5th April 2012

5th of April 2012 Laguna de Castilla to Triacastela. 32,580 Steps on my stepometer. Had a lovely night's sleep in this immaculate albergie and when I wake its snowing outside and very cold like -2 degrees so I put my waterproofs on and head up the hill towards O Cebreiro in very little visibility the track goes for about 2ks before it reaches the village here I meet many other pilgrims that obviously made it this far last night it's still snowing but the trees look amazing with their covering of white.my feet are sore today But I carry on regardless it's so cold so I keep up a good pace till I reach Hospital de la Condesa where I stop for a coffee and croissant I plod on through the snow looking like a snowman to Ponfria another 7 ks or so here I stop in the second cafe where the lovely lady makes me the best hot potato and bacon tortilla yet to eat in Spain along the Camino,the fire was on in the cafe so I take the opportunity to slip my socks off for a while and let my seriously throbbing feet have some well needed air. Ive found that all the blisters i have on my feet simply arent going so every night i take of my socks which consist of a thick speciallist made hiking sock as an outer and a very thin bamboo pair as liners,i run cotton through them with a sterlised neddle and let them drain, the next morning they are always drained but i found that by the end of the next days walking they were back again day in day out, so unfortunatley i found no cure for my blisters i could only try to just manage them every day, and also massage my aching muscles with deep heet max strength as often as they needed. After my pit stop and foot airing session, I feel very refreshed and full of energy and at about this point the path heads steeply down for another 10ks and finally leads into the pretty little town of Triacastela where I choose to stay at the albergie called Aitzenea,the sun even tries to make an appearance,the albergie here is spotlessly clean and the showers are lovely and hot,I manage to wash my well needed to be washed clothes, spin them in the spinner and hang them on the line to dry.

4th of April 2012

4th April 2012 Villafranca del Bierzo to Laguna de Castilla 40,109 steps on the stepometer. Today the muscles in my calfs are very stiff and It takes about half an hours walk for them to warm up,this with the many blisters I have covering my feet, and that i didn't get a good nights sleep last night in the albergie because it was proper rammed packed with pilgrims , makes for a lot of uncomfortable pain,I decide to take the recommended route out of Villafranca towards the mountain village of Pradela,the path is super steep and I seem to be the only one that takes this route it's very beautiful but extremely hard going because of the pain in my feet every time i take a step,the path up the mountain is awash with beautiful lavender and pink and white flowering heather all flouring in natural abundance all around me. It's only when I manage get to the village at the top on a plateau about three hours later, that the path heads very steeply down to Trabadelo I wish I hadn't taken this route,I arrive at the bottom with seriously shaking legs and have a rest but not for too long as my muscles lock up when I do and it takes them a good ten minutes of walking to warm back up,the path at this point heads up and up and up some more and eventually I reach Laguna de Castilla where I decide to rest for the night very tired and with extremely sore blistered feet. I honestly don't know where I found the energy for today's walk but tomorrow the thought of Santiago beckons and I will find somewhere the energy to cross over into Galicia.The albergie here came recommended by a group of Spaniards that i was walking the Camino and doing a bit of Yoga with for a few days.It was called La Escuela, it was run by a lovely family for 9 Euros, it was immaculate each room only having four beds in and each room having a pristine bathroom with plenty of hot water for a shower in.

2nd of April 2012

2nd of April 2012 Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca 37,699 steps on the stepometer. Today has by far been the hardest walk of the Camino so far but also the most fulfilling. I woke up a little later than I usually do because I had a glass of wine with my meal last night which is unusual for me them went downstairs and joined the other pilgrims for breakfast I then went and packed my bag before heading out of the village.the sky's are clear and the weather is very pleasant today. The views going up were stunningly beautiful with lush pasture and apple trees blossoming,the heather is out in flower too gorgeous bright whites and pinks amoungst the green bushes, a local passes me on horseback going the other way on the track after a bit I reach the village of Foncebadon and stop in the albergie called la Cruz de Ferro for a drink and savour their open fire complete with crystals and pictures of lovely thinks I secretly wish I had reached here yesterday for tge night another 2ks on I reach the highest point of the Camino and the actual Cruz a huge pile of rocks left by the hundreds of thousand previous pilgrims,I pause here for a while and leave an orgone generator I made and a rose quartz heart on the pile,the path then leads down to Manjarin an abandoned village with a very medieval place some pilgrims stay at,the views are stunningly beautiful very panoramic too, the path heads up for a bit before going very steeply down for a few ks to reach the lovely village called Acebo where I have a coffee and tortilla sandwich. Still heading sharply down the path reaches Reigo de Ambros then after what seems like a scrabble down the mountain,I'm in my own little bubble concentratiny very hard on where I'm planting my feet when a huge snake goes rushing past me on the path,it shocked me bad to say the least,the path winds down and down and it finally gets to the quant little town called Molinaseca at the bottom where I soak my throbbing blistered feet in the super cold stream before I go over the medieval bridge to go find an albergie called Santa Maria that's on the other side of the town,the beds are comfy and the shower seriously powerful.

