Latest / WCBH / Day 28 - Camino Francés: Mansilla de las Mulas to León

Transcript

Day 28 - Camino Francés: Mansilla de las Mulas to León · WCBH

• 0:25
  Day 28. It's a cold start this morning, walking from Mancilla de la Mulas to Lyon.
• 0:33
  19 kilometres today, we've just passed another way, Marca Chan.
• 0:37
  How many kilometres do we have to go to Santiago de Compostela?
• 0:41
  We have 329.5. Yeah, that 0.5 is very important, 0.5, isn't it?
• 0:50
  329. It's quite amazing to think that we started with 790 kilometres and we're
• 0:56
  down into the 320s, day 28. So we're getting there.
• 1:04
  If you've been listening with us from the start, thank you. If you've just joined
• 1:09
  us for the last couple of episodes, thank you also.
• 1:12
  It might sound a little bit repetitive because, Sherwin, what are we going to do today? Walk.
• 1:18
  We're going to get up and we're going to walk 19 20 kilometers
• 1:22
  don't want to count our chickens before they hatch but at the end of today we
• 1:28
  do have a rest day so we are looking forward to that we've got an apartment
• 1:33
  booked in leon for the two nights so we can have a full day tomorrow,
• 1:40
  to explore a little bit, but mainly just to rest and recharge.
• 1:45
  Does it feel like nine days ago we had a rest stop in Burgess?
• 1:49
  Does it feel shorter? Does it feel longer?
• 1:52
  No, it doesn't feel like we had a rest stop in Burgos nine days ago. Really? No.
• 1:58
  I think the nine days has gone very quickly.
• 2:01
  Burgos feels like a long time ago. The nine days has gone quick,
• 2:05
  but I don't feel like... I remember that rest day where we've just been on the go doing some big K's.
• 2:14
  What I'm finding really difficult is to remember where we were yesterday or
• 2:22
  the day before or the day before.
• 2:24
  And then when we say town names, trying to get a visual image of that town is also difficult.
• 2:31
  Is it just me? Was it just my age showing or is this happening to you as well?
• 2:35
  Occasionally it does and then I'll remember something that happened or someone
• 2:40
  we met or something we said. It's usually a story or something to attach to that place.
• 2:47
  But no, you're not alone. There's been a lot of tans.
• 2:50
  Speaking of people that we've met, overwhelmingly, everyone that we've met has
• 2:56
  been very friendly and happy and engaging. Yes, they have.
• 3:00
  It's that camaraderie they always talk about on the Camino that we're all in
• 3:05
  doing this together and may not be walking together,
• 3:08
  but there's a group of us that see each other on the trail and at the end of
• 3:13
  each day and everyone's lovely.
• 3:16
  For a few days there, actually probably for the last nine days,
• 3:20
  we've kind of been in almost,
• 3:21
  there's been a, not that we've been walking with them, but there has been that
• 3:25
  group that we've come across, whether it's at the start of the day,
• 3:29
  the rest stop during the day or at the end of the day.
• 3:32
  But we seemed to lose track of a few of them yesterday.
• 3:35
  Yeah, whether they left earlier or later, I'm sure we might see them on the
• 3:42
  trail today or definitely leaving Leon, as I know a few of them are having a rest day as well.
• 3:49
  There's really only been one incident, and it didn't happen to us,
• 3:53
  but one incident that we've heard of that you just think, how low is that?
• 3:58
  And, you know, it didn't happen to us and we didn't speak to the person it happened
• 4:02
  to, but it certainly moved around the group, that someone had their shoes taken?
• 4:07
  Yeah, I'd heard about this. I'd read a few blogs before doing this and heard
• 4:13
  that your shoes, your walking sticks could go.
• 4:18
  So just to be aware of that, that while everyone's friendly,
• 4:23
  some things can happen. You have to make sure you keep your valuables on you and things like that.
• 4:28
  Like it's just absolutely the lowest of the low on a 790-kilometer walk where
• 4:34
  the most essential thing would have to be the shoes.
• 4:40
  You know, people have walked them in, bought them carefully to fit their feet properly.
• 4:46
  It's the thing that's going to take them the kilometres.
• 4:49
  And for someone to take shoes, it just blows my mind how low that is for someone
• 4:57
  to do something like that.
• 4:58
  It's a very, very low act.
• 5:00
  And unfortunate, this Corpus and then had to grab a taxi to the next biggest
• 5:05
  town so they could go buy a new pair of shoes and had spent the day walking in Crocs.
• 5:11
  In Crocs. Now, I struggle to go to the local shop in Crocs. So I think walking
• 5:18
  a day of 20, 25 kilometers in Crocs, their feet must have just been raw by the end of it.
• 5:24
  Anyway, fingers crossed that something like that doesn't happen to us.
• 5:29
  You know, we are feeling very safe out here, but, you know, you do keep an eye on your things.
• 5:37
  When we pull up to a cafe, usually, Cheryl and you and I go in and Chan sits
• 5:42
  with the items when we go in just to make sure. but in terms of the shoes.
• 5:50
  When you're staying at your own private room or apartment, you know,
• 5:54
  you've got your shoes and your things inside, but we have found when we've been
• 5:58
  in the albergue style accommodation,
• 6:01
  to reduce the smell in the living area, you know, they say you put your sticks
• 6:06
  here at the front door, like inside, but you've put your sticks in this cupboard
• 6:09
  and put your shoes on this rack and everyone does that.
• 6:13
  So I suppose that's where that might've taken place.
• 6:17
  Now, I've mentioned this a few times, walking along, I'm usually listening to
• 6:22
  podcasts or the rugby league, you know, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
• 6:27
  Sunday, Australian time, there's games to be listened to.
• 6:32
  Chan's usually listening to stories in the afternoon, I suppose,
• 6:37
  does the kilometres in the morning, something to look forward to listening to
• 6:40
  stories in the afternoon.
• 6:43
  But you've barely, barely listened to anything. I found I haven't needed to
• 6:48
  up until halfway through the meseta, that 17-kilometre stretch.
• 6:54
  I think towards the end of that, I decided I needed some music.
• 6:59
  So if we have a longer stretch sometimes now, I'll put on music.
• 7:03
  But for the large majority of our walk, I haven't eased anything.
• 7:07
  It's just been the river and the birds and animals around us.
• 7:12
  But when you're walking by the road by this, it's kind of nice to have something.
• 7:17
  You know, this morning I've been listening to the Warriors v Tigers and I think
• 7:21
  it's the Tigers 16, the Warriors 10 at halftime.
• 7:24
  After this game concludes, it will be the Broncos v the Dolphins,
• 7:28
  the Battle of Brisbane. You are a Broncos supporter.
• 7:30
  Can I suggest putting the game on and enjoying the game?
• 7:35
  Yeah, I may do that. It'll be good to see how they go. I'm sure you'll update me anyway.
• 7:43
  We've made it to Lyon. We're not in the city centre yet.
• 7:47
  Leon's a big city, so we're on the outskirts.
• 7:52
  And this has happened, I suppose, with some bigger towns like Burgos,
• 7:56
  but also with some smaller towns where you see them off in the distance and
• 8:03
  you think you're getting close, but you've actually still got a long way to go.
• 8:07
  We've just come over the crest of the outskirts and we've just started to see
• 8:14
  where the cathedral is. So we've got a marker now about how much further we've got to go.
• 8:21
  We've got to work our way through the outer suburbs, the industrial areas and
• 8:26
  various things to make our way through to the city centre.
• 8:31
  But Leon, like Burgos, a major centre on the Camino Path.
• 8:38
  And this is the place that we'll have our rest day.
• 8:41
  The rain in Spain.