Via Lemovicensis: Injury and Isolation on the Via Trajana

Apparently we needed rest, as both Herve and I overslept this morning. We have a long breakfast – it needs to do double service as first and second breakfast, since the next village is 17.6 km farther down the Meseta. 

Today would be a day of isolation on the deep Meseta, looking for a section of Roman frontier road that the Camino path here is said to follow.

We left at 8 AM. Once we were out of the village, the initial part of the route was roadwalking on asphalt. The air was cool, and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was going to heat up fast.

At about 8:20, the road crossed over a wide irrigation canal. My fleece was off by now – the day was heating up quickly.

Much like yesterday afternoon, the terrain was largely flat and devoted to wheat and grass. Stands of trees, sometimes quite extensive, dotted the landscape. 

On the horizon to the right, mountains stretched from far ahead of us to far behind. Occasionally, we could even see mountains directly in front of us to the west. I think these are probably the up ones that become Bierzo and then Galicia.

At about 8:30, we passed by a pine woods that turned out to be a tree farm, all the trunks aligned in straight rows.

Ten minutes later or so, we crossed another irrigation canal. The mountains of Galicia were now very visible ahead of us. Shortly after this, the asphalt road turned, but the Camino did not, and we were back on the same red dirt road we walked much of yesterday afternoon. It was at this point that I put up the umbrella.

As it turned out, this was a catastrophic mistake.

Normally, I can pull the umbrella out without taking off my pack. This morning, however, it was snagged on something. When I was putting my pack back on, I somehow twisted myself and threw out my lower back.

I felt a brief flash of stabbing pain, and I had the sudden thought that maybe my Camino was now over.

But for the moment, we were in the middle of nowhere, and the only way out was walking.

Herve volunteered to take some of the weight out of my pack, and he found some meds in his voluminous first aid kit. Some rest and one paracetamol later, we were walking slowly forward again at about 9:05.

My back actually felt better with the weight of the pack. I think it forced me to stand a certain way and stretch as I walked in a way that was good for the injury.

About ten minutes later we received a sprinkling from an irrigation system that turned on. It might be the first time I heard water on the umbrella.

At about 9:45, we passed another tree farm, this time of deciduous trees. There was a tangled knot of pine trees opposite them on the other side of the road. 

At about 10 AM, we met a French pilgrim walking the opposite direction. We had a lovely conversation with him, and he gave me some good advice about the back.

Maybe about 10:30 or so we pulled out some prepackaged pastries for a snack.

About ten minutes later, Herve noted that the stones which had been scattered on the path for the last few kilometers were now set in the path, close together. It was much easier to walk on, and we thought perhaps this may have been part of the Roman Road.

Starting about 11 AM, the curving Camino ran parallel to a railroad track on our left for a while. Perhaps ten minutes later, we started seeing buildings ahead of us, including a town far in the distance.

At 11:15, we passed an actual human structure – a barn.

A little later, we started seeing fenced-off areas just about the width of the road running parallel to the Camino gravel road. In some places there were old stone Camino markers within the fences. Here were the preserved Roman roads – the Camino had been slightly rerouted to pass next to them instead of on them. 

At 11:50 we crossed the Canal Bajo de los Payuelos, a major irrigation canal for the region. 

At just about noon, the red stony road gave away to white gravel. We could now see the valley spread out ahead of us with towns and farms.

A few moments later, we came around a bend past a line of trees, and we saw a village of Reliegos laid out before us down in the valley. 

The long gravel road ended at the village cemetery right about 12:15. From here, it was an asphalt road down into the village. We stopped at the first open bar for lunch.

Herve helped me take my pack off. I was relatively fine carrying it, but I definitely wanted to avoid twisting my back in anyway. The sharp, stabbing pain had worked itself out during our long walk, and now it was just a dull throbbing.

Herve and I had a big lunch with Sarah (a German who lives in Florida) and stayed rather too long in conversation.  It was 2:25 before we were once again on the way.

After the village, the Camino followed a white gravel trail beside the road. It was more or less a dead straight line, and wind with young trees. No doubt in the decades to come they would provide an adequate shade for this section, but we weren’t there yet.

About 2:50, the gravel path went straight up onto a bridge over another highway. It seemed an odd thing to be walking on gravel at that point. The wind was absolutely crazy up there, and I had to hang onto my umbrella.

During today’s long walk through the empty Meseta, something extraordinary happened. I had ideas.

For many years I wrote fiction, RPG source books, and created an entire world for a play-by-email game. Ten or fifteen years ago, I completely burned out on this, and for a long time I felt like I didn’t have an original idea in my head.

Today as we walked across the vast empty, my head was suddenly full of ideas. I can’t remember the last time that was true.

On either side of the parallel gravel trail and automobile road, farms stretched out. These were not quite the vast acreage of earlier, but smaller fields hemmed in by lines of trees.

The mountains were no longer just purple blobs on the horizon. We could see definition now, shadows and ridges defining their shapes.

About 3:15, we passed a long series of benches and picnic tables for the rest of pilgrims. We were now seeing more and more buildings in the distance on either side of us, generally farm buildings, but even occasionally things like auto dealerships. Few of them were on the road next to us, but they seemed to be one road over on either side.

We had to roadwalk over another highway bridge. Once again, I hing on to my umbrella in the wind. The bridge took us over a highway and an irrigation canal and right into the town of Mansilla de las Mulas, our destination for the day. 

At about 3:40, we passed through the Gate of Saint James into the old walled town. We then spent more than twenty minutes trying to find an albergue that wasn’t full and wasn’t super basic.

Three years ago in this town, I couldn’t find a bed at all, and I had to walk to the next village. Given my injury, this was not an option today. Fortunately, we found someplace both comfortable and inexpensive. 

After the usual pilgrim chores (and a slight nap) we visited local church of Santa María. Two side chapels near the entrance are full of statues and other items for the holy week processions. In addition to the wall-of-gold retablo in the sanctuary, there are no less than six side altars carved of walnut. Some are gilded, some not. They’re all quite lovely, though there are some paintings there that have darkened with time and are badly in need of restoration.

I was particularly moved by a painting depicting the suffering souls in purgatory. It was here that I laid Francine’s card and prayed for her.

Although my back was feeling much better after a shower and a nap, I still got some medicated heating patches from the pharmacy.

Herve and I had dinner with Swiss Tom from New York (previously erroneously referred to as German Tom from New York).

Date: 08 June 2026

Place: Mansilla de las Mulas 

Today started: Calzadilla de los Hermanillos  

Today’s Photos!