Day 3 of the Camino

I started off at 5:30am - in the dark - which is quite unnerving as walking through woods and between corn fields in pitch black can be a little unnerving.

Just after 7pm the sun came up to reveal a stunning landscape which changed over many KMs. In the middle of nowhere I came across an amazing Aunberge - where beds were set out for people to sleep outside under the stars, they had a selection of fruit, cakes and drinks -

all free / the chap running it was tanned, blue eyes and exceptionally friendly and warm - he kept giving me cuddles and said I reminded him of a bear. I would have stayed there for days / it so nice and relaxed - I gave him a big lasting hug before I made my way onto Astorga - smiling to myself the whole way thinking about the people there and the kindness of it all - and what a spead of food.

My only regret is the encounter with the young French couple this morning when i took a picture of them as well as reversed the camera to take a picture of me - then showed them my joke and gave a friendly BFG fist bump/arm tap to the girl - resulting in the orange juice her boyfriend made for her spilling on her - they were both aghast and shocked by it - but after a moment of worried looks between each other - they settled and offered to take a picture of me (‘y kneeling by the table of food) - later on in Asturga they spotted me and came over to say hello / so no harm done in international relations.

I have just had the best meal in ages at my hostel - salad stater, pork main and flan for desert - accompanied with a nice half bottle of red wine - for the princely sun of €11.

Tomorrow I am heading to Foncebadon about 18km from here - after todays 28km I think a shorter walk is in order - also, the hike tomorrow is largely up hill - shifting a big unit like me up a mountain takes some effort.

Today was a really enjoyable day - the views were amazing - I did cock up by not eating enough - I had 2 bananas and a cereal bar - hence at the end of the walk I was dragging my poles - won’t make that mistake again.

The walking poles were my most valued bit of kit today - they were amazing on the rocky ground - that and my water bladder - I drank at least 5 litres of water today - the taste is unique to a water bladder - funny how Vilmer (my Camino friend) mentioned it as soon as we met - she also mentioned that Osprey backpacks all develop a squeak at certain times of the day - she is annoyingly correct - mine does now - when it gets hot - that girl is an encyclopaedia of backpacks! She showed me an integrated whistle I never knew I had, as well as how to clip on my mouth piece to the backpack - she is yet to show me how to shut off the valve. A great day 3.❤️❤️

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/88d13c_c3ff8747723548b9824b56a01925f2c2/480p/mp4/file.mp4