Camino de Santiago - Week 3 - Ledigos to Astorga

Week 3 was a truly fun week walking with friends.  I could feel myself slowing down throughout the week, needing a break, but continuing on because I wanted to stick with my friends.  And I'm so glad I did, because these memories are gold!  Gold, people!

Sep 14 - Ledigos

Sep 15 - Sahagun

Sep 16 - Reliegos

Sep 17 - Leon

Sep 18 – Leon (Rest Day)

Sep 19 - Mazarife

Sep 20 – Hospital de Orbigo

Sep 21 – Astorga

I decided to not spend an extra day in Carrion and to keep walking.  There was another storm rolling in behind the one that hit us in Carrion and I wanted to get through the 17 km stretch with no towns before it hit.  It was a really pleasant morning, lots of pilgrims walking together during sunrise, no one felt alone or had a moment to themselves because we left in clumps.  I saw some old friends – Chloe and Judy from Canada, and met some new friends like Sophie from Germany and Este and Kate from New Zealand. 

Much to our surprise there was a pop up café about halfway to the first town, so we all stopped and drank coffee and rested our feet on the plastic chairs.  Bees were everywhere, they seem to be drawn to me for some reason (probably because I don’t like when they land on me). 

At the first town we all stopped and ate and drank and sat, relieved to have made it through the longest stretch.  I continued another 6 km to Ledigos for a short break that turned into my final stop after realizing all the albergues in the next two towns were reserved. 

Kate, Cindy, Este, and Sophie

Chloe and Judy

Luckily a bunch of friends were staying in my albergue – Chris and Melle from Germany and Barbara from Austria.  We also met Franz and Theresa from Chile/Germany, Alex and his mother from Australia, Santiago from the Dominican Republic, and Tom from Philadelphia.  Tom was a really special person I met on the walk.  He told Barb and I that he carried the names of the men in his unit that had been lost in Vietnam and was going to recite their names once we arrived at the Cruz de Ferro.  Very meaningful to him (obviously) and also to us for him to share his stories with us.  

Tom and Babs

The next day Barb (or Babs, or Babsy) and I walked together.  We didn't push too hard today, decided to walk about 17 km to Sagahun and meet up with Chris and Melle again.  It rained off and on all day, so we pulled on our rain gear.  Most pilgrims opted for a full rain poncho that covered their body and backpacks at the same time - I thought they looked like turtles.  What do you think?

I loved seeing the hobbit holes burrowed into the side of grassy hills along our walk.  There were actually signs outside of the holes saying (in English), "These are NOT hobbit holes."  Hahaha, wow they called that one.  They are actually old bodegas used for storage of wine and other dried goods. 

Once in Sahagun, we checked into our albergue and found Chris and Melle as well as Sophie.  It had started to rain as we entered the city so we let the rain fall for awhile before venturing out for food and gluten-free groceries.  Melle is gluten-free with a few other food allergies, so Chris and Melle cook every other day.  This worked really well for them, they just had to make sure to find albergues with kitchens every other day.  In the larger towns Melle would find gluten-free stores and stock up on pasta, bread, and cookies, or whatever she could find that looked appealing.  

We walked around a bit, but mainly hung out in the albergue drinking wine with the other pilgrims.  The strange man in my bottom bunk, Luciano from Italy, kept grabbing my stick and pretending it was a bow and arrow (since the stick is a bit bowed).  The first two times it was funny, and then I realized he was sitting on his bunk bed waiting for people to walk up to him so he could pull out his parlor trick.

The next day was one of the hardest of the Camino.  I was so lucky to be walking with Babs, Chris,and Melle, not that any of us really walked together (we had to walk single file), but to have the motivation and support to keep going was really awesome.  Today it poured rain the first hour we were walking - everything I was walking in was drenched, my shoes, my socks, even my underwear.  After the initial downpour the rain stopped and the wind picked up.  The wind picked up so much that we were completely dry in 2 kilometers, about one mile.  

And then the wind picked up even more, and was howling against us and to the side of us the entire 30 kilometers we walked that day.  When we stopped for breakfast we literally fell into our chairs we were so exhausted.  Chris is one of the biggest dog lovers I have ever met - he found a new friend, Canilla and was petting her.  We had seen her in the albergue the night before.  Canilla wasn't allowed inside the albergue, but the owners let her stay in one of the sheds and she was shivering against the rain and cold.  So Babs and Chris took turns walking over and petting her and putting blankets on her to keep her warm.

