My good friend Jake Flesher is in Italy. He was visiting the Sistine Chapel and said a prayer for Anna. He then visited the Church of Santa Marie del Popolo and lit a candle and said a prayer for Anna. What a good man! I want to thank everyone who is praying for Anna. Every prayer counts. She is in a battle for her life so every prayer is greatly appreciated.
Last night I felt like death warmed over when I finally stumbled into Reliegos. I was hurting all over and was in a mental fog. I figured out today that I got severely dehydrated walking the 18 kilometers on the Trajan Way. I drank over two liters of water, but that wasn’t enough. Lesson learned. When you take the remote routes where there are no cafes or other rest stops you’d better bring a lot, and I mean a lot, of water. I did not sleep well last night. I was a hurting cowboy and the springs on my World War Two Army surplus mattress were way beyond sprung. The beds in some of these alburgues seem like they are purposefully uncomfortable. I sacked in and hit the trail with Marco at 8:00 AM.
This is a Pilgrim statue just outside Reliegos.
This is sunrise as we walked the Way just west of Reliegos. Notice the mountains. As you can see, we are on the western edge of the Meseta and heading into Galicia.
This is another plaque set along the Way reminding everyone why we are waking the Camino.
After we walked about 5 kilometers, we stopped in this village, Mansilla de las Mulas. This was our first stop of the day.
This is breakfast at Mansilla de las Mulas. Bacon and eggs, and a croissant and freshly squeezed orange juice. Yum!
This is Serano jamon. These hams are hanging in every little cafe. That’s a lot of jamon.
This is a roadside cross and Pilgrim statue across the street from the cafe where we ate breakfast. We stopped and said a prayer for Anna.
This is a farmers market they were setting up in the town square in Mansilla de los Mulas.
My favorite Mexican restaurant in Denver is Las Delicias.
What a colorful pumpkin patch. 🎃
This is the Elsa River, just outside Mansilla de las Mulas.
This is the trail heading up a hill just outside Leon.
This is a view of Leon from the top of the hill. Now we will need to climb down the hill to get to Leon. I hate climbing down hills at the end of the day.
This is a sign in Leon. A little more than 300 kilometers to go to get to Santiago.
This is the infamous Colonel Sander’s Kentucky Fried Chicken 🐓 on the outskirts of Leon. As American Pilgrims walk on the Camino leading to Leon they talk about this KFC like it is the Emerald City. As I walked by this KFC, I could smell the chicken frying and the biscuits baking. My mouth started to water like an old hound dog in a butcher shop. With Santiago’s help, I stiffened my backbone and resisted the almost inexorable temptation to eat here as I am going to gorge on tapas tonight.
This is the sleeping quarters at the Alburgue Globetroter. What a great place. Brand new, 12 bucks a night with towels, sheets and a comfortable lower bunk just a block off the Cathedral Square.
We will be staying three nights and two full days in Leon. There is plenty to see and do here and I am sure the two days will fly by quickly.
I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday.
Good evening from Leon, Spain.
AbeAndMarkontheCamino 