we follow the camino and n120 to calzada del coto where we part from the camino in the mistaken belief that the n120 follows the route.we scratch heads, but do not alter course when we see the dutch girls vere off before our eyes! we travel through nice countryside, and stop in a small village for a coke and each our sandwiches. the locals are all dressed up and heading to the bar after mass for the weekly social gathering, much like rural ireland on a sunday, yet meetings are outside the direct rays of the sun. a puppy dog makes friend with us while we have lunch outside, before heading off again. we reappraise our route after a while and are back on course in mansilla de las mulas, where we get to the ferreteria and buy an orange can of blugaz!

from here on in, we follow the camino to leon, arriving at 15.00. leon is a bustling, dense, modern city. we go to the tourist office at 17.00, get a list of pensione and find a nice welcome from the mutilingual landlady. we head off into town to try and replace vero's broken mudguard and buy a sleeping mat for the surprisingly cold spanish nights in the tent. maurice invests in his very special telekom drinking bottle! we eat a huge menu del peregreno, vino tinto included, at a restaurant. the serving were so big we wont have to eat for days!

back to the pension where we notice the alarm clock is still on irish time and starts a few days thought about whether we were getting up a 05.00 or 06.00 for the last 7 days!