Day twenty five El Camino

14 miles.

The segment of the route we followed today has two legitimate destinations, the one to which were sent, which is the grey route—you never want to follow the grey route if you can help it; grey=roads, and the other destination, parallel to this one, through country side, to which we were not sent. Let it never be said that we have not experienced the urban, warehouse, traffic-y sprawl of industrial Spain.

For the first two hours, or approximately 5 1/2-6 miles, we walked through the lovely centre and then the not lovely outskirts of León. Upon hitting the highway, what do we see? The Chicken Man! "Walter? Walter White, estás allí?"





A modern church, quite a surprise:




Three nuns, in full habit, hastily departing said church:





We walked in the rain, behind guard rails:





and without guard rails:





Wet, and weary of the whish and whir and roar of trucks, we stopped for our usual mid-morning pick-me-up:





Then on we intrepid souls go. I say, what is this?





Santiago is 3298 km. distant? Ayyyy, no!





We enter our destination town, Villadangos del Páramo. Some houses need a bit of work:





The occasional blue door never fails to catch the eye:





As almost always, the instructions to the night's hotel are wrong, but we find our lodgings anyway:





Yeah, it kind of is like that. And the trucks keep roaring by at a rate of about one or two every five to ten seconds.

There is not much in Villadangos del Páramo, and Hostal LIbertad, it turns out, is the hot spot in town. (It is the only spot, too.)

Men pour in to play cards:





They roll out felt mats and deal:





This guy enjoyed having his picture taken:





So much so that his pal was shining up his pate for the photo shoot:





You see those oranges? They will go straight into the machine tomorrow morning to make juice fresh as can be. (Fresh maybe, but the juice was sadly acidy and not sweet.)





Dinner was not available until 8:00 p.m., so we went to the panadaría to buy supplies for in-room dining. Bread, cheese, mustard, a tomato, a mixture of cornichons, olives, and pickled onions, followed by some sweets, tucked away in the suitcase for fortification and deliciousness, and times such as these:





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Location:León to Villandangos del Páramo

Twenty fourth day, El Camino REST DAY

We are in a city with traffic lights, more hustle and bustle than we are used to, and staying in a regular sort of hotel. The beds are comfy, the floors are carpeted (maybe for the first time--or were they also in Burgos? Who can remember?) But the wi-fi no funciona! We are a bit miffed. But worse, Ian is not feeling well, so while he is resting, Tanya and I go across the street to one of Spain's super-stores:





This is a BIG department store with a supermarket on the lower level that has a gourmet section that rivals Whole Foods' speciality items. How sad that our suitcases cannot accommodate jars of hugely fat white asparagus, marvelous biscuits, jams, cheeses, wines and the like. The only thing manageable was saffron, but that will have to wait.

By late morning Ian felt better so off we went toward the cathedral, the must-see of León. On the way, we saw some birds of different feathers sharing a sandwich:





and the miracle of a woman who, it seems, can be pregnant and nursing at the same time:





Finally we get to the cathedral:





Within, I meet some friends. Here is Yael, with hammer and tent peg, looking strikingly like renderings of the Virgin Mary:




And the Queen of Sheba:



And a somewhat feeble Solomon:




After our visit, we tour the old section where we are delighted with the art----of different genres. There is painting:





And sculpture:






And a woman with a purse and hat but no head:



Hmmmmm,



Yes. Gaudí is doing a fine job designing the building in front of him into which we could not go because it was closed, as so many things are:





As we make our way through town, we see a pig's head:




and a doll house:




and to round off our cultural experience:





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Location:León

Twenty third day El Camino

11.37 miles

Reluctantly we left our most charming and atmospheric hostal rural so far. The front desk looks very busy even when no one is working there:





In order to get to León early to experience a 424 stall market, we headed out before sunrise:




Dawn is hardly an event here. It is dark and then it is light, so an early departure is really not so crazy.

The walk to León can hardly be called gorgeous. Another day of walking near the road and then lots of industrial, pre-city areas. We were glad of a short day, an arrival before noon, and a rest day to look forward to. Our speedy pace stirred up a craving for some good pastry, and since we beat the arrival of our luggage, after check-in, we headed off to a fancy pastry shop near the hotel. Ummmm, large cinnamon bun like pastries (minus the cinnamon) and good, hot coffee for which one had to stand in line for ages, energized us for the excitement of the market.

We were disappointed! Except for the occasional olive stand:





this was not a food market--that was yesterday!--but lots and lots of clothing and "stuff," like pants:




and underpants:




and shoes:





and something for everyone, maybe:





This did not deter Tanya from considering a shirt:




While she resisted that item, she did find two lovely scarves.

Our most favorite item of the 424 stalls was, without a doubt, this "golden" handbag:






There were lots of people at the market:





and to make sure all hell did not break lose:





After all that looking at this and that and deciding that we are so done with markets, we were hungry and thirsty. Fortunately, in Spanish towns, one does not have to go far to find a cafe. Tanya and Ian were psyched that two cafes con leche, one agua con gas, y dos reposterías cost only 3 euros 30.






Big guy languishing in a León plaza:





Now, not so lonely:





It tuned out that there was a blessing of the animals celebration in León the day we arrived. There were cows wearing sombreros, pulling carts decorated with flowers:






Children practicing their steps:




And ladies dressed in traditional costumes playing tambourines and castañetas:





Groups of people in the plaza in front of the cathedral singing:




And dancing:





You go, girl in the yellow skirt:





Is it over already?






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Location:Mansilla de Mulas to León

Twenty second day El Camino

A difficult day, only 12.8 miles, flat and straight. But breakfast was minimal, it was raining, cold, and windy for two hours, and the boredom of the relentless sameness of the path for the past many days had taken its toll. For the first time I wondered, "Will I be able to complete this walk?" Although we are past the half-way mark to Santiago, only tomorrow will we reach the half-way mark to Finisterre.

When we arrived at our magnificent Hostal Rural in Mansilla de las Mulas, saw our gorgeous rooms, had a hot, flavorful cafe con leche, we felt ever so much better.

Way at the end of the street, four grannies chatting:




Remnants of the old arch:





Go where the wind blows and you get shot----maybe:





Ancient ruin fitted with TV antenna:





Very very very old steps and wall:





View of grape arbors over the patio (from my window):




In the other direction, church tower:



Bed!!





Detail of the bed linen:




Sweet little chair in the corner:




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Location:Calle de la Concepción,Mansilla de Las Mulas,Spain