7:52 AM – Calzadilla de los Hermanillos: sunrise from our window.
We ate breakfast at Casa El Cura: toast with marmalade; coffee/tea (5€ total), plus orange juice (1.90€). Don’s stomach was feeling better; so he also ate a banana and 2 yogurts from the tienda. We departed at 9 am, in bright, sunny weather.
To the west was a vast plateau of wheat (stubble) and other cereal crops.
9:47 AM – After Calzadilla de los Hermanillos: paved road out of town; MT near intersection where Calzada Romana would begin.
9:48 AM – After Calzadilla de los Hermanillos: MT at intersection where paved road ended (or turned) and Calzada Romana began (signs on left and right mean Calzada Romana is straight ahead).
9:49 AM – After Calzadilla de los Hermanillos: MT with one sign for Calzada Romana (fields of wheat stubble).
After 3.4 km, the rest of the way to Mansilla de las Mulas (19.4 km) was over a Roman road (Calzada Romana aka Via Romana) called Via Trajana. This stretch of Roman road is largely intact after 20 centuries. It is part of the east-west highway built in 109 AD by the emperor Trajan to link the gold mines of the Roman province of Gallaecia (approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias, and León) to Rome via Asturica Augusta (Astorga) and used by Caesar Augustus in his campaign against the Cantabrians. It was subsequently used by the armies of Islam and Christianity (including Charlemagne) in their battles for supremacy over the Iberian peninsula. After the reconquest, it became known as the Calzada de los Peregrinos (Pilgrim Road), and countless millions of pilgrims have walked this same path. This is not the only stretch left for us to walk, but it is the most complete and spectacular section. It is the most perfect stretch left in Spain.
On the Calzada Romana, there ae no asphalt roads, no sendas, no towns or villages (until Reliegos), no farmyards, no houses, but also no water fonts and little shade apart from the few rivers that crisscross this landscape.
9:50 AM – Calzada Romana: Roman road surface.
9:55 AM – Calzada Romana: wheat stubble to right of road. On the right (northern) horizon are the Cordilla Cantábrica (an extension of the Pyrenees) and just visible beyond (on a clear day) are the Picos de Europa.
9:55 AM – Calzada Romana: Don on Roman road with wheat stubble.
10:33 AM – Calzada Romana: rock by side of road with message: “Erkenne, wer Du im Kern Deines Wesens bist – und dann sei es!” [Recognize who you are in the core of your being – and then be it!].
10:58 AM – Calzada Romana: (the first of many) small purple flowers, with no plant or stem beneath, growing in the stones beside the road.
11:32 AM – Calzada Romana: sign: “Coto Privado de Caza” [Private Hunting Preserve].
Among the wheat stubble fields along the route was a small cinder block building that may have originally served for storage of farm implements, but had recently been a shelter for pilgrims, with a makeshift bench and remains of a campfire. We stopped there for a short break.
12:09 PM – Calzada Romana: Don taking a break in farm building, with remains of campfire.
12:09 PM – Calzada Romana: Don taking a break in farm building (closer up).
12:15 PM – Calzada Romana: many more small purple flowers near that farm building.
12:27 PM – Calzada Romana: MT on Roman road parallel to railroad tracks (storm clouds forming).
This was probably near the option to cross under the tracks to the village of Villamarco on the paved road to Reliegos and Mansilla de las Mulas (which we did not do, preferring to stay on the Roman road).
12:33 PM – Calzada Romana: train crossing sign on Roman road, although we never really crossed the tracks here.
12:34 PM – Calzada Romana: close-up of train crossing sign, with drawn-on cartoon driver saying “Hola” (Hello).
About the time the path nearly touched the railroad, rain started—sometimes so hard it felt like hail. The Roman road wasn’t bad, but we got soaked. Our feet were squishing wetness, and eventually mud (barro in Spanish) started to form.
1:03 PM – Calzada Romana: streamlined train passing nearby (see dark clouds).
1:03 PM – Calzada Romana: streamlined train passing nearby (cropped for close-up).
We reached the outskirts of Mansilla de las Mulas (pop 1,900) shortly after 3 pm.
