With about 18 kms to do, I wanted to take it fairly steadily, and stopped several times at the pleasant shaded rest areas en route. At one of these, I chatted to a couple from Cairns with identical backpacks to mine. The guy revealed that he also had had a case of food poisoning, his at Teradillos. He'd had to seek medical advice and discovered that all pilgrims are entitled to free medical treatment in Spain for problems encountered on the Camino. There was even a phone translating service of the doctor's diagnosis available if required. Worth knowing about!
I stopped for a late coffee and tortilla at another Piedras Blancas establishment, Bar Gill II, just outside Reliegos. I sat at a table under a tree and relaxed for a while. Lots of pilgrims were sitting there in the sun. I pressed on. The last hour of these 18 km days is always the worst, the pack always heaviest. If only I could divide the route into 15 days!
I finally entered the walls of Manzilla de las Mulas ("hand on the mules"), a welcome sight. My chosen 2-star hostel, La Albergueria, was full, the last room having just been bagged by an English guy from Oxford and his American pal. I was desperate for a beer, which I drank in their lovely little courtyard, attempting to chat with the old granny, aged 84. They told me to go further into town to La Puerta, and there were plenty of rooms to be had, but not so nice, at €35. I was givena room above the noisy bar. I managed a siesta, but later in the evening was disturbed when they moved all the furniture indoors at 11.00 p.m. I must ask for a quiet room at La Posada Regia.
I went back to La Albergueria for the pilgrims' dinner at 7.30 p.m: mixed salad, fish and chips, flan. Just before dinner, I walked around the historic sites, the bridge out in the direction of Leon, the medieval walls and also the new albergue, where I was able to use their Internet terminal for half an hour.
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| Medieval walls of Mansilla |
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| "Hand on the mules" coat of arms |
