Hiking started extra early, because before Astorga I had been pushing 17km of highway walks and it was not something sunlight was necessary for. I really wanted to see Astorga at sunrise. It is a really beautiful town on the Camino. Another top 3 spot.
After Astorga comes the best part – the mountains! Yes, I finally got to walk uphill. Did that more or less all day, just with a very slow elevation climb.
Near Santa Carolina de Somoza, you can already see the other hills in the area and wind generators spreading across them. It feels very blissful to be out of the desert and now having these spectacular views for several days.
It is noticeable that the bottoms of my feet have quite thick skin developed by now. I can hardly feel anything when walking on gravel roads. Even the weaker knee performs exactly like the strong one when hiking. I still get tired in one leg faster than the other, but not by much. Starting to forget that I even had an injury for three years.
Early tomorrow morning I will reach Cruz de Ferro and place the stone I have carried over 500 kilometers there. The burden I will leave behind is the fear of getting hurt by small, insignificant things. I will still have caution, but just limit myself less in what I want to do with my feet.
Its much better to live free than to live in fear, but the road to freedom needs to be earned.
Camino Pilgrim 
Leave a comment