Villar de Mazarife to Astorga

The exhaustion is real, so this will be a brief update with words . There are a lot of stories in the photos.

A neighborhood dog felt he needed to vocalize all night long, so our sleep was not as long nor as thorough as needed. Bonnie’s alarm was set for 6 AM, and we were out the door by 6:30 as we had a long, hot day ahead of us to Astorga.

We created a plan that included breaks for rest and food at regular intervals. While we will tweak it slightly for next year, we are happy with the outcome. Walking a 32 KM day, even in the heat, is possible.

There were some highs – like the oasis at the end of the Meseta called El Jardin del Alma. While Christie and I rested with our shoes off, making fresh-squeezed orange juice, Bonnie was playing chess against Kevin, our Spanish host.

And there were also some lows – like the albergue at the end of the long road coming out of Mazarife, that had dry-as-dirt tortilla and stale-as-rock bread for breakfast. Christie looked at us after taking a bite and said, “You two have been eating this for 28 straight days?” This truly was the worst one we have eaten, and not even the tabasco sauce could save it.

We ended up in Astorga where we were able to visit the Gaudi Palace. The light was beautiful this afternoon, and we stayed until closing time. There was no opportunity to also visit the cathedral. Bonnie and Christie visited the chocolate museum while I edited photos and waited for our laundry to finish. Don’t feel bad for me; they brought me back great chocolate and I didn’t have to walk as far.

Our bellies are full of Italian spaghetti and lasagna. Our dogs are tired, but at least we won’t be hearing the neighbor’s canine tonight. We have a quiet room with air con, so it feels like heaven.

Today we pushed past fears. There was a lot of laughter. Tomorrow we begin our ascent into Rabanal.

Ultreia et Suseia!Read more