30 May to Murias de Rechivaldo

The first time we were in Astorga we sat in the square for a couple of hours waiting for the Post Office to open so Grandpa could send ahead his pajamas and other bits and bobs that amounted to a couple of kilos, which is significant when you are carrying everything on your back.

Today I waited for mass in the cathedral at 10.

Then it was time to leave. It was very different leaving the first time. Back then everything was brand new to us – signs in Spanish, old streets, fancy lamps, stone buildings, yellow arrows painted on walls and on the street, then mojons and stony paths, mountains in the distance (I’ve been walking towards those mountains for a week now, so there was no “oh look, mountains!”)…

….until we got to the first little village, where the children filled their sun hats with water from the fountain and plonked them back on their heads. I didn’t do that today, although it was certainly hot enough to consider it. All of these firsts, and more, were captured on camera – I’m always amazed at how many photos Rob manages to snap.

Last time we kept walking to the next village. Today I stopped here. Two factors influenced my choice of accommodation. First, it was the cheapest option. Second, even though the other places had character-filled courtyards and looked much more homely, this one did not have bunks – it had beds! That made it a winner.

However, it turned out to not have a kitchen either, not even a sink or a microwave. So I had to get creative with the half-pizza that I had leftover from yesterday.

You may not have noticed the stone table in the garden, but I did and it was in full sun. It was a far cry from our wood-fired pizza oven at home, but the mercury was climbing up to the high twenties and I wondered if it would be hot enough for the cheese to melt. It took longer than the 30 seconds I’m accustomed to (more than 30 minutes, actually) but it did indeed and the base got decidedly warm, even if not crispy. That supermarket pizza was a far cry from our home ones too, but I’ll call it A Success.

The tiles on the floor were cold enough to keep my salad semi chilled until dinner time. More success.

After lunch I took a nap. Success.

The two Italian gentlemen I’m sharing the room with also had a siesta and I was delighted to see them both roll onto their sides and stop snoring!!!

Then I sat in the stone bus stop (shade and a wooden seat) with my feet up, doing some cross stitch. Not quite the ambience of the renovated cottages. But success.

And I walked only a little over 7km today. Roaring Success.