Day 21 - El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de Las Mules 11.81

Well, I survived the bed last night!!! I did try to do things that would at least help me fall asleep - no nap, a walk in the afternoon heat, and staying up late reading. It seemed to work, because I slept till 3am and felt pretty rested.

Sometimes you get a little treasure of a hotel on the Camino. After yesterday's lemon (I will spare you all the details), I got lemonade today!! It is an adorable hotel, my room is so cute and the restaurant downstairs is excellent! We all met here for our lunch, and everyone was impressed. I chose this artichoke dish with jamón, and although my salad was excellent, I wish I could have had two of the artichoke dish! Warm artichokes in a sauce containing little bits of jamón with an egg on top. Oh my goodness!

Artichokes with jamón

Our trail gang at lunch

The hike today was early and cool - most of it was parallel to a country road. The sun rises later and later each day as we get closer to October. We left at 7:20 and we're in the dark till well after 8am. The topography is beginning to change as we get close to Leon and the region of Galicia. There is noticeably more green grass, trees and hills: the last 4 miles of our walk today was along a tree-lined path.

Before I met everyone for lunch, I went to the Museo de Los Pueblos Leoneses. It was a museum dedicated to the preservation of the culture of this region including the people, their homes, work life, family and community life, traditional dress, etc. Although much of the building was new, there were still remaining parts of a monastery from 1500 including the stone floor and walls protected in glass. It was quite an impressive and interesting museum.

Original monastery floor

Traditional dress of the region

I went into the Iglesia de Santa Maria in the early evening, and although small, it was one of the most peaceful, warm and contemplative churches I have been in yet. There were candles and music playing, which just created an atmosphere of serenity.

Tomorrow we will move on to the city of Leon. I find that the bigger cities are where the pilgrims spread out. We don't always find each other among the crowds, and several people will take a rest day there. J will join K on the bus to Leon, so I will lose my walking partner. I want to get an early start, so I have lots of time to see some of the Leon highlights! G and R will be heading home to NJ two days later from Astorga and will return in the spring (their favorite season on the Camino) to finish up.

Robert and I have only 2 weeks until we see each other again in Santiago! It seems so hard to believe that my time here is half over, but I am already trying to figure out which Camino we can do together next. 😊