Stage Twenty – El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de las Mulas

20  km

October 27, 2011

Rebels 

Still walking the meseta. I came across a bunch of snails going up the damp street this morning just after leaving. We had to be careful if we didn’t want to step on any. Kim was not fond of worms and squirmy things. Got a great picture but I am afraid the snail is going the wrong way on the Camino. The snail is kind of a metaphor for this part of the Camino. It seems to take forever to walk the meseta, with two days walk still to Leon and a greatly anticipated rest day.

It was a much shorter walk today and we made good time, walking in some rain. We met up with Nick on The Way. After arriving at the albergue, I got my clothes washed and Nick almost came into the shower stall where I was showering. Only curtains in a male/female shared shower room. Not great!  I noticed Petra (German, 23) from weeks ago was there , and I met Gabriel (German, 20) for the first time. He was sitting with Chris, an older English gentleman (60’s) and they were drinking wine and having a great old chat. Chris was teaching young Gabriel how to properly swear in English and what different words meant. Gabriel was like his student, just soaking it all up.  Chris had just started walking the Camino and his wife Jenny was going along with him but in the car. She would secure a room for them and have his dinner cooked for him when he arrived.  What a great couple.

                                              

Vacant stork nests

We went out for afternoon beers and came back to formally check in, as the ladies were not there when we arrived. Later we went out for dinner to the bar next door; Kim, Nick, Petra and I. There was a miscommunication and Gabriel couldn’t find us so he didn’t join us. There I met Brigitte, (like Brigitte Bardot she said so we could remember), a 60 year old woman from France. She had been walking since SJPP and Nick had made friends with her. She could speak great English and was very nice. We had great conversation. I thought I had seen her before in some churches but she always stayed in private hotels. She was much more comfortable like that but enjoyed meals with pilgrims.

Nick could always be counted on to make sure we got our correct allotment of wine at a meal. This night he scooped a half drank bottle off another pilgrims table after they left. The waitress was not impressed but we gave her a good tip so then she didn’t care. They aren’t used to tipping in Spain. The wine is cheaper than water so they were not out anything. They would have just filled up the same bottle and served it to the next guy.



Nick, Me, Gabriel,
Chris, Kim
The next morning



We got back to the albergue, just in time to not be locked out. Most of the pilgrims were in their beds and already sleeping. We quietly tried to get into our beds in the dark. I saw that the bunk beside me was empty but packs were there. Who is sleeping in those beds I asked Nick, who was bunking above me. Nick decided to go and see if there was a wee party going on somewhere and he returned to say that Chris and Jenny were in the kitchen drinking wine. Did we want to join them?  On this night I decided..what the heck, I need some socializing with some English folk. Gabriel got out of his bed too and came downstairs to get some more education on English swear words. Every time Gabriel would learn a new word and how to use it he would say “This is great” with his German accent.

I must say, the wine kept on coming out of the wood work. We were being Camino rebels. We admitted to being a bit noisy as we really got laughing with all of Chris and Jenny’s stories. When the wine was all gone we made our way back to our bunks, but, I am afraid it was not a quiet event. Chris and Nick had the giggles and continued talking once in their beds. Chris told Nick that his own wedding was the worst wedding he has ever been too. Nick says “Your own wedding?” “Yes” says Chris and Jenny piped up “Yes, he is right”. Well that roused giggles from the rest of us. We didn’t get the rest of the story as this was now starting to bother other pilgrims. Jenny had to keep telling her drunk husband to be quiet. It wasn't long and I could hear the snoring from both Nick and Chris. I dug out my earplugs from their usual spot in my pack and went off to sleep.   It was after 12:00, the latest I had stayed up so far on the Camino, but it had been fun. I would pay for it in the morning.