October 8
After a delicious desayuno and an unhurried preparation to leave, we embark on
what our guidebook calls the Calzada Romana, “the most perfect extant stretch
of Roman road left in Spain today."
The map is misleading in places. Distances that appear to be short are so
much greater that we keep wondering if we're lost. Between that and a dearth of
markers, many of my decades are prayers to keep us on the right path.
Most of the day is spent on a path seemingly to nowhere. We pass no towns,
cafés, nada.
However, it is not really as bleak as the book suggests. There are signs
of civilization: trains passing in the distance, tractors in the fields, and copses
of trees now and then (not close enough to provide shade, though).
My feet...well, with continued ibuprofen, Lamaze breathing, and decades,
they keep moving.
We arrive in Mansilla de las Mulas, the destination for the day, at 2 p.m.
Our plan had been to assess how we are feeling and possibly go on to the next
map. Suddenly, the albergue municipal is before us and we stop for the day without a
second thought. It seems our bodies have decided for us.
Total distance walked: 24.5 km
did you ever make it to the doctor?
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