Mansilla de las Mulas is an important pilgrim stop today, as in the medieval past, when it had 3 pilgrim hospitales (long disappeared), 2 convents, and 7 churches. The 13th-century Iglesia de Santa María and the Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia are the only remnants from those earlier times. This was and remains the meeting place for two converging routes: the Real Camino Francés, which enters the old quarter via the [south]east gate Puerta de Castillo (only the wall remains) and the Calzada Romana (Vía Trajana), which enters via the north[east] gate Arco de Santa María. The name of the town is derived from Mano de Silla (hand on the saddle); the town’s coat of arms depicts a hand resting on a saddle. The addition of de las Mulas (of the mules) most likely refers to the town’s earlier prominence as a livestock market. Though there may well have been some fortification here since Roman times, the 14-m-high and 3-m thick medieval wall (12th century) still protects the town from the encroachment of modernity. The wall originally had 4 gates, of which only one (Puerto de Santa María or de la Concepción) is completely preserved. Six semicircular crenellated towers (los Cubos) are attached to the wall for defense.
On the outskirts of Mansilla, we passed the “Hotel” Bahillo, which we had discovered last year had become a house of ill repute. (It was listed in the 2013 edition of Brierley’s guidebook, although we found out later that the revised 2013 edition said it was no longer recommended, without saying why. As of August 2015, it was still shown at the top of a list of lodgings on the city hall’s web site www.aytomansilladelasmulas.es.)
3:08 PM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Hotel Bahillo (in rain).
We entered the old city through the Puerta de Santa María.
Mansilla de las Mulas: Puerta de Santa María (aka Puerta de la Concepción), from outside the wall (es.wikipedia.org).
The Puerta de Santa María, aka Puerta de la Concepción, is only gate that is completely preserved, with a pointed arch (hence it is also called Arco de Santa María). Its structure and the attached houses allow one to assume that the gates were real towers, powerful and solid, that projected outward. This is the entrance into the town from the Calzada Romana.
We asked directions to the bus station (MT liked Brierley’s suggestion to take a bus direct from Mansilla to León city center to avoid the busy and dangerous main road into the city). We found the bus station, but the next bus to León was not until 5:50 pm, which would have made us very late for finding lodging there.
So we went back to Pensión de Blanca, which we had passed a few blocks back. (MT had asked for directions in the bar next door.) We got a double room with bath for 40€, but had to go to an ATM to get cash to pay. We got sellos at the pensión. The young lady (Blanca’s daughter) told us about mass at the nearby ermita at 5:30.
Monday, September 08, 2014, 811 AM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Pensión de Blanca (left) and Bar-Albergue La Fabrica (right).
[Due to the rain, some of our photos of Mansilla de las Mulas were taken Monday morning, rather than Sunday afternoon, when we arrived.]
4:24 PM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Pensión de Blanca – pilgrim doll by reception desk.
We went to the 5:30 pm mass at the Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia, preceded by a rosary and followed by a novena for the Solemnity of the Birth of Mary (September 8).
The original Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia (Chapel of Our Lady of Grace) was built in 1229, around the same time as the Iglesia de Santa María (13th century), but like that church, the current building is from a later era, probably late 14th century. Its image of the Virgen de Gracia began to be venerated in that period. The chapel was located outside the city walls and originally belonged to the parish of San Lorenzo in the neighborhood of that name. It was a poor, small rectangular building made of mud brick and adobe, with a poor belfry. Already in 1409, there was a hermitage in the epistle (south) side on the chapel, at the entrance to the sacristy. In a book dated 1656, the name appeared as “Ermita de Gracia, Hijuela de San Lorenzo” [Hermitage of Grace, Little Daughter of St. Lawrence]. When the parish of San Lorenzo disappeared in 1787, the chapel was closed to worship and fell into disrepair. The hermitage became known as “Hijuela Santa María” [Little Daughter of St. Mary]. In 1890, the chapel was rebuilt and expanded. In 1896, a fire destroyed the entire sanctuary, including the image of the Virgin. It was rebuilt in its present form (brick and masonry), much better than before, and opened for worship in 1897. The current image of the Virgen de Gracia dates from 1898, replacing the one that burned, and was restored in 1950.
5:21 PM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia (in the rain, on way to bus station); at the right is a tanatorio (funeral home) [we originally thought that word might mean a tanning salon; talk about false cognates!].
5:22 PM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia façade with bell tower and entrance (open as people entered for 5:30 pm mass).
Monday, September 08, 2014, 827 AM – Mansilla de las Mulas: sign for “Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia (Virgen de Gracia Hermitage)”; English part [with corrections based on the Spanish]: “It was already documented as [located] in [the old neighborhood of] San Lorenzo in the XVIII century. The present building was constructed later and made of brick and masonry.
“Its main statue, the VIRGEN DE GRACIA, is [venerated] in Mansilla and its area. It’s a very beautiful sculpture, probably [attributed to the sculptor known as] La Roldana. It was [restored] after a fire at the end of the XIX century by the sculptor Victor de los Ríos.
