Paraiso del Bierzo León

Empezamos el Camino de Santiago en el Hotel Mar de Plata de Sarria (Hotel Sarria)
Nuestra aventura comenzó el día 11 de Agosto de 2009 en la localidad de
Sarria, el pueblo más grande del camino de santiago en galicia.

Hi All,

Mary may be posting later once she gathers her thoughts. Carl and i thought we would upload some pics for you if e can. we walked 19km today and it was straight up a hill. wow. some hard times, but we were happy. unfortunately, when we got to the top of the mountain (o cebreio) there ...

Shirley is posting this blog. Today we covered 25.5 km. a very demanding walk ' climbed to 1517 meters but the descent was the hardest. It was the highest point we will encounter on this trip. Accommodation last night in large room 40 bunk beds with one loud snorer but all slept also a church bell tolled the hour every hour. Laundry facilities included a scrub board and soap ...

This is the plan:

Let's rock & roll....

... up a table with coffee, cookies and cold drinks and pamphlets for an Albergue in the town we were planning to visit. Decision made.

Today we arrived in Mansilla de las Mulas. This is town an interesting name (Mansilla means hand on the saddle) and Mulas means Mules. The town has an old medieval wall and gate and is one of the nicest old towns that we have been in. Our trips across the meseta have continued to be very nice with cool breezes

... s neglected *nd forlorn. App*rently 40-50 ye*rs *go, the ruler of the town ordered the c*stle to be filled with s*nd in order to m*ke * st*dium/soccer field. Thous*nds of tonnes of s*nd were brought in, but fortun*tely the townspeople s*w the error of their w*ys *nd now the s*nd h*s been removed *nd the c*stle is being restored. Unfortun*tely, * modern building h*s been *tt*ched which tot*lly destroys the ch*r*cter of this historic*l edifice ...

... should always be prepared to give an answer if someone asks what is different about you. Your answer should be given in humility so that no one can say anything bad about you. Chapter 4 continues by saying that you will suffer as Christ has suffered. You should not live by the flesh but by the will of God. The pagans live in sin and find it odd that you do not join them and make you suffer for it but they will be judged at the end of time before God. He goes on to say that each ...

... me with Spanish-speaking people so that will help my Spanish a lot. Another international that speaks English told me her roommate is from Bolivia (I think) anyway, somewhere that speaks Spanish, but she only speaks to her in English, probably because she wants to practice her English. I hope my new roommates don't know any English at all!

... against heart, he proceeded to croon "Desperado". Martin pronounced it "truly awful"...and I wasn't inclined to disagree. Others sang, but no one matched the awfullness of Desperado. At 9:30 a nun came in and called everyone to benediction. We went on to bed. There were no blankets, but there were fitted sheets: what more could one ask for? 19 km albergue (donation): 4 euros

... tree. The path to this town, through the valley and miles and miles of cow ****, was the most beautiful trail we´ve covered so far, sort of like crossing scenery from The Hobbit with a Thomas Kincade painting. Only more bucolic, a word that I frequently confuse with ¨bellicose.¨ Tomorrow we´re going for 27k or so, as we´re trying to stay out of the towns where the larger groups tend to stop. Grant