Oh what a night! The hotel I was in last night was the only accommodation in town as the Albergue is closed. The room was spacious and had a balcony (useful for drying laundry) but that is really about all the hotel had going for it. For a hotel on the Camino that has Camino symbols on the door it is the least pilgrim friendly place I have stayed at.
I know that the Spanish habit is to eat late, but all the pilgrims want to eat early and get to sleep early. To have dinner start at 8.30pm and for the receptionist to smirk when asked if there was anywhere else to eat in town is not helpful. Is there a supermarket? Again, a lip curl and a no! We (Louise, Z and I) ended up finding a newsagent that sold bread, beer and crisps. To add insult to injury when we got out ‘meal’ back to the hotel at 7pm the receptionist was serving drinks and snacks to people. We enjoyed our picnic and endured the filthy looks!
I did get a good night’s sleep. And a lie in! I woke up at 5.30am, had a shower and was out of the door soon after 6am. It was rather chilly! I spent most of the 8km walk wondering weather to put an extra layer on or just tough it out. In the end I just carried on! The walk into Leon was far from picturesque - lots of car showrooms, but Leon more than makes up for it.
I knew that Leon has a tradition of a free tapas with beer or wine, I didn’t realise that this extended to coffee too! Four years after giving up chocolate I thought I should try the piece of chocolate cake that came with my first coffee of the day. Turns out that I don’t like chocolate! The second coffee came with lemon cake. I do like lemon cake!
Arriving so early meant that I got to snap photos of the Cathedral with no one else around. I also took the opportunity to recce the first part of the route for tomorrow morning. As soon as the Cathedral opened I went in. Leon Cathedral has the most amazing stained glass I have ever seen. So much of it, so delicately done and in such rich and vibrant colours. As I was admiring no window above the altar my youngest son ‘phoned and asked where I was. An odd question I thought until he pointed out that I’d sent him a postcard with a map on the front, stating where I was when I wrote it and pondering where I would be when it arrived home.
After the Cathedral I went in search of new walking shoes. Being able to feel every single stone underfoot gets boring very quickly. I now have a shiny new pair with a little more cushioning and a harder sole. I tried on several pairs - walking over the conveniently placed cobbles outside the shop - to get the best ones for me. Ugly colour sadly, but they’ll be covered in dust soon.
I’ve bumped into several people I know while in Leon, including Nanny - who is now on her way home having finished the Burgos to Leon stretch she had planned to do - and Teri and Molly who were enjoying a rest day.
Once I’d checked in to my accommodation (top bunk unfortunately, but it is sturdy and has real sheets and a duvet) I put my old walking shoes in the bag to send on to Santiago and set off in search of the post office. I put everything in a box and will collect it when I am done.
I had a large lunch (beer with tapas, salad and pudding) in a restaurant in the Barrio Humedo followed by a short siesta (while everything was closed) before hoping on the e tourist tram. Sitting is an underrated activity and this 5€ trip meant I could see all the sights without wearing out my new shoes.
Today is supposed to be an easy day, so after a quick visit to Basilico di San Isidoro (to see the Kings of Leon) I popped into a supermarket to pick up some food. I had several invitations to join people for supper, but I just want to lie on my bed! A night without red wine won’t do me any harm either!
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