This was a big day. Over 30 kms. We left the albergue very early and walked in the dark and met only one other pilgrim – Stig, from Sweden. We talk with him for the first half of the day which ate up the kms. We talked about children, grandchildren, jobs and doing what feels right rather than what others expect. He was unhappy in his job and was about to leave when they restructured and gave him what he wanted rather than lose him. He is now 67 and still working and very happy. We parted ways after lunch and continued to walk.
I was looking forward to getting to Astorga because it is the location for the other Gaudi building outside of Barcelona – the Bishop’s Palace. I wanted to get there in time to take a tour before leaving the next day.
As the afternoon stretched on I started to feel nauseous. Thought nothing of it. We got to a parish albergue – old original – and got given our own room! I dragged myself off to the cathedral and waited in line for the Gaudi tour all the time feeling worse. The building was very special – so much light, clever uses of space and combinations of Christian and moslem styles. It had it own set of strange religious artifacts, such as this woman, an Intercessor. You pray to her for something … in this case perhaps fecundity, bigger boobs or gender reassignment.
By the time we got back to the albergue, I had a fever and was a mess. Straight to bed. Slept from 6.30pm to 7 am. I wondered how I would feel the next day. Could I walk?
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