The birthday girl was allowed a lie in so we had breakfast and left at 0830 in bright sunshine. We had 22 km to do so took our time and enjoyed a quiet walk though open countryside which is getting more interesting again. We walked over apparently the finest medieval bridge in Spain at Hospital del Orbigo. For the last 10 days we have been walking on a fairly flat plain never dropping below 2500 ft but we are starting to climb tomorrow & by Thursday we will ...

Left Parador San Marcos at 0800 having eaten as much of the buffet breakfast we could physically manage. Sun was out but it was cold as we trudged out of Leon. Soon got into the countryside but in truth the scenery was again flat and a bit boring but at least the paths were good so we made quick time. We were heading for a recommended old converted mill called Molinos Galochas 32km away and got there exhausted but happy at 4ish. It was worth the effort as the ...

Last night we watched Chelsea win on penalties with 50 Germans - victory has never tasted so sweet as they were not happy bunnies. Today we have had a great day relaxing and sightseeing in Leon. We started looking around San Marcos the stunning Renaissance building built as a pilgrim hospital in 12th century and now the Parador we are staying in. It's such a privilege to be around all this history and the place had a special atmosphere. We then went to San Isid...

Saturday 19th. Well Burgos set the bar very high & we were not sure that Leon would live up to expectations but it has. We are having a day off tomorrow to visit the Cathedral & San Isidoro which from the outside look amazing. The walk today was fairly boring in pouring rain for the most part but it cleared up by lunchtime when we arrived in Leon. We had a good lunch by the cathedral then arrived at San Marcos Parador which is beautiful. Formally a Pil...

Just arrived in Mansilla de Los Mulas which roughly means 'hands on the back of the mules' ! I presume this is still a popular pastime here as it is not a great place and looks like there has been a lot of inter breeding amongst the locals. Anyway we had another boring flat walk alongside a road which had about 1 car go passed us every 10 minutes. So faced with these sections we put on the iPhones and lose ourselves in some music which really helps pass the tim...