Month: May 2023

May 31, 2023

Rest day in León

As we were leaving our room to go out sightseeing we met Bea in the corridor; coincidentally she and Neil are staying in the same hotel as us. We visited Neil in their room and he seemed much better and is optimistic about being able to continue (at least by taxi at first). We are so relieved as we know how disappointing it would be for them to have to abandon their Camino. We also caught up with our Korean friend (Hong) outside the cathedral; she is also having a rest day.

The gothic cathedral was built in the 13th and 14th centuries and features 1800 square metres of stained glass windows. We were among the first visitors so it was incredibly peaceful inside. We were lucky with the weather as the sun was shining through the magnificent stained glass.

We ate a late breakfast of a coffee and doughnut then revisited the San Marco Covent (Parador) to redo the filming as Ken wasn’t happy with the sound quality from yesterday. We crossed the river and walked back to our hotel through the main shopping area.

Kenny did his laundry (an essential part of life on a Camino!) then we headed out to La Piccola Stanza for pizza. Luckily we had chosen an inside table because the heavens opened as we were finishing. We called into a bar for coffee and rushed back to the hotel. Ken was wet and needed a warm shower whereas Mandy sensibly called into a few shops to allow the worst of the rain to pass. We caught up on Britain’s Got Talent on ITVX before our evening out at Rua 11. It has become our traditional vermouth and tapas bar in León, having been there three times. Mandy is now talking about another Camino Francés starting on her 60th birthday, which means our next visit will be in 2025!

May 30, 2023

Day 22 – to León

  • Distance – 18.69km (473.18km total)
  • Walking time – 3 hours 55 minutes (4 hours 20 minutes including breaks)

When we set off at 7.10am the weather was much cooler; Ken briefly regretted wearing his shorts. After about 5km the Camino took a detour through Villamoros de Mansilla, which was a nicer alternative to the busy main road and more importantly had a bar where we had some good tortilla and coffee for breakfast.

It was an easy walk into León (much nicer than the approach into Burgos), but when we stopped at the pilgrims’ reception office Mandy couldn’t find our Credencials. Everything came out of the rucksack, but they weren’t in there! We remained philosophical and decided that if necessary we would buy new ones in León but sincerely hoped that they were still in Mansilla de las Mulas and somehow they could get here on our rest day. We arrived at the Hospederia Monástica Pax at 11.30am. Unsurprisingly our room was not ready, giving Mandy plenty of time to contact the owner of Pensión Blanca and asking for help on the Camino forum. She also dealt with emails and sent Ken out to explore and take some photos.

We were relieved to receive the good news that the Credencials were found under the bed in our room. Even better news was that the owner’s daughter said she would bring them to our hotel today (which she did while we were having lunch). We chose a nice restaurant (Ezequiel) directly on the Camino for our menu del día and had excellent food with a nice bottle of rosé; the bad news that it meant no visit to Bar Rua 11 for vermouth and tapas later.

While we were eating lunch we saw Bea again, but sadly for her and Neil, his back is still causing problems. He’s having daily treatment here in León this week, but if this is not successful we expect that they will fly home soon. We also caught up with Doris and Jean-Paul (who we’d met on our first night in Auberge Borda). They are leaving tomorrow and plan to return next year to walk from León to Santiago.

We took advantage of the good afternoon weather to walk to the impressive San Marco convent, part of which is now a Parador. Its magnificent facade dating back to the 16th century was fortunately free of the scaffolding which covered it on our last visit in 2018.

We visited the adjacent museum and admired its artwork and cloisters before returning to our hotel.

An excellent day was rounded off by attending the nuns’ end of day prayers (for a restful sleep and a peaceful death) followed by a pilgrims’ blessing. Tomorrow is our final rest day before we reach Santiago.

May 29, 2023

Day 21 – to Mansilla de las Mulas

  • Distance – 18.91km (455.49km total)
  • Walking time – 3 hours 55 minutes (4 hours 15 minutes including breaks)

We ate our first cooked breakfast of the Camino – fried eggs on tasty sourdough toast, fresh orange juice and coffee. We said goodbye to our friendly hostess and learnt that tonight’s accommodation (La Pensión de Blanca in Mansilla de las Mulas) is owned by her brother. The weather was much warmer today and Ken was happy to be wearing shorts for the first time this Camino.

