Alburgued

I stayed tonight in a self-service alburgue which is based solely on an honor system. There is no hospilaro (manager) present, you pay a donation of what you want, you clean up after yourself etc. the village has a population of 200 so everyone knows you are there. The grocery is run by a man who has all the groceries behind the counter. With me knowing so little Spanish I point and smile to indicate what I want. The village name is Calzadilla de Los Hermanillos. The next village where I will stay is over15 miles away on the same old roman road called Mansilla de las Mulas --the side bag of a mule--indicating what was really important when the Romans occupied Spain.

More than half way

Well since Oct 9 I have walked 267 miles and so I am more than halfway. I walked an old Roman supply road today. They supplied the legion in Leon from Bordeaux France. Evidently it is not a popular route as for many hours I walked alone. There is another route that parallels this one but it follows a modern highway--my walk was more quieter--though some strange bird was not happy with my presence and scolded me--I am not certain if birds speak Spanish but I did not recognize its speech. It is the end of the pilgrim season there are only 3 of us in the alburgue tonight. One person is a young man who left home in August which is in Switzerland. I have met so many people from so many places. They seem surprised when I say this is my first time in Europe. A week from now I will be in the mountains again and at a place called Cruz de Ferro or Iron Cross. I will post more about it when I get there but in the meantime you can Google it and get information in advance. No new injuries mostly I am tired. Have another 17 mile walk tomorrow with a shorter walk to Leon on Tuesday of about 11 miles. It is a large city so I may take a day off there on Wenesday to resupply with provisions for the rest of my trip. The shops are very specialized in Spain so I don't know where to go to buy certain things. The shops tend to be in the medieval center of the town-- it has the effect of one enormous shopping mall without the mall with the food court spread out into a plaza area where people come to eat and socialize. It is an incredible experience to see people eating and shopping in the late evening in a town center.