Reliegos – León - Off to León

Due to long, straight stretches, this stage is once again a bit monotonous. Mansilla de las Mulas, however, is a small cultural highlight and gets us in the mood for León, another metropolitan area that’s much more pleasant to reach than others of its kind.> In Reliegos 01, both routes merge once again into the Camino Francés. The arrows lead us out of town. To the left of the main road, we walk straight ahead for a few kilometers along an avenue of plane trees. As we cross the wide highway bridge, which is equipped with crosswalks, we catch a beautiful panoramic view of the vast plain. The route remains unchanged. Shortly before the next village, we have to cross another bridge, this time without a shoulder and on a rather narrow road. Crossing a second, smaller bridge, we reach the main road, which stretches a little further toward the center. Upon arriving at a small square, we quickly spot the ruins of the old city gate ahead of us. Pilgrims traditionally walk through this gate to enter Mansilla de las Mulas 02. The gate itself is part of the city wall, which is still partially intact; it runs around the city center and becomes clearly visible again, especially as we leave town. Continuing straight ahead, we reach the center, where there are shops, ATMs, and more hostels. We leave the town by crossing the Esla River and continue to stay on the left side of the road. After 6 km of straight walking, we arrive in Villamoros 03. Here, we can choose whether to walk through the town itself or along the road. We can ignore a potential detour indicated on an information sign at the town entrance. Not far away lies the next small town, Puente Villarente. As the Spanish word “Puente” suggests, the town’s name also refers to an imposing bridge, which we can already see just past the first houses. We walk across the river floodplain, pass under the last arch of the bridge, and head right along the road into the center of Puente Villarente 04. After a while, we reach the edge of town and turn right there onto a gravel path. Between the N-601 and the highway, we pass through a small cluster of buildings, cross the road straight ahead, and pass under the A-60. We arrive in the next small village, Arcahueja 05, where there is a spacious, covered rest area with a fountain at the entrance. Up the hill and past the playground, continuing straight ahead on the Camino, Valdelafuente 06 is not far from there. We can either walk through the town along the main street or take the bypass to the right. On the bypass, we continue along gravel paths, enjoying good views of the town. At the next street, we turn left and reach the town’s main street. We then keep to the right, finding ourselves on a back road above the roundabout, and cross the large blue bridge ahead of us over the wide street. As we climb the hill, we catch our first glimpses of León. Continuing to keep to the left side of the road, we soon reach a suburb. We continue straight ahead until we reach the “Centro de Interpretación de las tres Culturas,” where we turn left; the path then leads us across the Torios Bridge. From there, a continuous series of arrows guides us into the city center. The route through the outskirts is much more pleasant to walk than it was in Burgos, and it’s practically impossible to get lost. When we arrive at an old, bare stone wall, we enter the beautiful city center, which has a distinctly different atmosphere than the new town did. The arrows are marked on the ground along the bustling pedestrian paths. Upon reaching a large square, we follow the street to the right toward the impressive León Cathedral 07, the heart of the city and a cultural and religious highlight.