I had a restless night the night we arrived in Astorga. When we arrived at the Hotel Astur Plaza and I took off my boots I found a new blister; an old blister was aching and the top of my other foot so sore I could barely hobble. I desperately wanted to walk the whole Camino but I could barely walk into the plaza from our hotel to have a beer.
In the wee small hours I made my decision, stay in Astorga, have my feet looked at and take it from there. At our normal time of getting moving I woke D2 and told her the news. I could tell by the way she snuggled back into her blankets and went back to sleep that she was devestated.
I found a cafe for coffee, where I met up with a Canadian couple we had met the previous night. He was moving on that morning but she was staying to have her blisters and sore leg looked at. She spoke Spanish quite well so I was more than happy when she suggested we go together. I can say “I have blisters” and “my foot is sore here” but that’s about it.
All I can say about our walk, or should I say hobble, to the Health Centre is that there were a lot different views from locals as to where the Centre was, and we walked a long way.
However, we finally found it, stood in line for a long time, filled out lots of paperwork and finally got an appointment for later in the morning. My friend came in with me, the doctor spent most of the time looking at a print out of someone’s heartbeat, but prodded my sore foot, said I had tendinitis, to rest for a couple of days, not to walk more than 15-20 kms a day and make sure I eat enough sugar during the day. He then sent me off to the nurse who said my blisters were ok, no infections and make sure I take the dressings off at night to let them breathe.

We took a taxi back to the plaza and found the Centre was about 10 mins walk away at most!!
After a quick chat with D2 we decided to rest the day and take a bus the next day to catch up the stages we missed, and give my foot another day of rest. The next day’s walk was very steep, up and down, which is always hard on legs and feet. A tough decision, but once made I knew it was the right one.
And I have to say a very pleasant afternoon was spent, foot up, eating chocolate and churros and drinking beer!

And when I rounded the corner and saw the hill ahead my heart sank!

After such a lovely morning I wasn’t going to let it beat me. There was no-one around me so I turned up the music (Cage the Elephant ) adjusted my walking poles and strode off. My slow steps, small steps which had gotten me up so many hills and served me so well, I put behind me. It was strong, steady steps that got me up that hill without a stop. I walked for a while, smiling to myself, and came to a cross overlooking a valley and town, and I knew the time and place was right to leave another memento, a card given to me by a friend

Unexpectedly,as I placed the card on the cross tears came. I sat quietly on the steps and let them fall.
As I stood up to leave a young Asian couple who spoke no English came along and were quite concerned. I just pointed to the card and they smiled comfortingly. I love those little interactions on the Camino, they need no language, just feeling.
A last look at the cross and I was off again,

into town to meet D2 who was drinking a beer and talking on the phone to a friend. For once I broke my habit of not drinking anything stronger than a black coffee before I stop for the day, and joined her in a beer

Of course the Camino was not going to let me off that lightly, there was a very high and windy railway bridge and of course the obligatory climb before we made it into Astorga.

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It was Mother’s Day in Australia and I enjoyed breakfast (not in bed!) and a Mother’s Day phone call from home before setting off.
Today we both felt like real pilgrims. The back of D2’s arms and legs were a rosy pink, the result of yesterday’s sun, and I was carrying my socks on the outside of my backpack because they weren’t quite dry!

It was quite a cool day so we walked quite briskly for a while, until we started walking through a path lined with beautiful trees and flowers. D2, trusting that mamá would not get lost after yesterday’s adventure, set off with her iPod, while I meandered, enjoying the birdsong and gorgeous flowers.

Don’t know what these were but the fragrance was gorgeous

Dainty wild roses

The path left the woodlands and headed into more open countryside but the flowers and herbs were still beautiful

Lavendar

Looked like thyme, smelled like mint

By the time I reached the first town for coffee I had gathered quite a posy of flowers.

After coffee my meandering continued, through fields, grape vines, more woodlands, a lovely morning.

Time to stock up on Hikers Wool

As soon as I touched it the smell reminded me of Nonnas around Fremantle collecting aniseed to make their liqueur