Sick today. I don’t remember the last time I had a cold. Not that easy to hike all day with a fever, vertigo, cough, congestion, etc. But I made it to Rabanal del Camino.

There are no pharmacies in this small town, and I used up most of what I got from the pharmacist in Astorga last night. Closest pharmacy is 24 km. The lady at the grocery sold me what remained of her personal stock of Paracetamol, which at least helps with the fever.

Unfortunately I’m in an albergue tonight, so will have to concentrate on not keeping others awake with coughing, sneezing, nose blowing, etc.

At some point in the early evening, I heard someone say, let’s go look at the monks. A short climb up into town led to a rustic monastery. Two monks presented a program, singing in Latin. I later learned that this is called “Vespers.”

I had a lovely pilgrim’s meal in a nearby Refugio before heading in for the night.

Tomorrow I’ll reach the highest elevation of the Camino Francés. There will be some steep climbs, but it helps that I’m already at 1,100 m. The treacherous part is the rocky descent into Molinaseca, which many have pointed to as the most dangerous part of the Camino.

Like the descent from Roncesvalles, there is apparently an option to take the road. The pilgrim’s office may not recommend this, as traffic can be dangerous, but that is what I’m planning.

I’ll send my pack ahead to Ponferrada, where I’ll take an extra day to try to get over this cold.

Somebody said, why don’t you just send your pack ahead every day, like most people? Perhaps I hadn’t realized this, but it does seem that many pilgrims have much more luggage than they are carrying. It’s only 6 euros, and the service is very reliable.

We’ll see how I’m feeling in a couple of days. Tomorrow will be a 32 km day, so I’ll plan on an early start.