Esta Bien from Eric in Puente Villarente

Yesterday we hiked to a very small town called Burgo Ranero. We’re talking small, like one store, a restaurant and a bar. This town runs solely on money made from pilgrims. There was not a lot to do but it was very nice because our hostel had a large open area, where the group laid in the sun, and played hackie sack and soccer. For dinner, a handful of the group prepared salad and pasta for all. It was delicious and everyone was excited to have food that was not bread, meat, and cheese. It has gotten cold here at night, which is strange considering the heat during the day. Today we hiked to Mansilla de las Mulas. The terrain and views have not been as interesting lately, so today a group of us sang for almost our entire hike. We are looking forward to hiking up to O’Cebreio on Friday, which should provide a challenging but rewarding hike.  In Mansilla we found a great local food market. Many of us bought strawberries, which were 1.70 Euros for a kilo. I don’t buy strawberries a lot in the States but I believe they would be at least 5 times this much. We then bused to Puente Villarente, where we will stay for the night.