Lest you begin to think that all of Northern Spain is nothing but charming village and beautiful geography, today’s route must have been specifically designed to alter that perception! The walk out of Leon was just as it would be walking out of any city — suburbs and traffic and noise. The road split about 6 km out of town, at La Virgen del Camino — one way to Villar de Mazrife, along a dirt path in the countryside, and the other along the busy road to where my hostal is booked. This way was 1 km shorter (for a total of 21 km), but it wasn’t pretty. (So, I will share some of the photos from Leon that I couldn’t share yesterday!)
This village straddles the hiway, and there’s nothing here to report on. It is a way station to the next bigger town, Astorga, where I head tomorrow, with a longer 28 km day. Kim, Chris and I picked up Karen at San Marcos square this morning, where the famed Parador Hotel is. The facade has a profusion of scallop shell motifs and copper medallions all along the front with scenes from pilgrim cities we’ve passed through. A bronze statue sits at the base of a stone cross, resting his feet (just as the live pilgrims do at the end of each day).
Kim and Chris took the scenic route, Karen and I the one less so. Very few pilgrims in this town; it seems to be one that is passed through, but not stopped at. Not every day can be a vision of beauty! The hostal is a typical one, but the owner is helpful and pleasant as we tried to track down Karen’s luggage.
Stories of three groups of people met along the way:
Michael and Ava from Australia who are pushing 13 month old Olivia in a stroller across the Camino. I was witness to her first steps the other evening — a wonderfully adaptable child.
Thomas from Texas who is walking with his three almost grown children and raising money for some causes near to his heart. Check out his website at www.pilgrimspurpose.weebly.com. So far they’ve raised $15,000, and hope to make it more with still almost 300 km to go!
Lastly, a couple from Texas whose names I don’t know, but he is pushing her across Spain in a wheelchair. She is a quadriplegic, from a car accident years ago, and every time I think about complaining about a blister, I think about their journey.
Now some pics:
some of the windows in the Cathedral in Leon
Lit at night
Parador in San Marcos Square
Weary pilgrim
Johnny, Nadina and Margey
These are STORK nests…. HUGE!
Ava with Olivia, the youngest pilgrim
At last the stork nests! I forgot about them. Now that you’re in that area, you’ll see that the people build structures for them to build the nests in so that the chimneys etc don’t get clogged. And the storks and their babies are HUGE! Amazing to hear about the groups you’ve encountered. Humbling.
I love your photos of the architecture