1st April 2012

Astorga to Rabanal del Camino 27,582 steps on my stepometer. I leave the city at about 8am just as the sun rises where the path drops down and over a bridge over the A6, there is quite a few pilgrims on the path today and when I can see for a distance I see then spread out for a few miles, I stop in a lovely bar/albergie in a village called Santa Catalina de Somoza and buy a bottle of cold water to drink, here many pilgrims have also stopped for a break too, after my refreshment I head along the path, it's hot today but I bought a new hat yesterday that has a piece of cloth around the back to protect my neck, I feel and probably look like a French foreign leigonare. This path today is stunningly beautiful about 13ks of nature walking in amongst the forest and hills to reach my destination for the day, I am staying in the hostel run by the London based confraternty of St James, I am the first pilgrim to stay here this year as it has only just opened today after being shut for the winter, I'm greeted by a very friendly Scottish hospitallera.

hospital de Orbigo to Astorga 31st March 2012

T Hospital de Orbigo To Astorga 23.500 steps on the stepometer the room was tiny in the 17th century hostel and was full of pilgrims but I slept soundly anyway and after waking up I pack everything together and walk out of town to where the path splits into two I take the left path and hit the flat open countryside, and I meet and walk with a young couple from America, it's a bit cold on my ears because the sun is just rising up over the horizon, after a few ks walking the path runs alongside the n120 road for a bit before heading right toward the village of Santibanez de Valdeiglesia which has a bar where I grab a coffee, here I was offered a. Cheese, ham and advacado sandwich lovingly made by the Americans.The path from this point heads up out of the village into a beautiful piece of countryside and then works its way through a forest of Holm oak and up to a high point where the cathedral at Astorga can be seen in the distance,it's now quite hot, I stop to have a drink and banana at a stall run by a really friendly Spanish man where everything's free and quality too.About another 5k on the path drops down and finally comes into Astorga a really picturesque small city with a beautiful cathedral and a museum built by Guadi the main square has an amazing ancient clock face and is stunning, the city even has a famous chocolate museum, mmmm yummy.the albergie I stay in is called San Javier just near the cathedral, the beds are clean, comfy and my feet get treated to a hot salt foot bath and then some attention by the resident nurse, I feel like I've landed in heaven on the Camino, I have a great nights sleep here.

30th March 2012

20,400 steps omn my stepometer today Villar de Mazariffe to Hospitol de Orbigo. Had a great sleep last night and woke up feeling refreshed from it at 7am, i pack up my things into my backpack and go downstairs and have a coffee at the bar before i head off on the trail.my feet are sore today from the corn i have on my little toe and also from the blisters i had on both heels from yesterdays walk, this was caused by my insoles that i have put in my boots to help my foot condition of plantar fasciitis.I walk a lot slower today but this dosent seem to help too much and this then gives me another huge blister on the other little toe.The road is very flat out of the village and the fields strech out for many miles around and it looks like maize is being grown here,the sun comes up very soon after i set off,a couple of hours into my walk i reach a sleepy village called Villavante and have another coffee at the bar and this is where i meet three fellow pilgrims on the path to Santiago,a couple one who is English the other that is South African that both live live in Barcelona, and also an English lady that lives in Brighton.We all walk together to the next town when i decide that i am done for the day its only 11:30am when i arrive.The albergie here called Karl Leisner in the center of town is very beautiful and also very peaceful it is 17th century with a central courtyard and also a grassed garden out of the back.Theirs not a cloud in the sky and its probably 22 degrees again today.I find the pharmacy and buy some blister plasters and also a couple of mini silicon tubes to put over my little toes to stop the rubbing and hopefully this will sort the problems i have out,i will let you all know!!!

Leon to Villar de Mazarife

29th March 2012, 22k or 32,114 steps on my stepometer Leon to Villar de Mazarife.I spent what felt like forever trying to get to sleep last night I ended up reading and finishing the book I started to read on the train to Leon white fang by Jack London and probably drifted off around 2am I then woke up just after 6:30 when everyone in the albergie was packing their bags to leave, breakfast was bread and jam and coffee,I needed the coffee more than the food and I got out at about 7:30 it was still dark outside as I headed towards the cathedral and then the outskirts of the city I was wearing my jacket as it was 4 degrees about 7k into the walk the path veers off the road and heads into open countryside I stop in a few bars along the way for refreshments and arrive at my destination for the day at 4pm I have a few blisters from today's walk to lance and I have a room to myself tonight and I keep my fingers crossed and prey that I sleep well.