Day 23 - Astorga to Foncebadon

Sleep in. Finally. Well, I wake up without an alarm clock at just before 6am, but stay in bed for a while. When I got up, I checked again to see if everything was dry and dried a few things. Then I had to pack my backpack again. Then I went to a bar and had churros for breakfast before I really set off at just before 9am. I headed past the cathedral and the bishop's palace towards the edge of town. Because of the rain yesterday, I didn't realise how close I was to the mountains. Finally mountains again. The flat and very monotonous Meseta is officially behind me. From today on, it's uphill and after 3 phone calls, I have a bed for this evening in a tiny mountain village, just 2km from the top of the mountain. After a short while, I come to a small chapel where a nice lady stamps the pilgrim's passes. The path continues along the road until Murias de Rechivaldo. I have breakfast there again and from there it's uphill all day. It continues through small forests, a short stretch along the road to the next town. This is very small and all the houses are very old. The atmosphere is completely different again. The landscape is more varied, the towns smaller and more beautiful and after the rainy day yesterday and the two days before, when I walked rather untypically and hardly met anyone, there is a lot going on on the Camino today. I meet the three Venezuelans from day 2. The woman who didn't cross the bridge but walked through the stream. A quick selfie and then I carry on. The road along the Camino is now much smaller and hardly any cars drive on it. You can really feel that nature is getting closer again. After the rather medieval village of Rabanal del Camino, things really get going. Off through nature. Relatively steep and impassable terrain. But it gets more beautiful with every meter. The view, the immediate surroundings. The rocky ground. It continues beautifully like this until I reach the top of the hill and see the tiny village of Foncebadon with 16 houses. I'm sleeping here today in a room for 8 people, but the hostel looks very well-kept and the hospitaleros seem very nice. Later we have dinner together. My right ankle is giving me a few problems today. I hope it's better tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow morning I still have 2km to go to the top of the mountain. There I will reach the highest point on the Camino. After that, the rest of the day will be a steep downhill walk to Ponferrada.
Cost of the day:
Accommodation 14€Breakfast 4€ Meals on the way: 16€ Dinner 12€