Blogs from León, Castile & León, Spain, Europe - page 5

This evening as I sit in the TV room of the convent (yes I am staying in a convent tonight - oh if only the nuns knew they would be on their knees praying for my eternal soul for hours! LOL - contemplating my day the 23rd Psalm comes to mind. Yesterday I was weary and hot and tired. I ached so badly and I was tired of walking! It was the first time I really just wanted to quit and go home. I had started early in the morning so I wasn't walking in the worst heat of the day. I even arrived in Mansilla de las Mulas an hour before the albergue municipal opened. I had a long afternoon to rest and I soak. my feet for the first time while eating lunch. Oh ... read more

Route: Calzadilla de los Hermanos - Mansilla de las Mulas A bit of a complicated day. A walk of about 17 km without coming to a village. Not sitting down regularly, thus walking too long, hurt my feet (blisters). Fortunately nothing serious, but annoying. We did relatively little distance (24) in too much time 6.30 hours. Part of road we walked today is part of the old roman road system. Parts are maintained as an historical monument and as such are ringfenced. Interesting, walking on historical grounds. Very little to share for the day except for a French lady lowering her pants to relieve herself right in front of a couple of elderly Spanish ladies who turned around to me throwing her hands in the air exclaiming "peregrinos" and looking at me in horror. The French ... read more

Ola, Why do I type Spanish stuff when neither of us know what the hell I'm talking about? Ola=hello. Nuff said. I'm a day out of Leon Spain. Leon is a big city. 140000 that's big in Spain. In the USA, small. Leon was a great place to visit. Again I can try and describe it, but seeing it says everything. The cathedrals are 1200 years old with stained glass? You just can't describe that. This is where the Masons originated. That would be the fraternity Masons, not the trade. Unbelievable. The big cities here don't sleep . With siesta nothing starts up until minimum of 8. That makes it tough when you have a 10 pm curfew. Yes the doors close and lock at that time. If your not there the street can be very ... read more

What have the romans ever done for us? today we had a 17 km walk along a an ancient romand road which was less interesting than watching paint dry! I stopped for a breakfast at some point just after the sun rose but this was the only interesting part. Once again the prior evening visit to the Supermarcado and the ever ready Optimus Crux gas burner saved the sanity! Tonight I am in Terradillos de los Templarios and all the talk is about how to manage the distance into Leon, the risk of missing out on a bed if arriving to late of a day and the weather which seems to be getting warmer! This afternoon has been spent with large tankards of beer in hand and a good conversation with a man from Quebec who ... read more

Actually I´m 18 odd Kms short of Leon in a town called Mansilla de las Mulas... So, there I was, halfway through, feeling strong, thinking I would be picking up some time on some short stages, when... It looked like such an innocent thing. A little bocadillo, with an omlette filling. It was a couple of hours to dinner and I´d walked about 40 Kms that day, so I thought, why not? The guy suggested he warm it up for me - I was amenable. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I bit into it and discovered that it was packed with seafood. That and a Cerveza con Limon cost me $3.50 - bargain! It was at dinner that I first noticed. I suddenly felt very tired. Well I thought it had been a long day. ... read more