Luckily there was a little tienda in Calzadilla for our grocery shopping. It was so small only the store owner and one or two customers could fit in at one time.
The ceiling in the little tienda was pretty low.
David cutting my hair.
What to do after you finish washing the clothes, showering, and cutting hair? Relax in the town square with more tractors than cars. Enjoy the wine and beer from the little tienda, because it is still several hours until the only restaurant opens. David and Leslie from Australia and a young woman from Germany.
The walk out of Calzadilla, early morning. It looked like rain, but didn't.
The Roman Road (Calzada Romana) - straight for miles
On the road to Mansilla-how about this view for listening to Neil Young?
Sorry, no internet access in the small farm village we were in yesterday. There were actually more tractors parked in the village square than cars! The town Calzadilla de los Hermanillos translates as Small Road of the Small Brothers. Today´s town Mansillas de las Mullas translates as Hand on the Saddle of the Mules.
Both days walks were about 17 miles long, but mostly pretty flat country. This the Tierra del Campo region of very good farmland, much of it irrigated. Yesterday, after the city of Sahagun, the pilgrimage road split into one of two options, one was the original pilgrimage road, but followed right alongside some major highways. The other option, which I took, is the original Roman road that went to the Galician gold mines. It passed through countryside that is intensively farmed, but no houses, no farmyards, few trees, no water fountains, no villages, in other words very isolated. I walked for at least two hours both today and yesterday without seeing another pilgrim, and very few other people. This stretch is said to be the longest extant Roman road still existing. I really enjoyed the solitude. Today I listened to the entire Neil Young Heart of Gold concert of his Prarie Wind album. For those of you who are not familiar with it, it is a good reflection for us "starting to age baby boomers" on where our lives have been and are going at this point in our lives. It was a wonderful accompaniment to my thoughts as I walked.
By the way, I solved the haircut and beard trim problem that I was worried about. After three weeks of no trim I was getting pretty shaggy. The Australian couple I have been parallel travelling with the last few days mentioned they had a rechargable hair clipper and were willing to loan it to me. So, I trimmed my beard, my neck hair, and David shaved my head 1/4 " long. Perfect- it may last me another four weeks or I may luck out one more time. The Australian couple took the bus to Leon, so I may not see them again.
Tomorrow is the big city of Leon and the dreaded walk though its industrial suburbs to get there. It is only 12 miles, so I hope to be there by 11 am, so to halve enough time to view the cathedral and other sights. I will probably not stay two nights as I do not feel the need for a rest day and Kathy and I will return to Leon a few weeks from now, anyway.
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