The brilliant sunshine and blue skies of a bright crispy morning brought the two of us in the dorm eagerly out onto the road. Below the village the lower slopes of the mountain and the entire valley over to Villafranca del Bierzo were covered in a thick coverinf of fog. We wished each other luck and Cesar freewheeled his way down into the mists below while I walked my bike up the steep slope out of the village. The views were magnificent this morning, the air crystal clear. Pushing quietly uphill in the still morning air I startled a pair of gazelle that trooted across the road in front of me. A couple of times I was forced to dismount and tread carefully along the side of the road to avoid black ice that had formed in the freezing conditions after last night's rain. I made my way across the mountain top and stopped again at the refugio in Manjarin to say hello. I was curious to see if that modern day templar was back just to catch a glimpse of him.
The hospitaliero on duty on the first occasion I visited the refugio was working today and recognised me and offered a cup of mint tea. When I asked if the owner had returned he said no, that he was down in Ponferrada at a dental appointment. Funny, he was attending a dental appointment the last time I was here as well. No matter. The lad liked the idea of backtracking on the Camino and quoted an old saying that considers the way to Santiago as good for the body and the journey back good for the soul. Certainly, I've noticed since I rejoined the Camino at Sarria, that I've been more relaxed on the road. I'm not pushing myself to get where I'm going like I did on the way to Santiago. The desire to get to that city for Ireland world Cup wasn't perhaps, the best inspiration for completing the camino. Now, I don't mind if I only cover 30-40kms in a day. I'm enjoying the journey a lot more this way. I take my leave as a group of around ten walkers arrive together for a late breakfast or mid-morning break. I cycle slowly taking in the magnificent mountain views. It is possible to see far byond Astorga some 30kms away down on the plains.
Descending down the mountain I made a point of stopping in each village for a look with a particular favourite being the town of Castillo de los Polvazares, a beautiful red-brick town of cobbled streets. I thought about staying once more in Astorga but the refugio I had stayed in had since closed for the season so I decided after a quick look around town to keep on the road. I decided to make for San Martin del Camino which was supposed to 11kms from Astorga but, 20kms down the road I still hadn't reached the town. Back down on the plains, though it was easy going. There was the long-dreamed of tail-wind which made the day such a joy. Sunshine and tail-winds what a joyous combination!! I decided to stay in San Martin tonight so that I'd have a short hop to Leon tomorow morning and can push on beyond that city in the afternoon in order to shorten what looks like being a rather long spin on Saturday.
I arrived at a private refugio in the town in late afternoon and checked in. To be honest San Martin was a bland nondescript place with little to recommend it other than a single room to myself for the night. With no shops that I could find open I opted for dinner in the refugio and, by Jaysus, it didn't disappoint. A first course of serrano ham and bread was followed by soup and a main course of chips pimiento and pork steaks. Lip-smackin stuff!! Finger lickin good. I had dinner alongside a guy from Barcelona called Jose, a 58year old who runs marathons and ultra marathons. An interesting guy. Compared to his normal endeavours the camino is an easy stroll for him... and he agrees!! He comfortably averages 30-35kms a day. Chatting about his marathons he talks about the mental resolve and the inner psychology of long-distance running. He believes the difficulty, or otherwise of running a marathon is all about the mental approach. I could identify with everything he was saying and added that you can transfer all of those elements from running onto the Camino in order to get through some of the rough days on the road. A healthy mind in a healthy body was this guy's motto, although he looked older than his 58 years. We finished our meals with him pointing to his head and almost saying, almost in a whisper, 'its all in the mind.' With that we shook hands, wished each other luck for the rest of our respective journeys and retired to our rooms.
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