Afflictions

It was another stormy morning with rain and wind. We were staying at a new Albergue that allowed you to stay until 10 am with a free breakfast and coffee. We slept in a while and lingered over coffee until about 9:45, our latest start time to date. The first 6.5 km was on a steep, slippery downhill slope. Once again, I made it down intact. Praise be to God!!

The next town we came to was a surprise because it had such a different feel to it, much more like Germany or a resort town in Switzerland. The entrance to Molinaseca was a gorgeous Roman bridge with a summer swimming area to one side of it. There were cafes with chairs outside that we plopped down in because the sun had come out. We relaxed for awhile with coffee for me and beers for my companions until it started to rain again. We dashed inside for what we hoped would be a good lunch. Nora had some pasta that tasted off and sent it back. I had soup and toasted bread with cheese that tasted fine. Not too long after we left the town I felt very sick to my stomach and got sick by the side of the road. It felt like a very long walk to Ponferrada where we are staying tonight. I thought maybe I got food poisoning but I also had fever and chills for awhile. I also have a lot of itchy bites which I hope are from mosquitoes and not bed bugs- the scourge of the camino. So, I might take a bus or taxi tomorrow so I can feel better and get my energy back.