The Albergue was just before the last big mountain, so we were rested but our legs were still really tired. Just down the road Alexandra saw a sign for horses to take pilgrims up the mountain. So while we waited for the barn to open we of course found kittens to entertain us. Cat and kitten adoration is a big part of our responsibilities in Spain.

We got the last two horses so we met the rest of the group in the next town. I like horses but I don’t like riding them so it was a big challenge for me and of course I got the energetic lead horse. Alexandra got this beautiful white horse which made her very happy. It was fun to be a horse pilgrim for a while and I definitely lost some of my fear. The scenery was spectacular and our legs were happy for the rest.

At the top of the mountain was a little stone village and beautiful church. We had some lunch and took in the view.

Just a few more kilometers to go for the day when we met this lovely lady having a picnic lunch with her friends.

Our Albergue was very basic with disposable sheets for the bed. While Alexandra napped inside I laid in the grass and dozed while a group of young pilgrims next to me chatted away in a language I didn’t recognize.

We walked to the local bar for a really nice dinner with Norwegian and Danish friends.

Today we entered Galacia, the final section of the Camino. We have been walking four weeks now with only one week left until Santiago. After Jerusalem and Rome, Santiago is the next holiest city in Christendom and we are almost there.

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After second breakfast we decided to take the more challenging path up the mountain to see the views we missed in the rain yesterday. The path was steep but the million dollar view of the valley and castle below made it worth every step. The tall snowy mountains that we walked toward for so long are now far behind. We only take a step at a time but somehow the world passes by and we make progress.

At the top of the mountain we stopped in a tiny town for a drink. We had to ring a bell to call the bartender to open up the bar for us. The path down the mountain was brutal and we were very tired at the end. The rest of the afternoon consisted of a lunch that we think might have been food at a truck stop and a long walk along a road. Not the prettiest part of the Camino but I did find this lovely stream toward the end.

We chose an Albergue with a good home cooked dinner.

The ancient stone building had been nicely renovated. The host took us up a narrow stairway— barely wider than my shoulders to an attic room with old ceiling beams and stone walls. My bunk was in the corner and I could hear baby birds chirping under the eves.

The dinner was wonderful, carrot soup, salad and pasta with pudding for dessert. The long table of pilgrims were so happy and at the end sang pilgrim songs to celebrate. Such fun after a long hard day walking.

The morning was perfect, flat path, not too cold and several little towns to stop and have coffee. For lunch we had pasta and veggies and saw our first piece of broccoli in a month. Since Leon there has been an improvement in the food selection and albergues.

After lunch the path got steeper but it was so beautiful climbing to the highest point on the Camino.

The narrow path was lined with shrubby bushes full of yellow or purple or white flowers. I stopped often to look at the mountains and the open land. I live where there are so many trees and so I love the wide open spaces and vistas.

We stopped for the night in the tiny hamlet of Foncebadon that was mostly collapsed ancient stone houses. The Albergue had a “hippie” vibe with lots of objects from India and very laid back. A sign said “no wi-fi, talk to each other”. Since we were on the late side we got beds in the overflow room.

We were taken through the barnyard, past the chickens and goats to a large room with mattresses on the floor. It was the yoga room and had all the usual pictures of the Buddha and Hindu gods. The bathroom was upstairs and included a stand-up toilet. Was I in Spain or an ashram in India, I wasn’t sure. But since I’d like to go to an ashram I was perfectly happy.

I spent the afternoon chasing chickens, petting dogs, milking goats (yes I got to milk a goat!!!) and talking to my pilgrim friends. Supper was this giant pan of paella and homemade yogurt with crystalized honey for dessert.

I settled in for the night on my mattress in the ashram and later someone came and built a fire in the wood stove so we were comfy and warm in the barnyard, on a mountain in rural Spain.

After our usual breakfast of toast and coffee we headed into more rolling, scrubby farm land. The first job of the day was to play with calves. The farmer gave us the ok and we spent a good bit of time petting and watching them awkwardly bounce around their pens. It was so much fun. Nothing cuter in the world than a baby animal and we have been so happy to see babies everywhere on our journey.

