The grit and grind days

A lot has happened in the past two days and they have been great, but in terms of the trail, they have been very challenging. It has started to get more hilly than before  and so everything takes longer than it did before. We've had to grind it out every time. It also probably wouldn't be so hard if I didn't have a ~30 pound pack on my back. Although a fellow pilgrim helped me adjust it today and it felt so much better. I have bruises on my collar bones from carrying it, but I like to think of them as cool battle wounds. 

Two nights ago, we stayed in this precious albergue and run by a husband and wife and we had a great time. There were only 4 of us staying there and dad made a new friend with a South African. They enjoyed themselves significantly and entertained the rest of us. 

Yesterday we hiked to the next biggest town called Astorga. It was beautiful old town with a lot to see. I would have like to stay longer, but we had to keep moving. We did stop and look around the palacio de Gaudì and the cathedral and it was so impressive and beautiful. We finally ended one town up that had a sweet bed and breakfast. The señora that wan it was so sweet and took care of everything. She woke up with us this morning and told me "I don't let a pilgrim leave my door without telling them buen Camino." So precious. After we got settled in and cleaned up, we went on a mini bar crawl with our South African friend and discovered that we could buy a bottle of wine at the bar for €3.50 😳 6 bottles of wine and a couple of new friends later, I found myself back in my nice bed and breakfast bed. 

This morning we woke up early (which was my idea before all the wine LOL) and we started our trek. It was roughhhhhhh today. We climbed an entire mountain. When you thought it couldn't get any higher, it did. We made friends on the trail today from all over the place. Now we are at the tip of the mountain at this super hippie hostel that has yoga and vegetarian meals. It's quirky but cute. And of course our two besties from Germany and South Africa are here too! One of the interesting things about the Camino is that even if you go faster or slower than other people, you tend to see the same people. Hopefully you like them!

I've also had several run ins with old Spanish men in the past couple days. The first happened in Astorga when I greeted a group of three old men who were strolling through town and one of them stopped me to tell me to be careful because an American girl on the Camino went missing in April in Astorga and she still hasn't been found. I told him don't worry, I have my dad to protect me hehe. Then at the bar last night, another one gave us recommendations for where to stay in our next few stops, as well as where to get good octopus for dad. I think they like talking to me because they are fascinated by the fact that I can speak Spanish. I also love them because they are so cute and sweet and friendly. 

Finally, tragedy has struck, my friends. My selfie stick broke today. Hopefully we can either fix it or find a replacement. Prayers would be appreciated. I love shamelessly selfie sticking all around Spain.