Day 25 – Marching to Mansilla

Leaving El Burgo for Mansilla de las Mulas.

The Meseta can be a bit monotonous at times.

The long road ahead stretches into the distance.

Left-right, left-right, not much change of 

pace in sight...or change of view, either.

A few companionable pilgrims ease the way.

Kinda glad that paved roads are the exception...

often harder on the feet and less charming, too.

(One upside: no rocks or boulders to navigate!)

Cruising past Santa Martas, selfie time.

Another cool cross. We always stop for them.

Disintegrating tire. Mike's "artistic capture."

Entering the gate at Mansilla de las Mulas.

Mike saw this today and thought of Boise State.

Go, Broncos!

Hotel is pretty cute inside...

...And in the rooms, too.

Interesting decor out back in the courtyard.

Great ambience here...

...in this inviting courtyard of our hotel.

The entire town is charming.

And its Rio Esla is beautiful! 

(In the movie, The Way, this is where 

Martin Sheen drops his backpack.)

Mike spotted two big trout from the bridge

over the Rio Esla.

A fisherman tires to catch the "big one" on

the River Esla in Mansilla de las Mulas.

A stand of trees along the riverbank.

Entrance to Museo Etnografico Provincial de Leon.

Neat museum with artifacts and photos going back

many years. Great taste of what living here is like.

Magnifico!

Wall around the town of Mansilla. Very cool!

Tomorrow we will forge on to the

beautiful city of Leon. Can't wait.

A story from Dave and Mike:

Lynna asked us each to make a list of our top ten experiences thus far, so we did. Because so many of our choices were the same, we have consolidated a list of our top 14, in no particular order and as follows:

1. The sweet town of St. Jean Pied de Port and dinner at Des Pyrenees. We were the only ones in the restaurant for a 7-course meal.

2. Climbing over the Pyrenees by the Napoleon Way, up over 4900 feet and down 2490 feet, wth spectacular views from all sides.

3. Dinner in Roncesvalles with 110+ pilgrims for our first pilgrim's meal on the Camino.

4. Standing in the rain in front of the sign from Roncesvalles saying, "790 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela."

5. The plush, overgrown trails leading out of the Pyrenees to Pamplona.

6. The Pamplona bull ring and painting our shoes with a brush of rink red.

7. The simplicity of many of the churches that just have the Savior on a cross and very little else: Puente de la Reina, Torres del Rio, San Juan de Ortega, Fromista, and Sahagun.

8. Dave and Mike – good friends, really easy and fun traveling together.

9. The incredible pilgrims with huge weights and the spirit of the Camino; on the Pyrenees, the lady with two packs and Delta airlines flight attendant; the blind group in Estella, especially the older couple who were so much in love; Marg and Linda in Los Arcos.

10. Doctor Boris, the Butcher of Burgos and Nurse Ratched, aka the blister surgical team.

11. The technology to Skype/Facetime with Lynna and Sue, our best friends, and the kids/grandkids.

12. The daily blog; the phenomenal job of our editor, Sue; and the great support in likes and comments from our followers. You guys are the best and make our walk even more meaningful.

13. The plazas in small towns, so old and quaint, surrounded by connected sycamore trees––where every evening is family time for adults and kids of all ages, who clearly love visiting and playing together.

14. The many new friends from all over the world that support and encourage us all the way along the Camino. We love them.

We are also reposting Dave's story from yesterday, because it didn't get put on the blog until several hours after it was published, and we want to make sure no one missed it:

Just outside of Bercianos del Real Camino, we spotted that Atari backpack in front of us again and ended up sitting down with Jane and her daughter, Sarah, for a midday break. Remember them? Jane from Wales had an injured foot and was limping badly when Mike (our amateur drug pusher) gave her a Motrin 8. Her daughter gave me a sports drink powder. We hadn't seen them since that time about two weeks ago, and having taken two rest days since then, we figured we wouldn't be seeing any old friends from here on out. But that's not how the Camino works, because it brought us together again. We were chatting a while before we finally asked why they were walking the Camino. They said that their husband/dad had taken his own life two years ago, and they were walking and raising money for a suicide prevention group in their local area. We paused for a moment in surprise and solidarity before explaining our cause. It was an intimate moment as we all looked at one another without speaking. Jane finally voiced what each one of us was thinking: "We were meant to see each other again." No doubt about it. We exchanged contact information; and after we said our goodbyes for possibly the last time, Mike and I agreed to make a contribution to their important cause. Whom will we be guided to next?

Click below to support suicide prevention

and mental health, the causes Mike and Dave 

are championing with their walk.