The alarm went of at 4:30am and I jumped up out of bed. I had a great night sleep and was ready to get on the road to see where today would take me literally and also in my thoughts. I left around 5:15am and headed off into the dark, It was a straight enough road leading out through a farm yard so I had a fair idea what direction I was going. Suddenly I came to a cross roads I knew i was meant to keep going straight but I still stopped to question myself as there was no sign or arrow to be seen. Then with the torch I started to shine it around hoping to see some kind of marking instead I was met by a fucking scarecrow, and let me tell you this if no one knew I was there they certainly did after the scream I let out lol

I decided to walk on straight as I wasn't hanging around there waiting for someone to show up. Then about 200 meters down the track there was a Y in the road, again my heart said go left so I did but the further I got down the dark winding track the doubt appeared in my head. I just had to keep walking and hope that I would see a sign soon, then to my joy there was the yellow arrow painted on the the trunk of a tree?? I straight away had a skip in my step. I was so happy the sky was starting to get light and i always liked that part of the morning. I thought I could see a candle burning up ahead and I was right, as I approached a man just jumped up out of bed(sleeping out under the stars) he greeted me and offered me fresh fruits and juices so I took and orange and a coffee, when I asked how much he said ' no no it's free to enjoy' later I found out it was called 'la casa de los dioses' (the home of the gods) I was so touched by the generosity, I mean they just offer free food and drinks for people passing by on the long road to Santiago and don't ask for anything in return. I found it very touching.

After around 11.6km I arrived in Astorga where I would stop for breakfast and use an ATM as there wasn't going to be another big town for a while. Breakfast was delicious and felt so fuelled up after it and I had to be as I was headed for the first mountain that I'd come up against in a couple of days. The first 10km were easy enough it was a very steady incline, very subtle didn't really feel like I was going up at all. I arrived at El Ganso and didn't need to stop so I walked through the town but as I left the other side I decided to stop and change my socks and check how the feet were going, everything looked good. Suddenly tho I realised I had to use a bathroom and it wasn't going to be the kind where I just pee into a bush, so I walked back into the town to find one just to avoid any disasters!!

It was starting to get hot and I was about to hit the start of the steep climb into Rabanal del Camino, so the music came out and today it was going to be my running playlist to get my to the top! It wasn't actually a bad walk and the music really helped. Rabanal would have been where everyone was going to stop that had come from Astorga but I was going to walk on another another 5.3km to Foncebadón and rest there for the night. Reason being was I wanted to be as close Puerta Irago as I could be( 2km away) as it was the highest point 1,505m above sea level and the sunrise from there was meant to be breathtaking, so that's where I was aiming for as my first stop in the morning to watch it ??

Before leaving Rabanal I stopped for a cold juice and had a snickers just to give me the kick I needed up the next part of the mountain. It was a hard walk up but the sights were just beautiful, I'll tell you this though I I was so glad I'd made the decision to walk on as it is not a walk I'd like to be doing in the dark of the morning as it very steep and rocky and also you'd miss all the wonderful scenery. I arrived into Foncebadón and was so happy to find a hostel and I decided to get a private room(€30) I didn't care I felt like I deserved it after what I had climbed today. The hostel is lovely, I'm convinced the owners are gay but I'm not complaining as they are super nice and have given me a few free wines lol

As I sat and worked out where I was heading to tomorrow I realised that Iv covered 113.3km in just 3days!! So tomorrow I might go easy on myself, but the thing is I just get into a zone and I love it. A friend said to me today 'I know everyone walks their own Camino but you know it's more about the journey then a destination' . She is 100% right everyone does walk their own way and that is what I'm doing. Y, yes I'm making good ground but I am 'm taking it all in and learning so much about myself as I go. It's also been a great healing process for me. People might set out to do the whole walk but after one week realise they have got what they wanted from it, with me though I know I'll finish in Santiago as I'm so stubborn and because I'm still enjoying finding out more about myself and who I really am.

On that note I'm off to bed, hope I sleep as I had a three hour siesta after lunch lol
*547.7km down * 242.3km till Santiago