Mansilla de las Mulas to Leon (13.66 miles / 31.99 kms)

Today was going to be a short and easy day into Leon, especially since it was only going to be about twelve miles.

I wasn’t in a hurry and left about 8:30 and the hostal where I stayed was completely dark and quiet, as even the bar that I walked through doesn’t open for breakfast until ten.

It had rained hard last night and with constant lightning and loud thunder, so I was hoping like in the past few mornings it had stopped. But, it wasn’t meant to be as it was raining when I stepped out the door and it rained for most of the day to Leon.

As I mentioned before, with the right gear that I have I still prefer to trek in the rain rather than in the heat. Though you still get fairly sweaty even on those cool days when it rains, especially when you have days like today when there are some steep and long uphill climbs. Even with the Gore-Tex gear it doesn’t transfer the moister through the membrane as fast as you sweat. Having a light to medium wool under-layer really helps since it wicks away the moister and still insulates to keep you warm when other fabrics would stay wet and chill you.

Today the Camino followed the highway on a nice dirt path, and then moved onto the highway in some places, zig-zagged off into the hills, and then up and down some steep hills. It was a real mix of terrain and surfaces. Traffic was fairly busy because it was Saturday and it was a little noisy walking along and on the road.

Just outside of Leon the Camino went up long steep hill before descending into the city. I still remember this section when I did it almost three years ago. At that time the Camino came to a nice pedestrian bridge that crossed over the highway and then another bridge crossed over the expressway that went down into the city. This time the pedestrian bridge was blocked off and the new Camino moved onto the shoulder of another road. Then it climbed to even a steeper and higher point on the hill. Once at the top of the hill it went down a very steep, straight, downhill trail. I was a little surprised there would even be such a hazardous section on the Camino, especially after that really other nice bridge entrance into the city.

It had been raining on and off most of the day, but very hard the last ten to fifteen minutes. The path had actually turned into a small gully of water and mud. It would have been almost impossible, or difficult, to have gone down the hill without trekking poles it was so slippery. The mud was like pudding and probably 4-6” deep. It packed on the bottom of my boots to the point it felt like being on skates or skis, slipping and sliding. Having the Wheelie sliding behind me didn’t help!

I have to say that I was a little concerned about what would happen to my knee if I suddenly slipped and fell in the wrong direction. This was even more worrisome than trying to walk on the big stones on the old Roman road going over the mountain pass out of Madrid. Because the Wheelie it was difficult for me to move off the path because the vegetation, but I eventually move off the path and it was much more firm and not as muddy. When I finally made it down I let out a sigh of relief.

One of the Americans I was walking with had to help the woman behind us that had slipped and fallen down several times. I wonder what the Friends of the Camino Francis were thinking when they moved the trail to this location?

Once down the hill and into the city there was a little park with a faucet that a man pointed out. Apparently some nice person seeing had left a brush from a push broom next to the faucet for pilgrims to clean up. I don’t know how many of the pilgrims, including myself, could have checked into their lodging with all the mud stuck to them.

I had walked with an American couple, Jeffery and Tonya, for some of the day and then stopped at a bar with them for a break. I also ran into Francois, a teacher from Australia, that I had met along with her friend on my first day on the Francis. Meeting the same people throughout the Camino is fairly typical and is one of the nice things about the Camino.

I walked with Francois into Leon for a distance until we parted to go to our lodging. As it turned out mine was a hostal in a very nice location about three blocks from the Leon Cathedral, and the Plaza Mayor, and all the restaurants and activities.

I should have said anything negative about the small and sparse room I had last night because the one I got tonight could fit in last night’s twice! It was so small that the nice young man checking me into the room had to lift the nightstand onto the bed to get my Wheelie into the only open space in the room. Thankfully he carried my fully loaded Wheelie up to my third floor room.

I laughed to myself when I saw the room, but I am actually very thankful that I got it. It’s clean, has a private bath, and has a great location. With the cathedral area being booked this weekend I am lucky to have found this place. It think the young man was a little embarrassed that the room was so small and he called the manager and gave me the room for €35 instead of €38. Not a lot, but a nice gesture.

After my daily choirs of showering, washing my clothes, and of course trying to find a spot in this tiny place to hang clothes to dry, I went out to dinner and did a little sightseeing. However, I had to wait quite a while because it rained so hard for about an hour that the water was actually running over the rain gutters. I don’t think I have ever seen it rain so hard. And then again, I am from Southern California where we’ve been in a drought for five years.

I’ve been to León before and I still find it amazing to see the crowds that walk the streets in this wonderful old part of the city. Back home malls have fallen out of favor and cities and developers are trying to go back to having such outdoor shopping and restaurant areas that have been here for hundreds and hundreds of years and are still popular. However, I don’t think we will ever see them as popular and packed as they are here.

I went to a wonderful tapas bar, El Tapas, that Joseph, the young man that checked me in, had recommended. With a drink order you get a choice of four different tapas included in the price. A tapa is an appetizer that are made differently by bars and restaurants and can be fish, meat, chicken, veggies, etc. Here a beer, soda, wine, etc., is €2, and you get tapa with it. After two drinks you are full because the tapas are so big.

Tomorrow I am going to Villadangos del Param, which is about twelve miles. I booked a room there since there is only one hostal and two alberques there, and with the number of people on the Camino I don’t want to chance finding a place to stay. The alternative would be to go an additional seven to eight miles to the next city that has lodging. The forecast for tomorrow is an eighty percent chance of rain and I don’t want to push myself to walk twenty miles in the rain.

As always, please excuse the typos, grammar, and spelling, etc., because I am writing this on my phone and don’t always review my blog.

Best wishes,

Ted

Selfie of me leaving in the morning

Street is wet from the rain

Looking back at Mansilla de las Mulas

Leaving Mansilla de las Mulas

Traffic jam on the Camino

View from the Camino

Muddy trail descending into Leon. It is more than half way down and it Amuch steeper than it looks!

Muddy mess

Muddy mess!

Caked on mud on the Wheelie

Lucky there was a place to clean up

My hostal to the right

The honeymoon suite

My closet

The citadel

The side of the citadel

Beautiful architecture

One of the plazas

The Leon Cathedral

Now you see why there were no vacancies in the lodging in Leon

I turned a corner and, a wedding procession with music. Beautiful! A Camino bonus!

There’s the bride.