This is again a long and relatively flat section of the Camino. Today we walked a little over 18 miles. Gladly, the hotel we have in Mansillas is excellent and the evening meal was very good. Most of these little towns date back to at least the 11th century with some of them having Roman and Visigothic histories. Most of the ancient sites have been lost to time or to subsequent renovations of the churchs. However, as you will see in Mansillas, the ancient walls survive to this day in surprisingly good shape (along the river). Some sights along the way:
A fun little church we saw as we went through Bercianos. It is interesting to see the decorations (whether serious or graffiti) that pops up along the way.
I had to take a "break" from walking and went off the path a few meters only to find this bird observation area. There were a lot of croaking frogs and bugs, but it was a beautiful sight in the early morning hours.
We haven't quite figured this phenomenon out! There were 40 or so trees with granny-square comforters wrapped around their trunks. It at least added some interest to the walk.
We have now entered cattle country.
A larger "hobbit" house.
As we entered Mansillas de las Mulas we came face to face with this lovely monument to pilgrims. The one at the back has fallen asleep on the steps. I promise you, today was one where Jannette and I related to the exhaustion expressed on the statues's faces.
Remains the Roman/Medieval wall that once encircled the city.
One of the city's several medieval gates
One of many statues honoring Santiago and the pilgrim experience.
Leaving the city we see more remains of the Roman/Medieval city wall along the river.
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