Day Three- On from Ponferrada

We slept in today and I made it through the night without waking up. After a pleasant desayuno of toast, coffee and fruit we left for a short leg of about 8 km. We are doing easy days and hard days to break ourselves in. Vicki and Sheila have been walking for over a month and are well-conditioned. No so Joe and I. It was a beautiful walk through several small villages and vineyards. We can see the hills in the distance that we must cross tomorrow and I am a little afraid. However, when we reached Villafranca today we arranged to send on my bag for 5E and that will make walking 26 km. a lot easier. It is going to be the hardest day so far as well as the most picturesque, according to the guidebooks. There are 3 routes through the mountains and of course we are taking the steepest and hardest. Oh well. We have also booked a place for tomorrow night so we know we have somewhere to sleep in advance. At the end of the day when you are tired, hot and dusty, finding a hostal can be trying, especially when trying to stay on a budget of  35E. As of Day 2, I feel much better about this trip. I have not mentioned going home today...Buen Camino!