Leon fills his stomach with corn
Granja de Moreruela. Santiago is to the left, for France go to the right .In the afternoon it stopped raining. That doesn’t bother me too much, because I was well dressed. I often am afraid that Tosca’s is cold, but she runs, all wet , into all puddles on the path, which often are up to 40 m. wide. So I am starting to think differently about the temperature sensitivity of dogs. She found a decaying leg, a hare ?, later a few old bones, one of which is so brittle that she could eat it completely. Often when I allowed Leon a break for grazing 5 or 10 minutes at a grassy spot, Tosca was nice in the rain on the grass, chewing a glove or a piece of plastic or corn cob she found, or just resting . About Tosca I believe I shouldn’t worry. She has fun all day, making sprints behind a sparrow or a hare, and is constantly hunting for mice or other fantasized game. But Leon looks tired out, I think. Lost quite some weight, very bad patches of coat under the pack-saddle and beneath all belts. He still walks easily, but for how long? Right now one horseshoe is loose. Today I picked some corn, a sugar beet, a bag of stale bread gotten in a store. During the day I let him graze much more than usual and tonight Leon got all the gathered food items, along with a kilo of mixed grains. I am annoyed by the sheer casualness of my otherwise lovely hosts / women regarding horse and dog. They offer me places for dog Tosca, without any shelter from rain and wind, on a cement or concrete floor outside, tied up, and sometimes just on the wet clay soil. No better for pony Leon. Of course I don’t accept such offers. Now he is tied to a courtyard, although under cover, without straw to lie on, on a concrete floor. I gave him the food that I gathered on the fields, but brushing is not possible because he is wet. One horseshoe is loose. Tomorrow I’ll try Leon the hoof shoes on. Again a hassle. Tosca is in the same courtyard, also attached to a rope. I gave her a piece of cardboard to lie on. I had to leave the animals there at 4.30 p.m.. The courtyard was locked. Only tomorrow I can see them again. So tonight I can not smuggle Tosca into the inn, where I’m the only guest again. From the cafeteria where I got the key of the inn I walk a few hundred meters to the inn. I want to leave very early tomorrow, because I have planned a long day, 34 km, to an inn, which seems at least not too bad. No, I can not reach the animals tomorrow morning before 8 am. That means that I’ll never be able to leave before 9 and leaving that late means that my goal won’t be reached before dark. For me that’s not bad, but then again there is little time for Leon to graze underway and to get concentrate somewhere for him. Walk less, you might say. It’s quite a puzzle to plan a hostel for the next day that is open and that also accepts a horse and a dog. So as for the distances I often do not have much choice. Tonight in the cafeteria diner time is at seven thirty only, so I can not go to bed early, as I was planning because of the long day tomorrow. Tomorrow I demand a lot of myself, which is not bad, but Leon? How long will he stand, before he gives up?
So you see, my greatest concern are the aggravation factors, where I asked for during my trip: the animals. I didn’t want my trip to be too easy. Well, this is the result. So at the moment I’m not in for jokes. I’m at the bar, which also manages the inn. The barkeeper brought me to the inn. He wanted me to make a selection out of all the luggage that was loaded on Leon. For cleanliness reasons the selected items were put into a plastic bag. That bag was put outside in the courtyard behind the inn, for hygyenic reasons, under a shelter and if I needed anything, I had to go outside each time to get it. Clean indeed, but if I had known all this fuzz before, I would not have come here. So I do not feel comfortable about the treatment of my animals and all the inconveniences for them. Moreover, I have hardly any money left and in this kind of places you can not draw money. Paying with my creditcard pay is not possible here, so that too worries me. Next looking for a blacksmith. Without animals all that hassle would be much less an issue. Now I’m going to call for a shelter for tomorrow and hope that the communication in Spanish will be succesfull. And tomorrow I want to cover another 34 km. If I can only start in time. But maybe tomorrow will be a successful day again. Qui sas, quisas, qui sas. But the positive thing is that I have reached my daily target again, in the bar I soon will get a hot meal, I have hot water and heating tonight (what a luxury). The atmosphere with the noisy card players is good. And I love eating a bit of this pork knuckle. See pictures 
For pig ‘s feet , I hang myself , pig’s feet, which wobble in the gravy ( Dutch song) .
Meanwhile, 8:20 p.m. on Sunday . How the good food in “my bar” can change one’s mood. In Spain wine goes along with eating like in the Netherlands (for some) water . The boss of the bar and tavern has helped me calling tomorrow’s address at Helena’s . After about 32 or 34 km. Helena expects me there tomorrow with my horse and she will try to arrange a farrier . A little less to worry about. I have a bag of bread and 1 kg. concentrates for Leon , so everything works out all right.
Playing cards in bar Las Eras (with an a, no o!) in Barcial del Barco. Www.albergueviadelaplata.com for those who are interested
For pig ‘s feet , I hang myself , pig’s feet, which wobble in the gravy ( Dutch Maastricht song)
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