Camino: Leon

21/05/19
We've made our way into the vibrant city of Leon where we've planned a day to rest & enjoy

Yes, we have matching Camino shirts!

the city from our cute apartment in the Barrio Humedo (wet area) full of fun sidewalk cafes and small town squares. Much of the city builds around the Leon cathedral. Well known for its exceptional stained glass, the cathedral was almost victim to an ill-fated & poorly executed restoration attempt. Luckily this beauty survived.

Leon also serves as Laura's last stop on the Camino & my friend Betty will join in here for a final leg of the journey into Santiago de Compostela. Small enough that you can continually happen into pals but also try new & different cuisine & shops, an extra day in Leon was a treat after a blur of daily hotel changes. Around every corner are pilgrim statues, parks, monuments, palaces and even a Gaudi-designed office building.

I'm a junkie for town markets & Leon didn't disappoint. It's farmers' market was full of mouth-watering fruit & veggies as well as trucks featuring what else- JAMON (ham). We also visited the permanent meat & fish market. These markets usually leave me quietly asking, "What do you think that is?" at some of the scarier items.

Leon (population 130,000)

A wee bit of wine was consumed

A night of laughter & selfies using my toes

Sophisticated rooftop bar

Camino: Bercianos del Real Camino to Mansilla de las Mulas

20/05/19
Days on the meseta start to blur. While flat, they do provide endless vistas of flowers and distance mountain views. Villages appear to be just a few kilometers ahead but somehow keep inching just out of reach. Cottonwood tops flit through the air & gather like piles of snow on the sides of the trail... so many that restaurants move dinner inside. We can't complain as our heavenly temps have made walking oh so pleasant.

Mansilla de las Mulas is a quiet walled city, one of the last gateways into the bustling city of Leon.
28k to Mansilla de las Mulas (population 1900)

Camino: Ledigos to Bercianos del Real Camino

19/05/19
This was one of my favorite days on the Camino.
We purposefully planned a meandering day, waiting for our friend, Bill, to join us for breakfast #1 in Ledigo as we knew our crew would split off today. We then walked through small villages, enjoying a tasty breakfast #2 in tiny Bar #2. It is a joke on the Camino as pilgrims pile into the first bar/cafe they find in a town as they are eager for sustenance & a bathroom, often ignoring a superior and empty Bar #2. Today we went to bar #2 for my first taste of avocado on the Camino. I know, crazy talk.

We said so long to friends after touring the historic town of Sahagan to finish our long walk to Bercianos del Real Camino where a surprise awaited us. After touching goodbyes & hugs, Laura & I headed off for the remaining 10k only to find we were headed the wrong way. We had to slink right back past our crew admitting our poor sense of direction.

We had reserved a private room in a cute aubergue in Bercianos only to find we had been placed in a group room in top bunks- Laura's first introduction to aubergue stay. We practiced our quiet gear prep, quick showers & silent getaway at sunrise. Next, heading off to Mansilla de las Mulas on our way into the province & city of Leon.
30k to Bercianos (a whopping 1900 population) via Sahagan (population 200)

At adorable Bar #2

With pals Laura & Bill

So glad someone had the foresight & kindness to plant miles of trees

Camino: Carrion de los Condes to Ledigos

18/05/19
Welcome to the Meseta (plateau) with its endless flat views, fields of yellow flowers, gravel paths & minimal towns/bathrooms (priorities.) We happened into two unexpected food trucks (a gold mine.) We also encountered a series of cardio exercise machines in parks alongside the Camino. It seems like poor placement, doesn't it? There are also a series of hobbit houses built into the hillside. These are to store valuables like vino!

Our inn in Ledigos was one of my favorites. On the camino you have no sense of the date or day of the week until Sunday or Monday closures smack you in the face. This was Saturday night in Ledigos. Our In also served as the town's only bar and restaurant so we enjoyed the lively atmosphere, new folks and a spotless modern facility.
26k to Ledigos (population 80)

Why put cardio machines on the side of a 500 mile hiking path?

I could keep my wine collection here

Camino: Fromista to Carrion de los Condes

17/05/19
After a hearty breakfast, our crew enjoyed shady canal-side paths on a secondary way today. Few pilgrims, a Templar church, a great lunch cafe & a special pilgrim statue in Villalcazar made today an unexpected treat.

I admit that in Carrion de los Condos I missed the popular pilgrim mass at Monasterio de Santa Clara, complete with singing nuns, in favor of gathering grocery supplies & laundry. Water was questionable in Carrion so I wanted to prepare us for a long stretch on the Meseta the next day with its minimal support stops.

Camino:Castrojeriz to Fromista

16/05/19
A lovely unassuming walk climbing up into the Meseta on earthen paths (so easy on the legs & feet.) We started with a crisp uphill walk with many pilgrim statues (it is so fun running into art along the path.) Lots of small towns with stork nests in the bellfries of the local churches. Why? Wouldn't the ringing shake the hell out of the baby birds or at the very least cause deafness & bad bird headaches? 

We've been traveling with a camino veteran, Bill, who has been able to point out intriguing statues & historic buildings we would have overlooked.

Our pack of pilgrims grew for a large dinner full of laughter in Fromista. Our criteria: open early!
27k to Fromista (population 840)

Camino: Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz

14/05/19
After Leon, we spent the evening in the unassuming town of Hornillos (population 60.) It secreted a few gems- a touching pilgrim mass with an enthusiastic singing priest and a small healthy cafe run by an Irish girl.

Castrojeriz was a strange little town. It featured a high hilltop castle & one really long main street but no people. We walked a good 30 min. in town with nary a human. We also learned it was "impossible" to get a meal on a patio here. Their words, not mine.
22k via Hornillos (population 60) to Castrojeriz (population 500)

Camino: San Juan de Ortega to Burgos

12/05/19
Note to self: Do not get cavalier & miss the turnoff to the parklike side path that avoids miles of concrete jungle into town. 

Mark & I were chatting the entire hike today & enjoying the sites- sheepherders & their flocks, hilltop crosses & carefully navigating rocky terrain in strong winds when we realized we had missed a turnoff & were faced with a long trek through the industrial edges of Burgos. No backtracking on the Camino!

I was particularly excited to make it into this wonderful city as my pal, Laura, was joining me for the coming week. True to form, Laura was already at a cafe in the central square at the cathedral, sunglasses in place & vino tinto in hand, when we trudged into the town square. As more & more pals pulled in, we waylaid chairs to form a large group enjoying beverages. She fit right in with our grubby pilgrim selves.

We spent a rest day in Burgos, enjoying our fun & central apartment, the many restaurants & its enormous grand cathedral. We did learn that GoogleTranslate is also undependable when attempting laundry- as witnessed by my white shirt that is now a muddy grey. My husband, always the optimist, suggested I could pretend it was a new shirt!

Unfortunately we fought through a few health issues but were quickly on the mend and ready to hit the road as planned. We did however learn that no pilgrim stamps were provided at the local hospital.
28k to Burgos (population 180,000)

The Burgos cathedral is known for its size & splendor