. . . another municipal alberge, another style . . . this one was open and no-one at home . . . first in a Korean bloke, John Yeung . . . Jose-Antonio comes later, then Paola to take our details, €5, stamp our credentials and away . . .
. . . this morning another early start in the moonlight . . . nearly 40 km ahead . . . sunrise spectacular . . . if you want a picture, type sunrise into Google Image, they have quite a few . . . photos don't do it for me, it's 360 degrees of changing colours . . . many years ago in Norway, north of the Arctic Circle after the longest day, I was watching the show across a fjord as the sun set, skipped the horizon, rose again, leaving all the yellow, orange, red, pink lingering, reflected in the water . . . the Tibetan Buddhists at Samye Ling have very ornate decorations, to create a sense of awe, they say . . . the catholic churches and cathedrals are the same . . . in my communist period I called it scaring the peasants into compliance . . .
. . . the Calzado Romano, as you might expect, runs straight for miles . . . snow capped mountains to the right, railway to Leon to the left . . . little shade, no water or food for 24 km . . . if you want a challenge, try it in summer . . . the mountains show themselves ahead too . . . after Leon, into Galicia . . .
. . . and so to Mansillas by 3 . . . lunch time and mostly closed, including the albergue . . . which is a blessing, because I find the Museum of Ethnography . . . brilliant . . .
. . . at the albergue, Dan, Italian, last seen in Puenta la Reina, Alex from Estella . . . Jose-Antonio arrives, then Juan from Barcelona, who has dropped down from the northern route . . . the routes are converging, people are starting as we get closer . . . if you want a certificate, you have to show stamps for the final 100km and you could game that if you wanted . . . I won't bother with the certificate . . . though the credentials will be handy for the trip on to the Atlantic and south on the Camino Portuguese, or to Ourense . . .
Leon tomorrow, 20 km, less than 4 hours . . . time for some tourism . . .
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