We have discovered over the past two weeks there are two kinds of walking pilgrims, Albergue pilgrims and Hotel pilgrims. Albergue pilgrims are die hard pilgrims who stay in hostels designed for pilgrims (albergues). Albergues most often have bunkbeds in rooms that accommodate between 12 and 200 people. They have public showers, public dining halls and offer beds for around 10 euro per night. Those who stay in albergues have curfews and must be out by around 8am. Abergue pilgrims don’t generally have reservations, so they are in a race with each other to next stopping point on the journey before everyone arrives to get beds in the best albergues before they’re gone. Albergue pilgrims depart super early, before sunrise, in their race to the next stop.

Hotel pilgrims stay in pre-reserved hotels, inns and bed-n-breakfasts. They pay a little extra to have private rooms and bathrooms. They wake up about the same time the albergue pilgrims start walking. They eat a leisurely, included breakfast and start their walking days around 8:30am or 9:00am. Hotel pilgrims take their time exploring villages knowing they have a place to stay in the next town they plan to stop overnight. We are hotel pilgrims and we enjoy taking our time each day to appreciate this magical journey.

We departed El Burgo Ranero after a delicious breakfast at our hotel and found our way to the Camino. We are now deep into the Masetta, where for our first several miles we saw nothing but fields. There wasn’t a single bush, shrub, or tree, but if we looked, we did discover beautiful sights. Wildflowers are in blooom everywhere right now. Eladio and I loved seeing all of them on today’s journey. One field we passed had thousands of poppies, so we couldn’t help but veer of the trail to take photos.

Young sycamore trees have been planted along the entire 12 mile section of the Camino we walked today. The trees look like they were planted about 5 or 6 years ago and will just get better in time. They will provide a great deal of shade that was previously missing on this part of the Camino, a very nice touch.

Eladio and I shared some touching stories and had enjoyable conversations. It’s been wonderful getting to know him better and having this quality time together. Before we knew it we were walking into Mansilla. The entrance of the village has ruins of the ancient gates pilgrims passed through to enter the León region. Pilgrims still pass through what is remaining of the gates and into the village of Mansilla de las Mulas. We found our quaint hotel. We were met by the owners, a married couple who couldn’t be more charming. They checked us in and Javier, the man, invited Eladio and I in for a welcome drink. He quickly took us into his bar,  poured 3 glasses of white wine, added sweet vermouth and said “salud” (cheers). He then showed us to our charmimg room with an incredible view of the hotel courtyard and village church. We are so happy to be Hotel Pilgrims.

Lake adjacent to El Burgo Ranero

Not a tree or shrub in sight, but plenty of wildflowers

Cross marker in the middle of nowhere Camino

Eladio in a field of poppies and wildflowers

Trees are now planted along the Masetta, providing shade to Pilgrims

Homes built into hillsides

Homes built into hills

Entering the village of Mansilla de las Mulas

Entering the gates of Mansilla de las Mulas

Entering the ruins of the pilgrims gates into León

Checking into our ancient hotel in Mansilla de las Mulas

Hallway to our room in Mansilla de las Mulas

Our hotel room in Mansilla de las Mulas

The view from our hotel room in Mansilla