We enjoyed our final luxurious breakfast at the parador and then it was back to reality!
To begin with there is a 7 km walk through industrial and residential areas, and some pilgrims take a bus to the outskirts of town. Dedicated pilgrims that we are we decided to do it all. It was uphill a lot of the way and had a bus come along I’m not saying for sure I wouldn’t have taken it. And then there was the railway bridge….

Eventually we made it out if town, very glad to see some countryside. We were farewelled by a cute little pilgrim, Unfortunately the pond behind was full of litter, a shame in a country that is mostly very clean.

There were some lovely tree-lined walks but it was mostly tracks along side the motorway with little shade.

D2 went ahead to the next town and somewhere along a track like this I missed the turn-off to the town

After a lot of waiting by D2, a lot of walking by me, phone calls along the lines of “I don’t know where I am” or words to that effect, D2 decided to walk back and find me. Meanwhile I was walking along the side of the motorway, heading in the direction of our next stop.
I eventually realised that all I had to do was look at the Maps app to see where I was…derrrr……and eventually we found each other. D2 tried to persuade me it was an adventure, but at the time all I wanted was “a cup of tea, a Bex and a lie down”, my grandmother’s cure for all ills!
I settled for fresh orange juice and we set off for our last leg of the afternoon, hot and tired. Although D2 managed a smile for the camera!

We thankfully reached San Martin de Camino and found our albergue, Santa Ana, and a most welcome beer

It was then that D2 informed me that we had actually planned to stay the night at the previous village, but since I seemed keen to keep going she just let me!! Ah well, 5 kms less tomorrow, and after the beer, of course the day was an adventure!!

Here I am – 60 years old and having my birthday breakfast at the Parador San Marcos. It was originally a monastery founded in the twelfth century to provide lodging for the pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela.

We spent the morning at the Museum of León which covered pre-history until Modern Day. Fabulous museum, although I made the mistake of running my hand around the inside of a stone washing bowl that was free-standing in the middle of a room. I was spoken to by one of those ladies in museums who sit on chairs and look at people over the tops of their glasses , and thereafter she followed us through the whole museum. I obviously look very untrustworthy now that I’ve turned 60!! Unfortunately siesta time cut our visit short, but D2 and I both enjoyed learning about the history of the area, particularly the era of the Roman conquest in the years BC
León was also in later years the Headquarters of the Order of St James, and particularly pilgrims travelling to Santiago

I was particularly taken with this quote

We spent longer in the museum than we intended and the cathedral was quite a hike away, so by the the time we got there we were both hungry. Lunch in a cafe overlooking the cathedral was delicious.

The cathedral is beautiful and like the Burgos Cathedral it is impossible to do it justice with a phone camera.
All pilgrims seem to congregate in the plaza and we had some joyful reunions with some pilgrims we had gotten to know then lost track of. Names can be hard to understand and remember so often pilgrims refer to others by their country. There was ‘Philippines’ a gentleman of indeterminate age who early on had sent his backpack to Pamplona, including his blister gear, developed a ‘blister situation’ and still had a couple of painful days walk to be reunited with his pack. His big toenails were black when we saw him but otherwise fine.
We first met ‘Asian lady’ on the third day, it was raining and she was carrying an umbrella and pulling a bag on wheels over the stony wet path. When we saw her along the way she always looked serene and lovely and we were always happy to have a small chat with her. We hadn’t seen her for quite a while so were happy to see she was ok.
‘Young Spanish guy’ was among the people we spent time with at the Italian run Albergue. He was looking very pale and said he had developed a fever and needed a few days rest.
We had intended to look inside the cathedral, but it was siesta time for both it, and these two pilgrims, so we made our way back to the Parador. I guess it was probably full of paintings and statues if saints, Christ and the Virgin Mary!
We joined the Friday evening families and couples strolling the plaza, had delicious baked fish for dinner and an early night

A birthday to remember!

As keen as we were to get to McDonalds (aka León) we decided to stay and have breakfast at El Jardin …….. The bunk beds were so cramped that it was impossible for 2 people to pack a backpack in between bunks at the same time. I had woken in the night and D2 was wide awake still, so I decided to let her sleep until the people on either side had packed and left.
We were finally packed, fed and on our way. How tempting it was to leave our backpacks for the carriers to transport to León and enjoy a leisurely 20km stroll.

Goodbye to Mansilla, McDonalds here we come!

The track was easy, a bridge over a river had a board full of instructions

Which someone didn’t read

The bodily noises and functions of a cramped dormitory had kept D2 awake for a good part of the night and she was not a happy trekker

However, hot chocolate, orange juice and a sugar donut gave her some energy and we were on our way. Not long down the road a car pulled up next to us, a gentleman got out, leaving his car running in the middle of the road, and handed Liz here bag of charging goodies that she had left on the table in the bar. You gotta love Spain!!
Pretty soon we hit the outskirts of León, but we knew there was quite a long way to go. We were more prepared than we were walking into Burgos (which was so traumatic I don’t I wrote about it!) As we were coming to a more densely populated area we were surprised to be greeted by some council workers who stamped our credentials, asked us where we were going and gave us a map with directions. How wonderful to not be walking into a city trying to look at the map on the phone in the glare of the sun.

We stopped at a bar I remembered from my visit last year and D2 patiently indulged me while I had a beer and reminisced.

We decided to book in at our hotel first, an indulgence for my birthday, Parador San Marcos

Then finally, the moment D2 had been waiting for since the disappointment of missing out in Burgos………….

Then back to our hotel, a shower with a proper big white fluffy towel, and TV in bed……Kyle XY in English!!

All’s well that ends well!

We are over half way, and it’s only in the last week that I have felt I can really answer people who ask me what it’s like, doing the Camino. Trekking into León for our much anticipated rest day, I thought about it a lot.
I get lots of comments about how far we’ve walked in a day, and I know that I mention it a lot in my posts, how far it was, how long it took.
But the challenge of the Camino cannot be measured in distances or hours walked, how fast or slow we’ve walked. In the latter challenge, I am well and truly the tortoise, but at the end of the day I still end up at the same finishing post as the hares.
The challenge of the Camino has been getting up out of a warm bed at 5 or 6 in the morning every day, whether we want to or not, easing your boots onto aching and blistered feet, hoisting your back pack onto your back, grabbing your walking sticks and heading off into the dark.

Sometimes your body doesn’t want to do it, sometimes your head doesn’t, sometimes both are eager to see what the day brings; and you don’t know what it will be like until you’ve done a kilometre or two. But it doesn’t matter, if you want a bed to sleep in at the end of the day you still have to put one foot in front of the other and keep walking.

And what has been great?
The way we’ve changed, become stronger, physically and mentally, more relaxed and calmer about what the day may bring. We take more time to stop and look at things along the way because we are not so focused on getting to the next stop.

What can I get for my garden at home?

A lion with a soccer ball!

Looking for frogs
The walking has not been such a physical challenge for D2, but for me, after the struggles of the first days, I am loving the pure sensation of walking, pack on my back, through the countryside, stopping to chat to others along the way, or just happy with my own thoughts.

I love the smell and taste of the coffee at the first stop for the day, delicious freshly squeezed orange juice for morning tea, and that refreshing beer as you ease off your boots at the end if the day.
And if you can still smile and say “Buen Camino” to your fellow pilgrims, it’s been a great day!