October 07th, 2013

Sorry I cut out so fast yesterday.  I looked up from the albergue computer  and the hospitaliera was standing next to me pointing at her watch.  That´s hospitaliero-ese  for   "Time to get your pilgrim tucches outta this albergue pronto!"  Granted, it was 9am, kind of late to be still hanging around the albergue, but I´d asked this same lady the night before what time we had to be out and she´d responded, sweet as pie, "Oh, whenever you want.¨"  Now there she was the next morning standing over me and giving me the old Hospitaliero Watch-Point.  I don´t get it.  Although, I must admit, this wasn´t an isolated kind of incident in this place, I´d been noticing since the night before that the staff at this twisty, funny-shaped albergue, "El Palomar" (I miss-called it Las Palomas" yesterday but it´s actually called "El Palomar"), had been acting kind of mood-swingy, loving you one minute, giving you the stink-eye the next.  I finally just summed it up to the staff´s mood having been possessed  by the construction of the albergue:  prone to sharp  turns and, like the bathrooms, all over the place.  So in my haste to  be done on the computer yesterday, Marianne, I didn´t answer your question:  Nope, Toma and I  never feel tempted to spend an unscheduled night  anywhere, since we´re kind of on a timeline, getting crunchier by the day, it seems.  Anyway, most albergues, except maybe in the big tourist cities, won´t allow pilgrims to spend a second night.  And even when the exceptions are made,  most albergues still require that pilgrims be out by 8:00 am (though there also are exceptions to this rule in many private albergues) so that the albergues can be cleaned before they reopen again in the afternoon.  Finally, we pilgrims generally  aren´t too  interested in hanging around very long anywhere.  We have wings on our feet - even slow feet like mine - and we want to get back to our walking!  (Oh, wow, sorry for that bady mixed metaphore!  But you know what I mean, right?)  I also didn´t get around yesterday to telling about a Camino event from the day before:  While we were walking along the way a young German pilgrim we´d been chatting with earlier came up to Tom and offered him a puff of his marajuana cigarette. (Tom graciously declined).  This was our first sighting of a Camino Toker.  I thought, "Okay, we´re on the nice, straight, level Meseta, but I sure as heck wouldn´t try tackling one of those mountains while stoned!":  Anyway, yesterday we walked 16 km from Ledigos to the big city of Sahagun.  For 7 euros we found another  very nice  hotel, the " Viatoris" , with an albergue section for pilgrims and my  personal favorite, laundry service,  along with my other personal favorite, a working computer. They had a pilgriim dinner, too, for 10 euros.  Tom had his usual starter, salad, while I started with my new fascination: a plate of thick white asparagus served with a kind of relish and mayonnaise.  (Trust me, it´s good!) Next I had two juicy, thick pork chops with round fries and Tom had the fish (Hake - not sure what kind of fish that is, but it´s on the menui all the time, Tom likes it), and the round fries. For dessert we both had rice pudding with cinnamon.  Everything was delicious!  The big room we stayed in was beautiful, but Tom´s bed was too short for him so he didn´t sleep to well.  Anyway, we made the command decision to to take our second and third Camino Whatevers:  this morning instead of walking we took the train from Sahagaun to Leon, (our second Camaino Whatever) cutting out 57 kms.   We did this because between Sahagun and Leon  the albergue beds were so few and far between that we´d either have to walk too many kms per day or take a couple extra days than planned to get to Leon, where we were planning to take an extra rest & sightseeing day.  (Thus contradicting my earlier thesis that all we pilgrims like to do is walk.  I guess now and then we do like to stay and have a look around!).  Anyway, we´re now here in Leon, and though so far we´ve walked only from the train station to our hotel (no albergue tonight -our third Camino whatever!)  the jury is already in:   Leon is  my favorite Spanish city!  It´s just beautiful here.  And our 55 euro hotel is also lovely and overlooks a beautiful square, across form a big old church.  (Sure wish my camera worked - but one of my quests in Leon is to buy a new camera).  So I guess now it´s time to go out and have a look around town.  A beautiful day to you all!  Love, Patti 8)