Ponferrada behind us

Last night we got a great bean stew at the Donativo. Fiona and I were excited to have a warm meal again. In the middle of the night, Fiona had to sleep in the garden. I woke up because it was storming so badly and I was worried about Fiona. I knew she was scared. Unfortunately, Fiona got locked in and I had to climb over a high wall to get to her. I'm very glad today that I didn't break anything during the action. Fiona was very happy to see me. Her water had spilled onto the sleeping bag, the sleeping mat had flown away, and Fiona was lying on the concrete. We rearranged everything, covered ourselves up, and tried to sleep some more. That way, she protects me and sometimes I protect her too.

We weren't allowed to leave the Donativo until 7 o'clock. After the windy night, I was happy to have a hot chocolate. We started walking again. The past few days, it takes me some time in the morning until my Achilles tendons stop hurting. Today they hurt consistently. I hope it's because of the lack of sleep and everything will be better tomorrow. The 25 km today were a struggle. We had to take frequent breaks because of the left Achilles tendon. In the town of Ponferrada, pilgrims had free admission to the castle. I treated myself to that. Fiona had to wait for half an hour, but by now she uses every break to sleep. That's how we left the town and went two villages further. We are sleeping in another hostel. Fiona will sleep in the washroom. The Swiss people with their 3 dogs are also sleeping here, but in a tent. We are only allowed to leave the house from 7 o'clock in the morning.