Bercianos Del Real Camino, Mansilla de las Mulas, and León days 22-25

The three days walking to León have not been particularly memorable nor exciting. Unless you’re excited by walking alongside roads and highways. They have not been uneventful though. Before Bercianos we came to a junction that is very poorly marked. One way takes you on the main Camino, the other on an old Roman road which is longer with a 24km stretch with no towns or services. 50% chance of choosing the right road, 100% chance of getting it wrong! We figured our error out in time to take a cutoff that returned us to the main path, but it cost us about 2km in the end. It was already a longer day, and it was hot, but we survived.
We also passed a milestone. The town of Sarria marks the halfway point on the Camino. Passing through the gateway means we have more Camino behind us that ahead. It’s a good feeling and somewhat hard to believe.

As we plodded on we crossed paths with old and new Camino friends. This is really the magic of the Camino. Jose, who we encountered again, introduced us to Francisco and Gabriela. Francisco told us on a conversation with another pilgrim where he said that the Camino was about the stops, and that he agreed. I’m inclined to agree as well. It’s at the stops, along the way and at the end of the day, where you meet “old” and new friends and share moments from our Camino and our lives. Andie and I walked into a restaurant in Mansilla for dinner only to find Toby and Rachael waiting to be seated. The four of us shared an amazing vegetarian dinner (they’re vegetarians too) and great conversation. Toby is a teacher in England and when he mentioned an English researcher named John Hattie I burst out “I know about John Hattie! I’ve read several of his articles and his book”! Teacher nerds are the same worldwide. 

The next night in León they joined us again, along with several other pilgrims, at a Mexican restaurant with Jose and Dante that they’d heard about. The food was fantastic and the company fun. At Jose’s urging, we all loudly sang Cielito Lindo, much to our delight and that of the purveyors. It was an amazing night, and exactly what the Camino is about.

As I write this we are near the end of a rest day in León. Jose, Dante, and others walked on today, others also took a day of rest. We don’t know if we’ll cross paths with any of them ever again, but we all have shared moments with each other that are now cherished memories of our Camino. This is the Camino, perhaps we will see them again in Santiago, or sooner. Perhaps not, but we look forward with anticipation to those dear friends that we’ve not yet met on our journey. 

Life is good and the Camino is full of love and magic. 

https://youtu.be/TW5cpFIx9A0