Day 8: Burgos de Ranero to Mansilla de las Mullas

More of the same, but a great destination

We realized as we were close to walking into our last night before the big city of Leon that neither one of us had taken many pictures. It was pretty much the same as the last few days on the Meseta. Crops, tree lined path along the road (for which are always grateful—shade).

Here we are with our morning selfie, happy to have such lush foliage of a tree shading our path. Hence no hat or sun glasses.

As we walk, especially in the long stretches of sameness, one or the other of us will see something and point it out as “interesting.” We’ve seen plenty of these thistle-like plants growing along the Camino, but for some reason, this morning I stopped and said, “Oh, look. It’s Father, Son and Holy Ghost watching over Donna and Terri down below.

Zoom in on the Donna and Terri part and you’ll see what we decided is a heart.

Into town and perhaps our sweetest lodging so far.

Our itinerary said that we are staying at Alberquiera del Camino. We specifically asked this time that we not stay too far of the Camino itself. (Last time on the Portuguese Coastal Route, we sometimes had to walk 3+ kilometers to our hotel. Trust me, every little bit matters.)

So the walking notes said that we were a mere 110 meters off the Camino itself. But we were both a little concerned about the name of the lodging. Alberques don’t always have private rooms with baths, but we knew we had paid for just such a reservation.

“OK, so maybe we are going to be in an alberque, but we’ll have our own room,” I suggested to Donna.

“What does -iera on the end mean?” Donna asked. “It sounds to me like we’re staying in a cafeteria.”

Far, far from it.

This family run hotel was absolutely charming and over-the-top decorated with antique farm implements. The wood floors creaked, and to top it all off, we had a ceiling fan in our room.

That’s my iPad on the right, from which I wrote yesterday’s post, under the grape arbor.
The Comedor [dining room].
And then look who joined us for dinner! (L to R) are Mike from Lexington, KY, Joe and Amia from Pennsylvania and then Donna and me. We’ve been crisscrossing them on trails and in lodging since our Day 1.
Make room for Canada! Rose and Ken strolled by and we rearranged the seating to make room. This is the beauty of the Camino. You start seeing people and talking to people along the way and it’s absolutely OK to just chat and say “Buen Camino.” It’s so fun when you then see those people again, maybe later that day or may be days later.
These are two ladies that we have seen several times after sitting next to them at dinner a few nights ago. We greet them with “Hello Denmark!” And they reply with “Hello California girls.”
Here is a statue of St. James himself. Donna and I each left shells for special people at his feet.

Tomorrow we walk into Leon…Day 9 and then Day OFF!

One Reply to “Day 8: Burgos de Ranero to Mansilla de las Mullas”

  1. You gals rock! I love reading your daily blog and look forward to hearing about each day’s adventures. Love seeing the pictures. I’m so envious of the courage you both have to take on such an endeavor. God bless you as you continue your camino!

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