The path meandered up and down and finally came to this man selling refreshments. We had watermelon and a cookie. Good thing because the walk into Astorga was much longer and harder than it looked and I had yet another cathedral to see before lunch.

Alexandra and I were the only one in the Astorga Cathedral. If you look closely you can see her hugging the pillar. They are massive, reminding me of the great pillars at Karnak in Egypt. The Retalbo was beautiful with several smaller ones in the surrounding chapels, gold, gold and more gold.

After a quick snack we went to see the Gaudi Castle next door to the cathedral. Gaudi, the famed Spanish architect, designed it to be a house for the Bishop but was never lived in and other designers finished it. Whimsical inside and out, it has a beautiful chapel and Camino artifacts.

Finally it was time for lunch and we wanted pasta and salad. That was a lot of walking and sightseeing on our tiny breakfast and snack. The portions were so big that we took the leftovers with us for supper. Then to the local chocolate and pasty shop where we were gifted some extra treats because we were on our way to Santiago.

Another nice but cold Albergue was only 6km down the road. It had a washer and dryer and one room with real heat. Alexandra went to bed early in all her clothes, sleeping bag and two heavy blankets, warm at last.

Just two more weeks and 300 Km left to go before the grand finale in Santiago. Both of us agree that it has gone by so fast. So we will savor all the adventures we have left. I’m sure it will involve more baby animals if Alexandra has her way and I’m ready for more churches.

First thing in the morning I was greeted by the tiniest sliver of a crescent moon and Venus above a pink sunrise and I knew it was going to be a lovely day.

The breakfast was wonderful and gave us courage for a very chilly morning. We are on the last part of the flat Meseta, now we are headed to the mountains. A very tall snow covered mountain was our guide all day.

We had mid-morning coffee and croissant with other fellow pilgrims. Pilgrims are so friendly with one another and the languages mix easy. English is mainly the common language of the pilgrims but I can understand a lot of French and a bit of Spanish now.

Down the road we met a Spanish pilgrim on horseback. Most people walk, some ride bikes and a rare one rides a horse. This horse was magnificent, very tall and very soft. Alexandra is 6 feet tall and this horse towered over her.

We talked to some cows and listened to the frogs and admired the storks.

After lunch we crossed this beautiful stream. It looks like the setting for a pre-Raphaelite painting. We expected to see Ophelia or the Lady of Shallot any moment.

We like to stay in the tiny towns and the Albergue we chose for the night was wonderful. Bright, airy rooms with a central courtyard and porch with a comfy couch. Just a few friendly pilgrims made lovely company and our host made a delicious salad and spicy potato and sausage stew. It was a true Camino family meal. We sat around the table until 9 and sharing our lives and our Camino experience.

It is cold at night so we bundle up in our sleeping bags and the albergues
have extra blankets so we are warm enough and tired enough to sleep very well after a day of walking.

The boarding school reenactment continued in the morning with breakfast exactly at 6:30, only one cup of coffee allowed and we must keep quiet. We were then sent into the chilly morning at 8 to walk across a country. First we went round the corner to the golden chapel to hear the nuns sing the morning service.

The morning was very cool and breezy but not unmanageable so we bundled up and I put my multi-use bandana around my ears for warmth. The sun was out and the sky blue and the yellow flowers waved to us in delight.

Hoping for some more coffee in the first town but nothing was open so we admired motley stork babies instead and had water and a packaged cake.

On to the old Roman road for a beautiful breezy walk. It was a shorter day and my heart wasn’t ready to stop but I was hungry and Alexandra’s shins hurt a bit.

You know the crazy hotel owner “Ramon” in the movie “The Way”, I found his double at lunch. This hotel owner danced around singing as he fixed our lunch, gave the ladies all kisses and was very animated as we tried to communicate without a common language. It was all very entertaining.

We found a lovely little place with a private room and actual heating. I went about the tasks of the pilgrim. First you put you boots and poles in a central hall so you don’t make a mess of the floors.

Then you take your shower and change into your other set of clothes you will wear until the next afternoon. Most people sleep in these clean clothes. I usually wear my shirt and long johns to sleep in.

Sometimes there is a washer but never a dryer. Otherwise you take your dirty clothes outside to sinks and hand wash and hang to dry.

