Villarente

Hello, everyone.

We left El Burgo Ranero bright and early as usual, leaving the key to the room in the door as requested. I hd been afraid that the day would be stormy and wet, but aside from a few sprinkles there was no rain. By late morning the san came out. It was not yet noon when we hit Mansilla de las Mulas, so we kept on to Villarente.
This town is not an end-point on the Brierly map set, but it seemed to us to be more active economically than Mansilla. (I can't tell the relative population, because the map doesn't give a figure for Villarente.) There we stayed at the Albergue San Pelayo, which isn't on the main drag, but on the street behind. Follow the yellow arrow on the side street, bend left and go uphill a ways. Ignore the perfume of the barn that must be behind one of the walls--it doesn't carry on to the albergue anyway. Pretty, grassy garden area with clotheslines in the sun (not  under a roof) and also an eating place. Friendly hospitalera, too!

Pretty irrigation canal (maybe just a controlled stream? But it's awfully straight) en route. In the background, another one of the many planted woodlots we saw everywhere.

A family wine cellar, dug into a hill. There are many of these along the Camino.

Prices of fuel by the liter (basically a quart). These were typical. Ouch.

The next morning, we left at our usual time and walked the 13 km to Leon. About 8 or 8:30 we heard a pounding, penetrating bass beat: DUM  DUM  DUM. As it was a Sunday, we were surprised and didn't know what it might be. As we hit the city, though, it faded from our awareness. Imagine our surprise, later in the day, to find that across the street from the post office, in the middle of everything, the ladies were having Zumba In The Park. Apparently it had started early, too.

Zumba! In Leon, Spain, on Sunday