Leon to Villar de Mazarife

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This morning I didn't wake up until 7:30, and Raresh after that, so we got a very late start. After a quick breakfast, we finally left the albergue around 9:30, with a lady from Sweden in tow. Alex and Livija woke up even later and didn't want to be rushed, so we left them behind. The lady from Sweden, Anakaren, didn't know where stuff was, and was just starting the Camino, so we walked with her to the right place and bid her Buen Camino.

Since we'd already had some breakfast, we skipped the first town of Trabajo del Camino at 4k and continued on another 4k to the town of La Virgen del Camino for a second breakfast at a little bar I forget the name of, but they had the most delicious homemade pastries. After my usual cafe con leche and one those pastries, we got back on the Camino. We passed through Fresno del Camino at 11k and I got Raresh to stop a couple of kilometers later in the little town of Oncina de la Valdoncina because they had a sign for an interesting pilgrim's rest stop. Here, I bought a fruit juice for a 1 euro donation, from the friendly owner, Manuel. At this stop, we met the first pilgrims with children. The couple had 4 kids from Around 6 to may be 12 years of age. We saw them again after we checked into the Albergue in Villar de Mazarife. They all paraded past, the boys carrying good sized packs, and the girl smiling and skipping along with her mother, carrying the girl's backpack.

After leaving the welcome rest stop, we passed through Chozas del Abajo 5.5 kilometers later, not stopping although I wanted to, and walked the last 4 kilometers of the day to Villar de Mazarife, where we checked into the Albergue San Antonio de Padua, the first one we found, but also because it had good reviews. They do have Wi-Fi, although it only works inside the dorm room, but no kitchen. The worker caught me in the kitchen they use for dinner, and when I explained to him that I wanted to have a coffee (I had bought and brought the fixings), he said ok, but we weren't supposed to be in the kitchen. I originally balked at paying 10 euros for the pilgrim's dinner, but after strolling around town and not finding much else, we decided to go for it. We did eat our own lunch that we'd bought in Leon, consisting of a grenade tortilla and some vanilla wafers.

Tomorrow, Raresh wants to make it all the way to Astorga, 31 kilometers away, but I am not sure I want to go that far. There are a couple of alternative stops at 19 and 27 kilometers.

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