Today had a particularly nice clothesline and sunshine.

I had a rest and went to the store to get some food for tomorrow’s long walk without towns. Store hours in Spain are an enigma since they are open only in the morning and evening and hours are not usually posted. We think that business hours in Spain are just a suggestion of when they might be open if the sun and moon are correctly aligned and the owner might possibly feel the they could potently wish to do business with you but they aren’t quite sure.

We were in luck today and the rumor of a grocery store actually open spread like wild fire through the pilgrim community. I got there as quickly as I could to find this tiny store owner in his even tinier grocery store. I felt like an Amazon invader but he had what I needed and we had such a delightful exchange of hand signals to communicate.

A peaceful day in a sleepy town, and all is right with our tiny world.

I knew the rain was coming. I saw the weather report and heard the rumor from my fellow pilgrims. We had 17 days without rain and I knew that wouldn’t last.

We put on our rain suits and headed out to Carrions de la Condes. The light mist was not a problem and the blue sky broke through occasionally. We had an orange and some pudding and saw this beautiful Mary in a church.

The next segment of the trail was the longest without towns, so once you started you were committed to 17km. It rained a bit, then was nice, then a touch of hail. By the time we hit the old Roman road the wind kicked up. A very stiff 25 mile an hour head wind was unrelenting for the next 15 km. What would have been an easy flat path was a wind tunnel instead. No going back, we trudged on taking frequent breaks. I would focus on a tree, finally make it and than focus on another tree. You couldn’t see the town down in the valley until the last minute.

We got a bed in the first Albergue and just lay there exhausted.  After some food,a relative term in this town ,we took naps and I had a shower. It was too cold and rainy to wash clothes so we just will wear the same ones tomorrow.

The army barracks like Albergue with a common bathroom was cold and bleak but I managed to entertain myself with this ancient vending machine. You move the top around, then put in a euro and drop the tin can for a treat, you have the choice of nuts, gummy candy, or olives with anchovies—-humm. Some wine and decent soup with fellow English speakers finished off the day and we crawled into our chilly sleeping bags to tired to care.

As I struggled against the wind today I thought about all the people who crossed the Great Plains of America in covered wagons with relentless wind and snow, no hot showers or bottle of wine at the end of the day. I thought about all the people, now and through out time, forced to leave their homes to walk in terrible conditions often to their death. I can’t imagine their suffering or the minds of the people who would do that to a human.

I walk willingly and accept the task the Camino chooses for me each day. I feel stronger every day and was pleased that I could face the wind and keep walking.

The Camino has its own unique communication system, part telepathic, part telegraphic. You speak to someone and they know who you know up ahead or back behind, you exchange information about conditions and experiences. You see them days later or constantly or never again. You never make plans but always the right people show up. I spoke briefly to a Canadian woman the night before and she showed up the next day hoping to share a taxi with Alexandra—-perfect.

I went on down the path and the first order of the day was a very long steep hill. I made it to the top without stoping. I accepted my virtual gold medal, pleased with my new stamina.

One of the challenges of the Meseta is that it has no trees or bushes making the call of nature difficult. I focused a long time on some distant brambles, after that I was to enjoy the walk. Along the way locals sell fruit and coffee and I stopped for a banana.

In a shabby little town I had a bowl of pasta to fortify me and get a bit of a rest for the last five miles. It was a good thing because a mighty head wind had picked up. Slow going and dusty, the last five miles was like the effort of ten miles. I did stop to look at these amazing clouds, and I had some good music—what I could hear if it over the wind.

Tired and dusty I finally made it into the ghost town where Alexandra got us a room. If it weren’t for the cathedral with a stork on top, I would have thought I was in the Wild West and expected to see tumble weeds and a shoot-out at any moment.

The Albergue has a lovely enclosed garden with these unique planters of flowers and sculptures of pilgrims. I went into the beautiful gothic church but was the only visitor so I didn’t stay long because it was dark and creepy.

A cheery and hearty pilgrim’s meal finished off the day and I was ready for an early bedtime. The walking was very challenging today but I did it. I seem to recover quickly now from my daily walk which gives me courage that I will make it to Santiago. Almost half way there.