The dawn of a new day, and another family member is down.
Susan was hit very early this morning, and of course insisted she would be fine with a little rest. We are concerned she is just a bit too stalwart. You can never tell with this superwoman type. We hope she feels better soon and can catch up with us in a day or so.
Kate and Tom were waiting for Pete and Patrick to arrive in León, only to find Patrick had come down with the same bug his brother is still recovering from. A double whammy for this lovely family. (Number 8….. It’s getting hard to keep count)
Bene, Eddie and I made our way to the bus station and despite my pathetic Spanish we managed to get on the correct bus to Astorga. Some of the passengers were pilgrims as well wanting to get out of León without having to walk through the endless suburbs.
Note to self: Remember to thank Ebbe and Jytte for their advice to skip this portion of the walk. Quite honestly the best description I can think of describing the scenery is “endlessly dismal”.
When we arrive in this small community it takes a while to get our bearings, but finally we find the municipal Albergue. Check in, have a luke-warm shower and head out for a bit of an exploration. This town appears to have an affinity for chocolate. There is a chocolate museum, and although I am just guessing, it seems there are at least 40 chocolate shops is Astorga.
This is also the site of a Gaudi church, oddly built beside the town’s Cathedral. Hmmmm, apparently you can never have enough churches in a Spanish town.
Tomorrow we will start into the mountains and the forecast is for sub zero temperatures when we start the day at 6:30am. Time to break out everything warm and find a way of putting it on. For sure we will need to start stripping layers as the sun rises……
Mark and Zeb are just getting into León today and are planning to take some time off. It is unlikely we will see them again on the Camino but we wish them well and a safe trip home.
Benita is heading to Saria, and it seems there is a chance we will catch up with her, depending on her progress.

I would like to say a special thanks to everyone sending us emails and leaving comments on the blog. Your encouragement and well wishes mean a great deal to us all. Some of the emails/comments are coming from fellow pilgrims who have had to return home before us. (Sabine, Will, & Jude…) Others like my Mother, Sister, family, and friends…… I so appreciate hearing from you. I try to respond to everyone, but if I miss replying, please excuse my mistake.
Tomorrow is soon to come. And so I must sleep………