Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo - 22K

[Updated Nov 10, 2008]
Weather much nicer today - and beautiful scenery - as we are back into a landscape of vineyards and rolling hills.
A very long day however as my leg was really sore, so it was slow going.
I did find a Farmacia that was open mid-afternoon, which was a miracle in itself, as they are never open - as a rule - until about 5:00 PM. I bought 600 mg of ibuprofen and washed the first one down with a glass of wine.
(I figured that was OK, as I was not going to be operating heavy machinery that day.)

I was walking alone and, by accident, I ended up on "The Lovely, Longer Camino road".
No, no, no - this I did not want, but I did not realize what I had done until I noticed that I was moving away from the village in the distance, rather than towards it - and consulting my map confirmed my worst fears.
There was no going back at this point, so I slogged on and took the liberty of frequently swearing and crying out loud, as there was no one to hear.
It took me forever to travel 22 k, which is usually not that bad for me, however my leg dictated my speed.

The Albergue at this stop was a funky, hippy sort of place, hosted by a young Spanish guy and German girl who cooked a communal meal for us.
This may not appeal to you, but we found it delicious.
We had a big crunchy salad with lots of veggies, garlic soup, bread, 2 fried eggs and a big platter of boiled potatoes and, something similar to Swiss Chard.
The table was very international - Swiss, German, Canadian, French Canadian (they always make the distinction), Croatian, Korean, American, Spanish, Italian. and Aussie.

On the Camino there is always an easy camaraderie, especially at meals.
No awkwardness, or feeling at all that you are with strangers. Everyone chats easily, with lots of pantomime gestures to get your point across.

The dorm was the usual set up - washrooms not exactly outside, but just as cold, so no shower for me. For some reason, even in a restaurant, the washrooms are never heated.

As pilgrims arrive in the dorm they are closely scrutinized for signs that they may be snorers. Middle aged men, people with pinched nostrils and thick lower lips (clear signs of a mouth breathers) are particularly suspect.
We have become so aggressive about this, that now, people are often challenged out-right and asked if they snore.
This night, a middle-aged Spanish guy looked like a possible hazard, so one of the women asked if he snored and he said, "mucho snoring." At that, one of the German girls asked him to move to another dorm and, when he smilingly refused, she unsmilingly said, "I kill you."

The Camino is definitely not for sissies.

P.S. The guy never snored once, as far as I know.