Leon in the air!

Some of you Camino friends guessed perfectly where I am today!!  I am in Mansanilla de las Mulas...hope I spelled that right!  A fantastic little town. 

Catherine (England you are so well represented by this daughter of yours!)  and shoved off shortly after 6 this morning, being a tad concerned about the possible heat on the last stretch of the Meseta.  There was a brief discussion of whether to take the 2 or 3 extra km to get to the old Roman Road from our current digs or not.  The final decision was to simply push forward, as her Mum is not doing well (tendons) and was waiting for us ahead.

There were actually an amazing number of benches spaced out along the route which were great for readjusting the pack or tying (retying!) shoelaces as the morning progressed.  Although at this point I´ve got a bit of a confession.  I´ve been wearing my Crocs for the last two days.  I mean wearing them with my full pack on, boots tucked inside.  That 34km day gave me some seriously nasty blisters and bruising, and the Crocs give plenty of room to breathe and move and cushioning.

So...back to the road.  Watching the sun rise over the Meseta was special.  Seeing the mountains (Pyrenees?) looming far far in the distance made you feel so amazingly small.  The weather has been absolutely amazing.  Clear and cold in the early morning, cool to just warm the rest of the day.  The air is clear and crisp and you can see quite frankly forever. Some people have said they find the Meseta boring.  If it weren´t for my feet I could keep on for days. Or perhaps thats just because I´m nearly done with it now!

Wandering into the next tiny village all the usual cast of characters were pulling into the bar for a real coffee.  Now for my family, this may come as the biggest shock ever, but I had no real coffee for nearly two hours perhaps more, and only after walking something like 12km. Made it taste all that much better. Just don´t ask me to do that at home, ain´t gonna happen.

Another long stretch walking into Mansanilla was spent talking to a gentleman from South Africa.  The people you meet along the way are so varied, both in occupations and locations.  Tonight we´ve got South Africa, England, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria and USA...and this time the USA ain´t just me!  There is Hunter from Florida, making his second Camino.

As long as I´m into confessions here, I may as well spill some more beans.  There are quite a few Pilgrim Tourist groups around now.  They drop off their people in the villages with lovely prepacked lunches, little day packs.  They´re all freshly scrubbed and well fed looking too.  Like they´ve just finished a nice brunch before they set out for a stroll.

The ones I´ve encountered so far, also make reservations in town for their folk, so they aren´t cluttering up beds in the Alburgues.  However.  This doesn´t make it easy when you´ve just literally stumbled into town, and your looking for your first cuppa and they´re all standing there so squeeky clean you can nearly smell the soap on them.  They stare at us and quite frankly we stare back.  Rather rudely I might add.  I don´t know what the conversation on the other side of the street is like but the things being murmured on my side aren´t the best the Camino has to offer.  Not the prettiest aspect of the Camino, Pilgrim charity and all that, but the truth.  I also suspect, that after having Laura, the hospitilera here, work on my feet, that if you lined us up, barefoot, you could pick out the "real" pilgrims just by our feet.  Swollen feet and ankles.  Blisters in every imaginable place and of every size. Or as Laura says, "you have a whole family living here on this foot!"  I don´t think Turo Pilgrims get blisters like that.  I don´t think they would opt for a short day of walking (19k) if they had these kind of blisters. But then, maybe we are the crazy ones.

So...love you all, and tomorrow LEON!!