Day 18 - Bercianos de Real Camino to Mansilla de las Mulas

The anticipation of getting to León and then to start climbing a mountain again is getting to me. I hear many great things about the city of León and plan to spend 2 days there exploring the sites and just taking in the culture and people of a Spanish city. Burgos and Logroño have inspired the extra day's stay. Also, I want to arrive in Santiago de Compostela on October 31st. That way, the pilgrim's mass I attend on the 1st will be on All Saints Day and they will pull out the botafumeiro. In English, we call it a thurible, the little incense cannister that is swung during certain times at mass. But apparently, the botafumeiro in Santiago is humongous, swinging across the entire transept of the church and requiring several people (thurifers) to hold on to the other end of the rope to swing it. I can't wait to see that! They pull it out for Holy Days and apparently when they get enough pilgrim donations, but that takes a fair amount. Given that it's not a Holy Year and not the high season for El Camino, I doubt we would get enough.