Not long into the walk, Mandy dug out her umbrella for shade. The sunshine has lifted our already high spirits.

We stopped for a cold drink in Reliegos at a bar we’d ignored in the past; that was our mistake as it is run by the charismatic Teddy and his sister.

As we left the village Mandy filled her water bottle while Kenny photographed the nearby pilgrim statue.

We listened to music for the next hour or so as we approached Mansilla de las Mulas. Luckily our room was ready and we had time for a shower (and to do some laundry) before lunch. We ate a very tasty €14 menu del día in the Alberguería del Camino, made even more special as we ate it in the lovely shady garden.

We wandered around the town and its ancient walls, bought fruit from the supermarket for later and returned to our pensión to relax. Yet another excellent day on the Camino.

May 28, 2023

Day 20 – to El Burgo Ranero

  • Distance – 17.59km (435.58km total)
  • Walking time – 3 hours 50 minutes (4 hours 15 minutes including breaks)

The friendly bakery we liked on our two previous visits to Sahagún had apparently changed ownership and didn’t look so inviting. However once again the Camino provided as the breakfast in our hostal was surprisingly good. Today was another short day so we set off at 8am and made good progress to Bercianos del Real Camino.

Approaching the village we were excited to find that the 17th century Ermita de Nostra Señora de Perales was open so we went inside. It is a simple chapel containing a statue of the Virgin of Perales, the patron saint of Bercianos del Real Camino.

We stopped for a drink in Bercianos, put our AirPods in and walked along a tree-lined path running parallel to the road to El Burgo Ranero. Unfortunately a number of cyclists had selfishly decided that they too would use the path rather than the traffic-free road. Wearing our AirPods we could not always hear their approach! The plane trees planted to provide shade for pilgrims definitely seem to have grown in the five years since we were last here.

The welcome at La Costa del Adobe was very friendly and we relaxed with a cold drink until our (very comfortable) room was ready. After a quick shower we ate lunch in the garden area (Angus burger for Kenny, vegetarian burger for Mandy, served in brioche buns with homemade chips). The bar was full of locals in their “Sunday best” and we later learned that they’d been to church for Pentecost.

Unfortunately the church was locked when we went to visit and as there seemed to be a storm approaching we hurried back to our room for the rest of the afternoon.

The storm never arrived so before dinner we ventured out to explore further (chatting to Hong in her albergue’s garden), but unfortunately the church was still locked. The chick peas with Sahagún leeks that we were really looking forward to were finished but patatas bravas and roasted vegetables (with a couple of glasses of sangria) were an acceptable alternative. As well as seeing Hong again, we also caught up with two of the Taiwanese pilgrims we met on our first day in Auberge Borda.

For those who haven’t experienced the Camino it is hard to convey how incredible an experience it is. Moments like this, meeting up once again with members of our Camino family, are very special.

Quick health update. Ken still has his (heavy) cold but he walked strongly and cheerfully throughout the day.

May 27, 2023

Day 19 – to Sahagún

  • Distance – 16.8km (417.99km total)
  • Walking time – 3 hours 45 minutes (4 hours 45 minutes including breaks)

As today’s walk was much shorter we had breakfast in the albergue and were among the last pilgrims to leave at 8.20am. Finally we had some warm and sunny weather; Ken wore his hat but Mandy used her umbrella for shade. We took photographs of the bodegas (storage caves looking like Hobbit houses) at Moratinos and stopped for a drink at San Nicolás del Real Camino. We were happy to be walking through beautiful scenery and still thoroughly enjoying our time on the Meseta.

It was then only an hour or so to Sahagún where we spent time videoing to mark the fact that we had reached the geographical centre of the Camino. This is in fact the centre for the Spanish pilgrims who started from Roncesvalles; we already reached our halfway point from St Jean Pied de Port yesterday.

After checking into our accommodation (Hostal Alfonso VI) and a quick shower we went out to explore the town and to find a restaurant for lunch.

The area around the main square was very lively and busy, we found a €14 weekend menu at Restaurant Luna. The food was good, the wine had a label and we were the only non-Spanish diners. After lunch we explored the town, took photographs and got a sello from the Tourist Office/Municipal Albergue before returning to our hostal for a quiet evening.

Unfortunately Kenny struggled a little today with his bad cold, but it didn’t spoil his enjoyment. Luckily tomorrow is also another short walking day.