After breakfast we continued our march against the wind.  It was a really different type of day, all of my energy was used to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  The wind was howling through the trees that lined our path and the noise was deafening.  Chris even said he couldn't hear his music through his headphones because of the wind's noise.  Every few kilometers we'd regroup at a copse of trees or a small shelter and take a break.  

And then we finally made it to Reliegos!  I had made a reservation for the four of us the night before and apparently they wrote the reservation name down wrong (Sarah = Estella ?)  So when Chris arrived at the albergue the hospitalero wouldn't check him in.  We arrived a bit later and sorted it out but it was truly annoying.  I decided that Sarah was not a good reservation name to use so Melle brainstormed that I should use Maria Queso which is an excellent and unique name.  Barb and I cooked spaghetti in the kitchen and joined Melle and Chris with their dinner.  Lots of wine was drunk.  We all slept in the next morning.  

The next day we walked to Leon.  I was excited to get to Leon because Erin was staying another day to see us all and was staying in the same hostel we had booked.  Plus, I was planning on taking an extra day in Leon to rest, so there was extra motivation.  As we arrived in Leon it started to rain, thankfully the rest of the day had been dry and pretty nice.  

We checked into our hostel and had a joyful reunion with Erin.  She had invited some other pilgrims to come join our little party, but first, Babs and I ventured into the city to find new shirts to wear out that night (and honestly just to have a new shirt to wear - you get tired of wearing the same thing every day).  We got a little side tracked and ended up eating tuna sandwiches and drinking beer while listening to American 90's music at a little cafe near our hostel.  Eventually we found our way to Zara and found something to wear.  Up until this point I had never felt out of place, being a smelly, dirty, disheveled pilgrim.  But stepping into that store, with all those nicely dressed people, and all that overhead lighting... I suddenly realized how long it had been since I'd been part of civilization.  

We returned to the hostel with some wine and beer, just in time for Erin's friends to arrive.  New pilgrims to meet!  Fiona from South Africa, Wilma from Germany, and Christian from Italy, all joined our little party.  They couldn't stay long because of their albergue curfew, but a new pilgrim who was starting the Camino the next day (and sharing a room with Erin) joined us - Kris, an Italian cartoonist.  Chris and Melle mixed some amazing drinks that I will indeed try again - vodka, apple juice, with slices of cucumber.  Just delicious!

And then we headed out, into the night!  Being a weekday, it was mainly us and locals from the college in Leon.  Many of the college students (not from Spain) had never even heard of the Camino, so we educated them.  We were also given free shots from a bartender who did indeed know what the Camino was, sweet.

In the morning we walked over to our new apartment for the night (thank you Airbnb).  The night before everyone had agreed to stay an extra day.  Erin was still on the fence because this was her fourth day in Leon and she needed to get walking, but I coaxed her to the apartment with promises of a nap, which she couldn't refuse.  We all loved having the place to ourselves and just relaxed and did our own thing.  Erin and I went up to the terrace and took advantage of the communal hats and blankets the building offered.

Chris and Melle cooked a fantastic dinner for us - friggadella (meatballs), green beans, mashed potatoes and a dessert of yogurt and fresh peaches.  It was the best meal we all had had on the Camino and it felt like a family dinner.  A great way to end our time in Leon together.  (Erin was sad to say goodbye to her hat.)

The next morning I was still on the fence about spending an extra day in Leon, especially because at this point I was about 75% sure I had bed bugs.  I had been worried the last few nights, just because I seemed to have an inordinate amount of bug bites on my legs, but they didn't look like bed bugs.  That morning I woke up and had the telltale sign - three little bites in a row that itched like crazy.  I was so worried - what am I supposed to do?  Would the albergues even take me now?  But my Camino family, they were awesome, they said I was fine and to walk with them and the next albergue had a washing machine, so to just wash my stuff.  I agreed after settling the decision with a coin toss (which is how Chris and Melle made their decisions when they were on the fence).

After an exceptional breakfast of leftovers on the terrace, we set out.  It was such a beautiful day, just begging us to stretch our legs and walk.  As we passed by the Parador Hotel, we noticed a military parade going on - men and woman dressed in their military best complete with AK-47s and bagpipes!

