24.5 and 5:27 (see map).
The last leg of the Burgos-León walk. León quite sprawled so commercial outskirts reached with still half the total walk distance to go. Good walking prior to that, through the countryside and a number of small villages, occasionally by the main road. It’s good to be in León with a couple of rest days ahead of me.
It’s significant arriving in León as the city essentially marks the end of the Meseta, the high plateau the Camino has tracked across since Burgos. The final section of the Camino, to Santiago de Compostela, heads into the mountains of Galicia, as different from the Meseta as it no doubt will be from the first section through the Pyrenees from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Burgos.
There are a number of metaphors I have heard used to describe the three distinct stages of the Camino: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Burgos, Burgos to León, León to Santiago de Compostela.
1. Birth, death, rebirth (this one came from a Scot who said he’d come across it in a religious narrative about the Camino)
2. Childhood, adolescence, adulthood (from a couple of Dutch ladies who’d seen the stages described as such)
3. Physical, mental, spiritual (from a girl from Canberra)
So, the prospects for stage three are looking good if the metaphors are anything to go by.
To today’s walk …
Tribute to the pilgrim, on the way out of Reliegos.
Like this much of the way to Mansilla de las Mulas.
Some of the houses in central Mansilla de las Mulas.
On the way out of Mansilla de las Mulas.
The Río Esla. Fast-flowing, clear and deep. Good swimming hole off to right (with swing rope in place).
Path runs beside irrigation channels sometimes.
Stork in church tower. Lots of stork nests all the way along the Camino.
Getting nearer to León.
León on the horizon.
Fountain just near my hostal in León.
