Day 9 & 10

Day 9

At 7 in the morning we have to leave the monastery, we walk around the town, drink a coffee and look for the bus station. However, we regret the part of the Meseta that we will not see but the conditions do not allow us (we do not find accommodation open, the internal situation in Romania is a bit uncertain) and the fear of being stuck in Spain does not give us peace. While we wait for the bus we make reservations for albergues in Leon and Astorga so that we don't have any problems. 

We arrive in Leon feeling down and quite worried about the situation at home, we don't even have the strength to go and visit the city. We go shopping for the next day, wash our clothes and clean the wheelchair of mud and dust after the past few days. Vasi rests all afternoon. The albergue where we are staying is a new and modern one with an adapted bathroom and very good conditions, so I can wash  without any stress. 

Day 10 : Leon - Astorga

Today's stage is a long one because, in fact we planned to do two combined stages 24.6 km to San Martin del Camino plus the 23.7 km to Astorga.

At the exit from Virgen del Camino we choose the common route because we don't know anything about it,  we prefer to go parallel to the national road N120. It is a boring stage without big differences in level but also without places where you can drink a coffee or something refreshing. After Hospital de Orbigo we meet a completely different relief, we leave behind the vast fields of cereals or vineyards and the hills are a bit more pronounced and then we meet the gorgeous alpine vegetation.

We arrive in Astorga. Entering the beautiful town is difficult for me and my 3-wheeled bike stairs, obviously I can not climb them and on the road the severe slope of the hill tests us. Good thing, it's a short distance. We find a chic town where you can admire the beautiful cathedral and the wonderful episcopal palace, the last work of Antoni Gaudi. The pedestrian squares are full of tourists and pilgrims, the terraces are lively.

The municipal albergue in Astorga is quite modest, it has a lot of stairs at the entrance but I was somewhat lucky because they had a bedroom in the basement and a spacious bathroom quite accessible. Next to the albergue just a few steps away is a beautiful garden where you can spend the afternoon in peace,while you can taste the wonderful chocolate made right in the village. We rest quite well due to the fact that in the basement bedroom there's just the two of us.