We also saw peacocks in the park as we crossed the river on our way out of town.

Before leaving town, I stopped at the pharmacy to get some kickass bug spray to send those bugs (whatever they may be) into oblivion.  After escaping the city we had a nice casual walk to Mazarife.  

The albergue was interesting - it advertised a pool in the guidebook, which was actually a giant water tank filled with dirty water.  According to my peeps, there was a guy using a jet pack in the backyard but I missed it while figuring out how to wash everything I owned.  I bug sprayed and went through my entire pack outside, shaking everything out.  I didn't find any bed bugs, but I did find a few flying ants... so I don't really know what was biting me the night before.  

We went to the grocery store to buy food to make for dinner and saw the Chilean/German couple we had met a few albergues back.  I just got an avacado and peach for dinner, for some reason I really like that combination although all the Germans thought I was weird.

The next day we planned to walk to Astorga which was going to be a long day.  Halfway through the day we stopped in Hospital de Orbigo for lunch.  I saw a friend of mine, Mari, that I had met in Poblacion.  She was telling me about this amazing albergue she was staying at - hammocks, puppies, yoga and massage, vegetarian food, organic garden... I ran back over to the group and told them about it.  They couldn't decide what to do so they flipped a coin... heads said we checked out the albergue, so we followed Mari back to Albergue Verde.  

As we walked into the albergue puppies came running up to Chris and we knew we had lost him.  We breathed in the fresh air and dropped our bags - we were staying.  It was the weirdest afternoon, but weird in a pleasant way.  Chris disappeared into a hammock with his book for most of the afternoon.  Barb foraged through the pear trees finding crisp green pears to tide her over for dinner.  I took a relaxing shower and met some new people in the yard - Campbell from Philadelphia and Jennie from California.  

Melle, Campbell, Jennie, and I decided to join in the yoga session early that evening before dinner.  It's hard to explain what I'm about to say next, but just go with it.  That yoga made me angry.  I don't believe that was its intention, but I left yoga boiling mad.  It probably didn't help that we yoga'd outside and there were dozens of flies crawling over our bodies while Mitchell (the yoga instructor and albergue owner) told us to, "be one with the flies, love the flies" and to "feel our feelings."  I think my negative reaction had to do with being fed up with hippies... and bugs.  :)

We had an incredible dinner - the chef at the albergue had been working on it all evening and it did not disappoint.  She even made a special dinner for Melle taking into account her allergies.  Before dinner Mitchell and Bella (another guy working at the albergue) sang a few songs on the guitar for everyone to much applause.  

After dinner we enjoyed the sunset while Mitchell told us some stories behind the Camino.  It was an early night and a great sleep.  I will say, aside from the yoga, the experience at Albergue Verde was one of a kind, it is a very special place.  

The next day we walked on to Astorga.  It was the last day I walked with Chris, Melle, and Barb.  I told them I was done with the coin tosses, I needed to take a rest day.  A cold had been building and I knew it was at the cusp, ready to take over my soul.  I needed to take a day off to just sleep and sleep well.  

We did meet an interesting man at the top of a hill, who ran a juice and fruit stand in the middle of nowhere.  Apparently he mans this stand 365 days a year, rain or shine.  He even sleeps out there... in the middle of nowhere.  It was like an impromptu little party.  We sat and ate fruit and drank fresh watermelon juice.  

It took forever to get into Astorga, the Camino winded all over the place before slowly reaching its way to the cathedral.  We did have a great view of the city from atop one of the hills we climbed before our descent.  

Once we arrived I was so glad we had made a reservation.  It was a huge albergue but it was almost full by the time we arrived.  Campbell and Jennie were also there and we invited them to join us for a beer near the cathedral after we checked in.

Chris and Melle said they would cook dinner again so after a few errands and some much needed time in the freezing cold foot pool, we all got together for one last meal.  Chicken curry, yum yum!

It was the end of an era when I split up with "Team Awesome & Chris" as we called ourselves.  These guys were so fun to walk with.  Thankfully I saw them all later on, in Santiago and in Portugal.  That's the beauty of the Camino!  But for that time in my Camino, I needed a break, to rest my feet and prepare for the epic Camino crud that rocked me for the next week.