Day 21 - Hospital de Óbrigo to Santa Catalina de Somoza

We all slept well I think after the issue of the snoring man was resolved. Breakfast was get your own from food left in the dining area. We ate quickly and were on the road at about 7:15.
It was quite a pretty walk through the country toward Astorga. The weather was perfect with clear skies, cool temperature and a slight breeze. At the top of one of the rises we came upon a "Cantina" which was on our map and we thought we would get a cup of coffee there. We were already over 2 hours on the road. It turned out to be a long haired man wearing shorts, a couple of girls wearing bikini tops, capris and lots of tattoos offering juice, tea etc., "just help yourself". I decided that coming across this after the hippie hostel last night we really were in hippie country. We had something to drink, put some money in their "donativo" donation box and kept on to Astorga. Sorry, no pictures of the hippies.
It was market day and it was not easy to get through the crowds in the narrow streets on our way towards the cathedral, but it was fun to see some of the stalls. Here are some of the food vendors but there were also people selling clothes and almost anything else.

We got to the cathedral square and after finding a table for a beer to quench our thirst after several hours on the trail, we took some pictures of the "Bishop's Palace" designed by Gaudi. It is really a museum and not a palace at all. Difficult to get a picture of it and they have put some rather ugly street lamps on poles in front of it. Then on to the cathedral. Also difficult to photograph since the other buildings are very close to it. After Burgos and Léon we decided not to go in but continued on out of the city towards the mountains.

Our goal today was another 10 km after Astorga and after leaving the city we crossed a river and started a gradual climb towards Santa Catalina, a small village with 2 albergues but not much else. We were there in about 2 hours and found a place for the night and somewhere we can have a meal later.

No wifi here anywhere so yesterday's and today's blogs will have to wait until I can get the pictures from my phone and upload the blogs. I sent an email to William since today is his birthday but I can't send a picture or an e-card without Internet
The albergue was nice, hot showers, no loud snorers and a good meal. They promise breakfast starts at 6:00 tomorrow so we can make an early start for what may be a long day. Weather forecast is for cold, rain and wind and since we will reach the highest point of our Camino tomorrow (1,515 m or 5,000 ft). Let's hope the forecast is wrong (again).
Today we walked 26km (16 miles)

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