Vinsman

My Adventures Walking the Camino de Santiago

Camino 2013

Leon to San Martin del Camino

Today it dawned on me that my Daughter Ali would love the Camino if for no other reason then the many cats and kittens in every town and village.


After a nice day of rest I just kicked it into high gear and walked 27k in about 5 hours.

There were two routes today to choose from. Admittedly I choose poorly walking along the highway for most of the day. Lesson well learned.

This morning I met a nice Italian guy from near alba. Hilario is his name. We walked together for several hours.


Had a chance to walk through Camino del Fresno but decided not to risk it. Lol.

There must be a population explosion going on in Spain. I see Storks everywhere.


I am staying at Albergue Santa Ana. A nice place in a small town. In the back of the place they have tons of chickens.

Tonight I had dinner with Hilario from Italy and Francisco and Filipe from Spain. We had an awesome garlic soup with noodles and then chicken and potatoes. I suspect that I was eating one of the chickens from the back yard. None the less it was one of the best meals that I have had in an albergue.

Leon

Today was a rest day I Leon. I managed to sleep for 9 hours straight which is awesome. Staying at the AC Marriott, nice. Across the street is the first department store that I have seen in Spain. From a super mercado in the basement to just about anything you can imagine. I really like this little area.

I had a nice breakfast (desayuno) in the hotel. Spanish style pan, tortilla, and zumo naranja. The zumo naranja (orange juice) is amazing. Many bars have this machine, you order a zumo naranja and they drop 3 or 4 oranges into the machine, out comes fresh squeezed zumo! It is so good.

Then I walked (It would not be a day in Spain without walking a bit…) walked up to San Marco square and went to Mass. The square is beautiful.

See the next post for all of the pictures…

I walked backwards along the camino hoping to see some friends which I did. Most were walking to the next town, Virgin del Camino. I will catch up tomorrow, but today is a good rest day.

I found the cathedral of Leon. What a beautiful cathedral. Took an audio tour it was amazing.

So the coolest thing about the cathedral are all of the stained glass windows. Seems like almost the entire top of the structure is stained glass. It was built beginning in 1253 and took only about 50 years. The cathedral faces East so the morning light come through the big rosette above the alter. As the day goes along the windows on the right side of the church are illuminated. They portray the New Testament while the windows on the left side never get direct sunlight and portray the Old Testament. I thought that was really cool.

I love the European way. The streets are packed with friends and families strolling along just enjoying the day. Around 1 or so they will begin to find a nice bar for a drink and some tapas and then between 2 and 4 lunch. Ten a little more strolling and a late dinner. Awesome.

After the cathedral tour I wandered along and just enjoyed the day. I came upon a medieval square still paved with the original stones. Had a nice lunch, potatoes, pimentos, pork all below 2 sunny side up eggs, and a cervesa to wash it all down. Yummy!

Now I am just relaxing watching a replay of the final round of the masters. Nice!

Location:Calle de Velázquez,Leon,Spain