Yesterday evening was very pleasant sitting in the albergue beer garden, sun beaming, but still on the cold side. I keep forgetting l am  still on the Meseta, meaning the pilgrimage is still eight to nine hundred metres in elevation. To think in another month, it will hover around 35 to 40 degrees. So maybe I should be happy with this crap weather. I had a drink with Enis, a young spanish girl of twenty three with long auburn hair and pale skin, I thought she was Scottish. Her walking friend was Anita from France. When they left,  Helen and Mark joined me for a beer, and we joined several others for a pilgrim’s meal of beautiful salad, a rice dish with meat, and ice cream for dessert. The usual wine was consumed to wash it all  down. The young man sitting next to me at dinner is from the Mornington peninsula in Victoria. Tom is his name. His mother turning sixty has brought Tom, his sister Meg,  and dad to walk the camino. What an incredible bonding for this unique family. I woke up through the night as the rain was very loud and consistent. Leaving this morning under heavy cloud, I walked for maybe five minutes before the rain started yet again. I have also just learnt, my sister in law Patricia married to my eldest brother Bill has passed away. I will reflect on the last sixty five years she has been part of our family, and say a prayer as I walk.The track is now in some places like a river. I’m waiting for the call to build an ark. I will ask Tom to assist me, as he is a carpenter. Walking with Daf  lorries flying past metres away,Daf is a dutch brand truck, and they  are very popular here, and watching pilgrims swapping from side to side to avoid the worst of the mud and deeper puddles, was becoming quite a challenge. At the six km mark,I arrive at Puente de Orbigo, where I cross a medieval bridge, maybe two hundred metres long, and still as good as the day it was built. It looks like it belongs  in a children’s story book.Just as I arrive,the rain stops, and I can take photos. There is a cafe, and I’m ready to stop, however, I decide to walk on as I prefer to walk while the rain is at bay. I’m thinking, I will stop when the rain recomences. A supermarcado appears and the senora makes me a very nice ham and cheese baguette to take away. I eat half as I’m walking and keep the rest for later.Not long after, there is a choice of staying along the road or walking up and down hills through the countryside. Although this route is longer, it’s a no brainer.I need to get away from the N120 motor way. Two villages later, after beautiful walking on muddy slippery tracks, the rain re commences and I see a cafe. I’m definitely ready to stop now. I order a hot chocolate, and it is like a bucket. I’m into it. When I leave, the rain again slows and eventually stops. The slippery natural track is now going up for two hundred plus metres and straight down again. Still better than the alternative route. With the bliss of quiet country walking,I’m hearing the cuckoos making their unique sounds again. One problem at six to go, the huge amount of chocolate I drank has gone straight through me and no facility to ease the pain. Now I’m on a mission. I finally see Astorga,and I’m galloping down the hill to  find a cafe.  As luck will have it, I make it within micro seconds of  maybe hiding behind someone’s front fence. Now that I’m relieved, I’m sitting on a park bench drinking out of my flask and eating the rest of my baguette. Yummy lunch With two to go, thunder starts, and I’m going hard again as the humidity rises a storm is imminent.I finally reach the square and take a nice accommodation. Whilst chatting with my darlin wife, I enjoy a nice hot  bath. After, I meet up with Mark and Helen for a drink in the Irish bar. They head back to their albergue, while I have another beer and write my blog. Every time I look out the door, it changes from rain to sun to rain.I decide on a kebab for dinner and it is awesome. Thanks Mark for the advice. I’m now ready for bed.