My Kingdom for a Mule

Mansilla de las Mulas, Spain
Mike had a restless night, certain he heard knocking on doors until all hours. I, on the other hand, put my earplugs in, snuggled under the covers, and had the best night's sleep of the Camino according to my Fitbit. Exhaustion will do that for you. As for truck stops having the best breakfasts, not so much in Spain. The lone barista was prepared for the coffee onslaught, with saucers prepped with napkins, spoons, and the obligatory 1 packet of sugar, stacked high in the ready position. He was busier than a one-armed paper hanger in a windstorm, with breakfast limited to juice, coffee and pastries. With 13 kilometers to the only stop on the route, I developed a new appreciation for the saying "the Army marches on its stomach". A little protein goes a long way. We stopped mid-morning in Reliegos for eggs and coffee. One of the churches along the way is known to have stork nests on the steeple roof. If you time it right, you just might see the stork babies in the nests. As we passed I wondered, if storks deliver human babies, who delivers the stork babies?? Obviously, I've been on the meseta one kilometer too many. Approaching Mansilla de las Mulas, we can see a mountain range in the distance. Did my Scarlet O'Hara best to not think about that today. After all, tomorrow is another day. Mansilla de las Mulas was a medieval market town catering to pilgrims and did a booming business in mules. Bet those folks back then took one look at the mountains looming in the distance and knew a good thing when they saw it.Read more