Where was granny?

Well folks, as you know, we stayed last night in Vilar de Mazarife, and what a night it was. When we first arrived our Albergue of choice was fully booked so we walked on to Albergue Tio Pepe which was in the centre of the village opposite the church. The girl was really nice and because they were almost full she offered us accommodation in a small house down the street. When she took us there she informed us that we would be the only people staying there that night. Our first impression was great. We had a kitchen, a sitting room, a downstairs wash and shower room, a choice of 5 bedrooms, an upstairs bathroom and an outside patio. Don't be mislead by first impressions. We then discovered that it was like the Marie Celeste. It was like someone's granny had been put out minutes before we arrived. In the sitting room there were crumbled, used tissues behind the cushion.  There was even a wash on in the washing machine. In our bedroom, one wardrobe was full of granny clothes, including a fur coat, and at my side a wardrobe with suits and shirts. After a few glasses of vino we started to speculate what they had done to granny. This didn't go well for a good nights sleep. You kept imagining the old granny appearing at the end of the bed and wanting her revenge.  Anyway we survived and started our walk the next morning. The walk today was truly spectacular. The path was long, straight and dusty, but it passed through beautiful countryside. Our destination today, Hospital de Orbigo, is approach by a truly remarkable bridge. It is one of the longest and best preserved medieval bridges in Spain, dating back to Roman times, with its myriad of arches leading to Paso Orbigo,  made famous by a famous jousting tournament in the Holy Year 1434. We had difficulty finding accommodation in de Orbigo and because of that I have fulfilled a lifetime ambition. The roadside motel is called El Paso.      C

Walking long straight paths can really mess with your brain.  Villages which look to be 15 mins walking distance away can be 1hour 15 mins away.  But as I complained endlessly about the mountains what can I say about the plains.
Lots of people we met in the early days have gone home hoping to return next year to take up where they left off.  And a lot have just started 2 days ago from Leon.  Unbelievably we have been walking for over 3 weeks.  We passed a sign earlier which said Santiago 279 k. That would be fantastic except  we have yet to reach the highest point on the Camino.  That should happen on Friday, God help me. M.