 6kms onto a long day!!! So Bill and I then headed up to the top of the mountain! At least Ron (the friend) was alive!!!

On a better track!!

Mountain vegetation…

And pine forests!

To the highest point – Cruz de Ferro…the famous cross where everyone brings something from home (a rock or memorable thing) and leaves here to unload their baggage! However I found out from the locals that its is cleared 2 times over summer and used as fill in potholes on the roads and cemented in! So I didn’t feel the need to unload my baggage here!! We then carried on to the next town of Manjarin…where there is a good truck and the last knights dwelling …which was a little creepy!

He had just cut his hand on a rusty old blade, but wouldn’t take a plaster…

He gave me a rose!! Oh dear! Anyway, Bill was meeting his friend here (she had knee issues) and taking a taxi to their next town!

As I had already done a few extra miles I decided to piggyback on their taxi and miss a few Kms over the top of the mountain, getting dropped off at the next town of El Acebo.. to walk the last 8km into my town!

Very cute little town, but I took a wrong turn on leaving the village and had to climb back up to get on track…I wasn’t making today easy for myself!

The views were amazing from this mountain village!

Church on the outskirts!

And this donkey ignoring me… Then it was down…. Like very down and very precipitous paths!

For three hours…took it real slow to look after my knees…met up with a chap from Toronto…who moaned all the way down! This was his 3rd rodeo so he should have known what to expect…

Again some great views our village in the distance!

Walking into Molinaseca…and diving for the first bar in sight for a cold beer after my traumatic day!

Only to get caught up in a parade of hundreds of kids and parents…chanting loudly! Apparently a kids soccer tournament had just finished today and a Portuguese team had won…so they were off up the main drag for the trophy presentations… caught up with my friend Jean, who is injured, and will meet her for dinner! I’m starving!!!

Astorga to Rabanal del Camino – Day 24 – 20.35kms

Jean joined me for breakfast ….having spent a lonely (and hungry) night in her haunted house a few kms back….and we left Astorga behind at 7.30am …

This guy wanting the breakfast takeaways….obviously knowing the pilgrims will stop and provide treats on the way out! (If he looks cute enough)?

The first town of Murias de Rechivaldo….about 3kms out provided the first coffee and loo stop…

Here Jean felt an ankle twinge and as we headed off for the next 6km to the next village…the pain was shooting up the leg….

These were pretty much long straight paths…and at 3kms in we realised we needed to get her a taxi…luckily we came to a road…and Camino Magic…a taxi came down the hill!…just before the climbs began…so here I was solo walking again!

Just me and my shadow…until the next village of Santa Catalina de Somoza…

The geography was becoming more mountain like…..with promises of the challenges ahead…but not to dwell on this…there was a cool breeze and the sun was out…perfect walking weather!

Entrance to this next village.. at the 9km mark, water and bathroom break!

Getting into the start of the mountains of Leon…the villages are taking on the ancient stone architecture…

Still with the colours and flowers!

Out in the farmlands…a few more livestock…chilling in the morning sunshine…

Nearing the next village around the 13km mark…

And the promise of a beer in the cowboy bar (with a couple of Camino friends) at EL Ganzo! A little bit of Texas in the middle of north western Spain!

Not sure, in hindsight, a beer was a good idea at this point with still 7kms to go( as a couple of bush wees were needed on the next stretch) but it was most enjoyable!

Not so much in the cowboy theme except the goose in hat guarding the restroom door!

Leaving town, another church, another stork or two!

Then it was long straight gradual ascent, moving into Forrest on one side and…

Mountain ranges (in the distance) on the other side…

These memorials…dot the trail from time to time…where pilgrims leave bits and pieces of memorabilia..

A final steeper ascent..

Provided a bush walk…nice change…

Lined with wire fences where walkers have woven in crosses with branches and anything else they can find….

More cows..bigger horns! wouldn’t want to tangle with these big boys!

And finally… into the bustling (not) village of Rabanal del Camino…having just gone to sleep at 2pm!!!

I took a walk in search of food or anything…one corner store calling itself a supermarket! The three restaurants open at 7pm… so a couple of flato peaches, bag of Doritos, nuts, water and two cans of beer later I retuned to the Albergue….drank my beer in the courtyard…returned to my room at 6.30pm, showered and climbed into bed to eat my snacks!!! I have a long day tomorrow- breakfast is at another place, but coffee making facilities down stairs…so will grab a coffee and hit the road early!!!

San Martin del Camino to Astorga – day 23 – 25kms…

Today was supposed to be a 30km day….but one of the girls arranged to share a Taxi to San Martin del Camino….the first village en route and shorten our leg work by 5kms!!!

The day started cool (a mere 6 degrees) and clear…I had arranged a transfer at 6.45am to today’s starting point… Villar de Mazarife…to meet my walking buddies….

The storks in this town once again taking prime position…..my taxi driver told me that these guys migrate to Africa every winter and return to the same village in spring to make their babies! They are not in pairs and every year the females find new husbands!

