Stopping for the day

Our crew leaving out this morning, must have been 10 degrees, standing under the door of forgiveness, although, it is concerning that we never walked thru that door.
We made it over the first mountain, after a very cold night, lots of barking and snoring and therefore little sleep. Villafranca del Bierzo is an old French feeling town that sits at the base of the mountain, that even though not known for their wine, they have great wine. We got there yesterday after a nice uninvited detour with rain and extra kilometers I wasn't too happy about, but we decided that if we wouldn't have gotten lost then the older french gentleman who happened upon us, who talks to himself alot, would have lost his way much more than us. So it was the blind leading the blind, the three of us made it to the auberque, sat around drinking wine with a lot of nutty strangers and a clown and we were treated to a hot meal by the hospitaleros. (this is what they do, feed and take care of the pilgrims before they make their way over the mountain) As hard as the physical part of this journey is, the people make it worth the trip. We've concluded that if everyone who holds some kind of political office should have to walk the Camino there would be no war, no hatred. We all get along, all from different cultures, backgrounds and languages. As different as we are, it is truly an amazing and enlightening experience that each of share together is his or her own way.
Our stay tonight in a small one stop/bar/shop town is about 6 miles from the top of where we were heading when we set out this morning. But, we felt a warm shower, washer and dryer and wyfy was too much to pass up. I am so excited about clean clothes and a warm shower it's not even funny.
A view of Villafranca del Bierzo, looking back as we ascend the first mountain.