late into town, but made a friend from Boston that happened to be fluent in Spanish and showed us the best spots around town.

The further we press into Galicia, the more it feels as if we are being rewarded for enduring the previous 700k— every hour is filled with variety of scenery and weather, driving the memory of the monotonous Meseta away.

So much foot pain today, but I found 3 four-leaf clovers. Made it to treacastilla, the town without three castles.

Best. Town. Ever.

Ready for the hardest day of the Camino tomorrow. Everything is getting cuter as we get closer to Galicia.

calculating the time it will take to get to Santiago in the afternoon. So many things have come up to keep me from following Bryerly’s schedule, but every time I am distracted from my goal, I encounter something wholly unexpected. Although my Camino is taking far longer than planned, it has been rich with surprise and clarity.

Made it down the hill by sunset. My pack is 3k lighter after Cruz de Ferro. Glad for the company I have.

the cowboy bar was closed but our beds came with comforters, so I left my sleeping bag in my pack. Lovely.

We limped into Astorga, exhausted and nearly faint from the sun, when we were approached by a man named Carlos, who offered us private rooms in his home overlooking the plaza mayor. He told us there would be dinner at 9, and everything was donativo. His companion was a Franciscan monk who shredded the guitar. They were wonderful and more welcoming than I could have ever hoped for.

After 30k, we made our way across the Puente de Orbigo, lazing at the bridge top for 20 minutes admiring the view, and then wandered through hospital de Orbigo looking for lodging. We came to Albergue Verde, and were given the last beds available. We lay in the yard for a while, and an old Swiss man came into the office yelling that he has walked for 12 hours and it wasn’t right that they didn’t have a bed for him. For 5 minutes he yelled at the voluntario, refusing to leave. I offered the hospitaleros to give the man my bed, saying I had a mattress pad on which to sleep if they could provide me the space to lay it down. They gave me the fireplace-lit yoga studio with thanks. The meal was home cooked communal donativo vegan deliciousness of many courses, which was brought out with a sung prayer. We were told we were welcome to stay as long as we like, that this place is our home, and we are always welcome. This has been an incredible experience.