The planter boxes are also blooming!!

We then hooked up with a couple of Spanish guys and shared a taxi to Our starting point! A coffee first as we had all missed breakfast…then out of town and…

Over the bridge!! We followed the Road for a few kms…path to the side…

And some imaginative painted stones and signs (the sign of the snail) dotted along the way!

But mostly gravel paths and road noise! Around about now we met with a Spanish and a German guy…who walked with us gals for a while…

Checking in on the marker… distance to go! I just realised this morning I am 23 days in and only have 12 left….not sure if that made me happy….maybe the feet will be happy!

We passed through the village of Villavante and continued on to the village of Hospital de Órbigo.. where a coffee and snack stop was needed ! This village is setting up for its annual medieval festival and Jousting tournament over the next couple of days…

We wasted a good hour in this cool village …

With its amazing Roman bridge leading into the centre of town..

Definitely photo opportunities here…Jean and I navigating the cobbles!

The area below the bridge where I think the horses and jousters will perform their magic…

The three Gals, saying goodbye to Hipatia who was staying here for the night..

And the streets adorned with bunting in readiness for the celebrations!

Jean and I carried on out into the countryside…for the next couple of hours and probably 12 km…it was a bit of a haul, coffee and bathrooms few and far between!

We did pass through a very deserted village with a name too long to write, where I entered a hostel and paid €1 for a wee! Then it was rolling hills… with a wine stop at the top of the first one!

For me it was a fur baby cuddle!

Up and down, past quarries. Poles back out for the first time in days!

And the dreaded cobbled downhills…gravel is much more manageable than cobble stones!

About 10kms in an oasis of good, for a donation…Jean was busting for a pee, took herself off discreetly for a bush wee, only to be yelled at by a seated woman at the far end of the garden…telling her not to pee in the garden! She had to stop midstream and was sent off to the side (forest the woman said) only to be disturbed by the husband and two dogs driving in an almost running her over while finishing the job….the need for refreshments and donations turned sour at this point..,,so we marched on…to finally glimpse our destinations…

Astorga in the background,

Jean was stopping at her accommodation, 3kns short…so we took a drink and foot rest at the only bar open in this village of San Justo de la Vega… and I set off to eat up the last few kms to my hotel in Astorga!

The landscape had been devoid of street art until close to town…

Then it dragged me to home base…

A great way of adorning blank walls!

Over a railway line…with the tiniest railway house!! and checked in to my very nice top floor hotel room! Showered, changed, and took a walk to the church…

Huge spires…didn’t feel like another church tour…

Again ornate masonry on the front (locked) door…should churches really be locked!

Adjacent the Palace de Gaudi…Museum of the Caminos! Needing a beer and food …I found the town square!

Writing here in the slowing filling up cafes and had a beer but need food!!! So off on the hunt!

Found the boys and devoured a hamburger!!! Full and happy and ready for feet up!!!

Leon to Villa de Mazarife – day 22 – 20.72km

Actually, I cheated a little and only did 10.7km as the bed for the night was at the halfway point and a shuttle backwards, so I thought I’d give the legs/feet a rest day before a big 30km day tomorrow…of course I am here too early and cannot get into my room!

So back to last night…

Walked to the cathedral at 6pm to meet friends for dinner and a quick tour of the inside of the cathedral…..

The photos don’t really do the leadlighted windows justice

It was more of a museum – rather than a functioning church…. With all the alcoves iron fenced off….€7 for about a 15 minute run around…

The inside courtyard, was rather impressive…again fenced off from the public…the Dinner…I was starving…but as usual most restaurants do not open until 7-7.30pm, however we did find one…and there were 7 of us…

The options were interesting…beef (raw) and a hot plate to cook to your liking…

The smallest lamb chops I have ever seen, felt guilty eating these “little lambs” just served with fries, no veges!

Fast forward to this morning….breakfast at 7am – actually got eggs and bacon today, so a good start! Was meeting Jean at the Paradour de Leon…so was a 30 minute walk from my hotel….chilly start this morning and not sure I had layered up enough…but walked smartly pretty much along the river…

These Spanish, people art, statues are dotted around this city too….

Through some parks…following google to get me to the meeting point at 8am…

River views…and the lions….

I’m guessing the symbol of Leon (lion) guarding the bridges….to….

The Paradour…one of those structures one can’t really miss…the history of this building is rather multi coloured….

Built in the 12th century as a convent and hospital for pilgrims, San Marcos ended up being one of the main headquarters of the Order of Santiago.

It is, however, a building with centuries of life, a multitude of uses and historical episodes, During the Civil War and the first years of the dictatorship, the building was used as a concentration camp, becoming one of the harshest prisons in the northwest of Spain.

Over time, the memory of those who suffered in San Marcos has been rescued thanks to research and testimonies.

It is now a very posh hotel!

