Camino Day 22: El Burgo to Mansilla

Total Distance: 22km
Step Count: 33.6k
Blisters to date: 2
Tortillas to date: 21
Injuries: shin splints

Today I woke up worried about my leg swelling up so I started walking and checking in which town I could catch a bus to Leon which was the next big city (less than 40km away). The first “bigger” town along the way was 13km away so until then, there was not much I could do.

In Reliegos, I stopped for brekkie (tortilla #1) at la cantina de Teddy which was a blessing in disguise! The hospitalero was so welcoming, chatty and playing jokes on everyone so I asked him and his wife for some guidance.

His wife told me that the next town had a small hospital with an emergency service and suggested going there first instead of Leon because it would be faster than at a big city public hospital… boy she was right! ✨

Over brekkie I met a young Aussie/Japanese gal who was living in Sweden and we walked together until the next town. She worked in education too so it was a pretty cool and interesting convo the whole way there. She was walking further that day and I had some time to kill before going to the hospital so we had lunch together at Mansilla de las Mulas (tortilla #2) and parted ways.

The hospital visit lasted 30min all in all and it was as suspected, pain in the shins due to the terrain and overuse. The doc prescribed proper anti inflammatory medication and strongly suggested to get an ankle brace and have a rest day. I left relieved knowing that it was nothing serious and that I’d be in my way soon again! 🏥

I ended up staying in town and ran into the three Spanish women I’d met the night before at the Albergue. They had a four-bed room and offered me the spare bed so I would be free from snorers that night (so nice!). I also gave my 8 of swords card to Lorena, which I’d been carrying around for days not knowing why or what it meant until I got my tarot reading the day before and heard her talk about her life. The card was meant for her and I hope it brings her some good luck! 🃏

There was also a lovely dinner with a group I’d been seeing since the beginning and had occasionally hung out with.

The Albergue was so nice with a beautiful garden as well as aircon and ceiling fans in the rooms! We didn’t need them anymore as the heatwave was over but this Albergue went go down as the unicorn of the camino! 🦄Read more