“[The Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia,] the Patron Saint of Mansilla, is a [a center of] devotion [much visited and loved by] the people from Mansilla and the neighboring villages.”
Near the Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia and the Puerta del Castillo was a square with the Monumento al Peregrino (Monument to the Pilgrim).
3:52 PM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Don with pilgrim statue in square.
The Monumento al Peregrino (Monument to the Pilgrim) is located at the place where the Camino de Santiago and the Vía Trajana intersect. It consists of three tired pilgrims (a man, a woman, and a boy) resting on the platforma (steps) at the base of a crucero; the cross at the top has a crucifixion on one side and the Virgin with Child on the back.
We saw the southeast gate, called Puerta del Castillo (through which we had entered in 2013).
Monday, September 08, 2014, 812 AM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Puerta del Castillo or de Santiago – ruins of gate in town wall.
The southeast gate is called Puerta del Castillo because it was next to the castle, which was destroyed in 1394. It is also known as Puerta de Santiago because it was the main gate through which pilgrims on the Camino Francés entered the city. Of the original gate, only the side walls remain. The disappeared arch between those walls was probably made of the same masonry material as the walls and taking the form of a long passage to the outside. This is the gate with the greatest projection toward the outside of the wall (17 m), which is proof that it was the front gate. The door was 3.3 m wide, and the wall was 3 m thick.
Monday, September 08, 2014, 813 AM – Mansilla de las Mulas: sign for “Puerta Castillo o de Santiago (The Door [of the Castle or] of Saint James)”; English part [corrected based on the Spanish]: “It’s the south-east door of the wall, named DOOR OF SAINT JAMES because it is through it that the pilgrims on the ‘French way’ enter the town. In the twelfth century, Mansilla was [the] first stop in the Kingdom of León.
“Only the side walls remain, and the arcade between them has disappeared. This door was built using the same material [as] the wall, in the shape of a passageway towards the outside.”
Also nearby were Iglesia de San Martín and Iglesia de Santa María.
The Iglesia de San Martín was originally built in 1220. A Mudéjar influence can be seen in the few remains of the original church, including the tower. The church was expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries. The main façade and its Gothic portal remain from the primitive building. The church eventually fell into disrepair and was closed to worship in 1911. In 1953, everything except the tower and entrance was sold to the city. In 1990, the Junta de Castilla y León restored and rehabilitated the entire building, which is now owned by the city and serves as the Casa de Cultura (House of Culture) of the city.
Mansilla de las Mulas: Iglesia de San Martín - tower with stork nests (www.aytomansilladelasmulas.es).
Mansilla de las Mulas: Iglesia de San Martín – tower and Gothic portal
(es.wikipedia.org).
[On several normally reliable websites, there was confusion between the churches of San Martín and Santa María in identification of photos; however, it was best to go with sites based in Mansilla de las Mulas, such as that of the City Hall (www.aytomansilladelasmulas.es); www.pueblos-espana.org, www.artehistoria.com and www.guiarte.com also correctly identify Iglesia de San Martín.)]
The Iglesia de Santa María, documented in the 12th century, was the first and only church in Mansilla until 1220, when 5 other churches, including San Martín, were built. The present building dates from the 18th century, built on a previous one. The bell tower may be from the 16th century.
Monday, September 08, 2014, 816 AM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Iglesia de Santa María (pointed belfry on tower had been straightened since 2013, when it leaned badly).
Monday, September 08, 2014, 816 AM – Mansilla de las Mulas: statue of Santiago and building at the rear of Iglesia de Santa María.
Back at Pensíon de Blanca, Don showered and changed.
Then we went to the bar of Albergue La Fabrica next door for 2 paellas (11.50€ each [same thing was 11.80€ in León])—Don’s was Paella Señorita with peeled seafood (calamares, gambas, mejillones, guisantes y pimientos [squid, shrimp, mussels, peas and peppers])/MT’s was Paella Mixta (pollo, gambas, calamares, mejillones, guisantes y pimientos [chicken, shrimp, squid, mussels, peas and peppers]), with chicken on bones, mussels in shells, and crayfish in peels; bottle of red wine (from Ibea in Burgos Province) for 3.80€. MT had to pay for dinner with debit card since our Capital One credit card did not work without a PIN.
7:37 PM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Albergue La Fabrica – Don’s Paella Señorita (foreground) and MT’s Paella Mixta.
7:38 PM – Mansilla de las Mulas: Albergue La Fabrica – MT’s Paella Mixta.
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