¡Buenos! Estamos aqui en El Refugio para Peregrinos de Astorga - a new "hostel" which is actually someone's home. The owners have gone to work in another country and left the house to a friend to run as a Refugio for a while. So we have Carlos & Sylvia as the hospitaleros, their amigo Jose on holiday here as the chef tonight, and their mate Sergio who is a monk from Belgium. Sergio dresses and looks like Friar Tuck - brown robe tied up with white rope. Interesting guy who speaks about 5 languages. There are communal meals here (donation only) where sit down like a big peregrino family. J&S (room to ourselves - hoorah!) and about 8 other peregrinos from all points of the compass. Should be a great meal tonight with the most God- awful mix of languages you ever heard!! Meantime outside the window we look down on the Plaza Mayor - the big one for this town, people sitting round in the sun quaffing vino tinto and/or cervezas and can also see the town clock which has 2 mechanical figures (man & woman) that strike the bell on the hour etc - funny sounding bell actually.
So this is Day 29 - did 14k, nice rolling country finally again, (see pic of Cruciero (stone cross) Santo Toribio - coming down the hill to San Justo and Astorga) cold grey morning but turned out a sunny -we certainly now have a whole new appreciation for "no rain". Other than that - body is OK, mind still churning a bit on the Alex funeral but otherwise pretty good. Pondering on the potential for change and where this is all heading to - I'll keep you posted. Hasta mañana!