Here as I was waiting for Jean, Hipatia walked past…a lady from Guatemala , also walking alone and heading to the same place as us…so now we were three…A Kiwi, an American and and A South American! .., just as we were navigating our way out of the City…the wind got up and the skies started to cry….surprised us all as we’re not prepared for a wet day!

We spied a LIDL…one of those supermarkets in Europe that sell everything….we hoped…and opening in 15minutes! We took a coffee…

Then queued up with the locals, at 9.00am, opposite this butchers…full of hanging legs of something (definitely not the tiny lamb I ate last night! )

No Jackets available and no ponchos … but Hipatia suggested rubbish bags – A roll of them for €1.49!!! We then attacked three with my scissors (emergency 1st aid kit) and made our own….

Ponchos….as we left the rain was really coming down….next thing we needed was an umbrella…which we found in a sweet shop (kids ones) so off we trotted looking like we had raided the trash cans…but very happy as we had wind and rain shelter! Around the 6km mark, just before the church of the Virgin del Camino…we found a work outfitters shop with lots of wet weather gear!!! Where Hipatia (who had a jacket) bought a Poncho, and a Jean and I (who didn’t have jackets) got the best buy of the trip – €25 for a warm, hooded,waterproof jacket!!!

We left there, after some time, we really were mucking around, and as we were nearing the end of the towns…we took a coffee (and free cake)…just enjoying our day…

This little chilly puppy, tied to a door handle looking rather miserable…as we were now both warm and dry!

Here, the last post before hitting the Camino track, stood the Saunctury of the Virgin del Camino…

Hard to see, but there she is in the middle!

And out on the track…

Past these Bodegas… the ancient fridges for food and wine storage…

To reach Villar de Mazarife, via Oncina de la Valdocina, we took the alternative Camino route, now deserted as we were so late in the morning…everyone else would have been way ahead…we were glad we were three!

We passed the kilometre to go “Milestone ”… almost 300….from 800! Wow, where did that go! (For us all mostly under foot)

About an hour in, we reached my destination…note the matching jackets! I stayed at my Albergue and the girls carried on…

Roses Roses, even in the smallest of villages, and this one is Small…no option but to eat dinner on the premises tonight which suits me….as I want to transfer or taxi before 7am to meet the girls for a long day tomorrow! We will have to get our serious walking heads on.

I’m really getting into this walking every day…even if not for the whole day….Forrest Gump comes to mind!

Mansilla de las Mutas to Leon – day 21 – 18.66km

Last evening…. It is a quiet town of Mansilla… couldn’t get into the church…

Every thing is locked in the afternoon…took a beer in my Albergue garden bar…

Caught up with Sarah and Perry….and my Camino friend Jan who had caught me up, for a drink and dinner….then off to sort my life out for today’s walk!

As I was lugging my suitcase down the Stairs, I met a lady called Jean…who has been having a tough time…going off trail .. we took a coffee together and headed out around 8 am..,

Leaving the Roman wall …

Crossing the bridge…..

And the sleepy village of Mansilla behind us! We had a common denominator….my friend Sue from Michigan had walked with Jean a couple of days…so off we went….

Out into the countryside….now let me say here…everyone said to take a bus into Leon…and I am so glad I didn’t….

This guy..Trish he is for you!! Just sleeping with the geese…and looking adorable!!!

No sign of the promised industrial walk!

Just kind of close to the highway….but far enough away on regional sidewalks…

More Cows!!! A bit of real kiwi feeling going on here! Around about now, my friend Jan caught us up….as I was taking my time taking snaps…and then there were 3! A Dutchman, a Kiwi and an American…Jean was happy to enjoy a Camino walk with yellow arrows and blue shells….none of these she had had for her first 20 days!

There they are….chatting!

Over rivers and through trees …

We were getting closer to Leon…ready for a coffee break(me at least)….

I tried…to take the stepping stones…but some gaps too far apart! (And we do not need a broken leg)

And finally a village…Arcahueja…10 kms in… great coffee, bathroom break and pilgrim yarns!

A Roman/Spanish washing machine….historical of course…and 5kms out we got into the dreaded industrial estate…

So this is the real world of the working folks of León..and it was very short lived , certainly not enough to destroy a great day!

A little road construction…. But then it was over, as we spied León over a rise…

Now beside a main highway but well up!

We kind of keep bumping into each other (Jan and I) ….

And closer to the city… a short 3 km walk to the cathedral… the end point of today’s Camino…

Finally some street art for the day!

And Storks and babies (the bird kind)…hanging out on the church steeples, that they seem to be attracted to!

And of course, over the bridge..

A bit of a scramble through town…until we spied the cathedral de Leon….gothic style!

And super impressive…as far as churches go! We made it just in time to get our church stamp…but not to see in side the church…

We did manage to sneak into the courtyards , once again, as with the monastery, impressive masonry artwork!

So the day that everyone said take a bus, was a great walking day….meeting lots of familiar pilgrims along the way!!! Of course a beer was in order…took a while but was very nice when it did arrive, check in and going to meet my Camino mates for dinner!