Day 16: Bercianos del Real Camino to Mansilla de las Mulas

Last night I had dinner with Ron and Mark — a nice pizza for me, while they both had what looked like delicious burgers.

This morning hike started off at 06.58. It was cold and only got colder as the wind picked up, though I knew it would eventually warm up. 

The path today was made up of very long, straight stretches beside a very quite road where you could see pilgrims disappearing into the distance — see photos.

I stopped around the 7 km mark for coffee and cake, but Ron and Mark had pushed on ahead.

The next stretch was about 13 km of more of the same: long, straight roads running alongside a quieter road, with a motorway and high-speed rail line off in the distance. It was a mental challenge to keep going, but the thought of coffee and food kept me motivated.

Eventually, I caught up with Ron and Mark and we had lunch — a tuna sandwich, coffee, and fruit yogurt.

As we neared Mansilla de las Mulas, we spotted a huge rain cloud with visible rain falling to our right, heading toward our destination. As we got closer, the rain caught up with us, but we slowed down just enough to avoid the worst of it.

We finally made it — 28.68 km, 149 meters of total elevation, and 5 hours 30 minutes of walking. That was the last big day!

We celebrated with a few beers, and then I took a 10 minute taxi ride  to my accommodation. I’m sharing a room with two Canadians who now live in Brisbane. The hotel/hostel is located along the Dutch Camino but offers a shuttle to and from the Camino Francés.

The accommodation so far is excellent — clean sheets, towels, and only three of us in the room. A very welcome end to a long day.

 

 

Line of dark trees on the horizon on the right 9.06

 

Same trees 9.19

 

Same trees 9.28

 

Same trees 9.30

 

These sprinklers dominate the landscape

 

We can see mountains!

 

Lots of wild flowers

 

 

 

 

 

Finished for the day, waiting on the taxi! 

 

Tomorrow is my last day—18 km into León. The final 8 km are very industrial, so I might jump on a bus… but then again, I might just walk it since it’s my last day.

My train to Madrid is at 15:13 and takes just under two hours. I’ve got a hostel booked there. My flight home is at 10:15.

The last blog post will go up tomorrow, and I’ll post an epilogue in about a week.