Astorga to Santa Catalina de Somoza – 10.5km or 16.9km

Not Jim’s day for sure. Middle of the night, diarrhea and upset stomach. Better when I get up so we leave albergue and get 3.2 km out of town and have to turn around as I forgot my credentials under my pillow. The one albergue where I did not strip the bed before we left! Aarrghh!

Pleasant walk in a light mist which clears shortly. About 1km from Santa Catalina de Somoza after a hill climb I am reaching the bottom of the barrel for energy. Stop, get a bit dizzy and feel lower intestines calling. Beth tries to get me to the side while a group approaches. They arrive asking if everything is okay since I am leaning heavily on my poles. In this group there is a Doctor from the states, George, a nurse, a paramedic and an interpreter. I try to fully stand and take a step and down I go. At that moment a provincial officer that patrols the Camino, what I would call the local park ranger, drives by.

Ambulance, ambulance, ambulance he keeps asking. But finally thanks to the doctor and interpreter he is convinced to just transport me to Santa Catalina de Somoza. They say when it is needed the Camino provides! What are the odds of that!

Spend the day and night in bed and bathroom. Finally sleep 4 hours straight and feel better in morning but physically drained.

Beth: Yes, we did not need the extra 45 minute walk in the rain but, thankfully, Jim’s wallet, passport and other vital papers were still there.

After we checked into a private room at the Albergue, I left Jim in the shower and went downstairs to find the group of people who helped us. After an update on Jim’s condition they moved on. Oddly enough, we usually only see a few people as we walk. It is amazing that all of the right people were with in feet of us when Jim went down.

While Jim slept, I caught up on a few things and walked around town then had dinner with Andrew (Britain) and JeanPierre (France). We have been leapfrogging with JeanPierre for over a week now. He is retired and is enjoying the trip. He did say he enjoys being able to drink more beer while walking.

Here are some random photos. With the rain the camera was buried.