Day 61 / Sahagún-Mansilla de Las Mullas / 36.34 km

Yesterday evening I joined 99,9999 % of the Spanish population watching The Champion League game Real Madrid against Bayern and see the Bayern goalkeeper in the most clumsiest way loose a couple of millions for his club. I had a great dinner in the #1 tripadvisor advised restaurant but dinner was much to late. Till late at night I feel like a balloon ready to explode. In the morning I still feel like a balloon, but already somewhat deflated.

I wake up at 7.15 and go through the morning routine. I head to a bar-confeseria where yesterday I had a drink which seemed the ideal place to have breakfast. No luck, the place is closed. I search for another place, but strangely most of the bars are closed. I find a bar which is opening and have a coffee and 2 croissants. 

Around 8.30 I start running, quite late. The road today will be mostly straight ahead, always parallel to a national road which does not see a lot of traffic as a new highway some 100 meters running in parallel has taken over all the traffic. The road goes all the day slowly up and down, a lot of “false flat”. When you start the ascent one thinks it’s not climbing to much, the challenge is that the climb often takes 2 to 3 kilometres. Feasible but with a bite. The morning is uneventful, I focus on running and managing the false flats. The pilgrims I meet often shout encouragement. One couple stops me, they have heared about a crazy guy running along the Camino. After a picture ( yes stardom is within reach) I continue. Since a couple of days I meet people who ask me if I’m that running guy. Not sure on how people know but is fun to see the expressions when I tell I started in Belgium some 1900 k away. 

Since a Castrojeriz I daily see a guy walking with a dog. The dog, a mix between Husky and Sheppard, runs always 100 meter before the guy. Sometimes he stops as to check if his master is still there. I wait untill they are closer. I learn that the owner of the dog is called David and his dog Titan. David and Titan do the same kind of mileage as myself walking, which I personally find more impressing then me running the distance. They sleep most of the time outside and are French. I walk a couple of kilometres together. As I plan to stay 2 day’s in León I will see them probably again later this week. I plan to take a picture. 

The road continues to be as it was before. No variation. Around 12.30 I arrive at the village called Reliegos and pass a bar which I have seen on a lot of blogs. I decide to have lunch. Entering the bar reggae is blaring out of the loudspeakers. The place probably hasn’t been cleaned the last 20 years. One couple is sitting at the bar smoking weed out of a grandpa pipe. I order a cheese sandwich and a coke. The sandwich is ok, the plate on which it’s served could use a cleaning. The man of the couple is an American. He starts to read aloud a poem to his girlfriend. It seems he wants to be the knife of god to kill all the “bad” people. His girlfriend grins and sips from her beer. They start kissing. I eat my sandwich. I landed in a remake of “The Way” (a well known movie featuring the Camino) by Quinton Tarantino. Hey everyone his Camino.

I leave the village to run the last 6.5 k to Mansilla. Still no variation in landscape. I pass a highway under construction. One can feel to get closer to an urban zone. I enter Las Mullas. A village which has died some years before but doesn’t want to give in yet. Based upon the volume of publicity for pilgrim hostels and menu’s the Camino seems to keep the village alive for the time being. I do not see a lot of non-pilgrim related economy. 

I have booked again a hotel. 25 € is a small price for privacy, a personal bathroom and not getting woken up at 5 in the morning. I go through the checking in routine and enjoy a well deserved siesta. Around 18.00 I go for a drink. One of the nice habits of the region is that you get a small tapa for free when you order a drink. A reason enough to have 2 wines. Mostly the quality of the free tapa’s is mediocre. Today I’m lucky they are really good.

I have dinner at the bar with the good tapa’s. Dinner is again a pilgrim’s menu. No variation. Macaroni, chicken, flan. Passable. When I have dinner I try to invite other pilgrims at my table, or invite myself to their table. Tonight I’m lucky and have some good conversation with Pablo from Sevilla. 

The next 2 nights I have booked a hotel in Léon, a city with a Cathedral, an old city centre and a couple of interesting musea. Research also showed Léon has a lot of nice bars and restaurants. It will be the last big city before Santiago, and before I start the Camino invierno in Ponteferada. After Léon it will be (only) another 10 day’s before arriving in Compostela. Tempus fugit. León is only 18 k away. I lost another toe nail. Number 3, 7 to go.....

Lessons Learned :

- A lot of pilgrims seem to be taking the bus to cover the region I’m passing currently.

- Fanatics write poems to.

- 61 day’s, really ? 

Song of today : Dream On - Aerosmith

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