Let it Snow....

We were enjoying a delicious picnic lunch with the pueblo perro, outside the only open store that we had seen in 10 miles, when an old man approached. He asked if we were peregrinos heading to Santiago. Sí, señor. His next sentence contained the word nieve four times. We were heading into snow! "How much?", Clare asked and he bent over marking a spot 6" above his ankle. We shrugged it off like battle tested peregrinos. What would a pilgrimage be without a little snow. The snow would come after our ambitious targeted sleep stop for the day, Astorga, when we would head back up into the mountains.

I'm proud of my crew. We got it done today. 31.2 k (19+ miles) and we are in before 4pm. This gives us plenty of time to do ALL of our laundry again as the bites continue. The only things that I am carrying that are not currently in the washer or dryer include my Goretex raincoat (which I am wearing), my pack, toiletries and electronics. I hope this round kills those little suckers! While an annoyance, bed bugs are not going to stop us.

We had dinner last night with Padrecito Freddy from Colombia. He has been studying in Rome for the past 3 years and will be heading home soon. In this in-between time he is is doing the Camino from Leon to Santiago. He is on his first stage, a newbie filled with enthusiasm and smooth skin covering his feet. Oh how things will change. He is doing the Camino for the personal experience and for his parents who are both 81 and in poor health. We are nearing the final third of this pilgrimage. I felt we might be entering the spiritual stage until this morning.

This morning we started out with a 6 mile dead flat, dead straight section through corn fields. The sunrise was brilliant red but difficult to capture. We took it in. It was the one bright spot of an otherwise monotonous section that reminded us that we were still in the mental third of the Camino. My feet were even questioning whether we had completely left the physical stage of the first third of the Way.

At about the midway point through today's walk we crossed the medieval bridge where in 1434 Knight Suero de Quioñes defended the bridge against all newcomers, eventually collecting 300 broken lances!

http://wisepilgrim.com/poi/puente-de-orbigo

Towards the end of a long stretch without services we approached an oasis. A true oasis. It was staffed by a friendly Australian and she offered us to help ourselves. She had coffee and juices and rice cakes and organic peanut butter and homemade preserves. There was inside seating where they were roasting chestnuts and outside seating in the sun with a wide bench which allowed a fully laden pilgrim to sit without de-packing. We stopped briefly and felt the positive vibe. It was strong. We then continued on dropping off the ridge into Astorga. We could see the snow squalls in the distance beyond. After laundry and a shower we hit a gear shop. I secured warmer gloves and a ski mask with brim. Clare scored a fluffy Buff neck gaiter. It should get us over the pass tomorrow. We shall see.