Leon

We took a bus from Burgos to Leon. Our original plan was to go from Burgos to Sahagun, but the bus did not go there. We will still have a few days in the Mesita, a very flat hot dry plains. That does not sound to bad to us, as we left very cold, wet weather behind. The forecast for Burgos for the week was cloudy and wet with a high for the entire week of 20 degrees C. It was 25 degrees C when we got off the bus yesterday evening and delightfully dry.

From the bus ride of 140 kilometers, we could see that the land was getting steadily less cultivated. We guessed that it was usually drier although covered with puddles from the recent rain. Not all the land was cultivated and more of it was in dry land crops. The villages seemed a bit more poor to me, especially after the land surrounding Burgos.

When we got into Leon, we did not know where the Albergue (pilgrim´s refuge) was located but headed for the tall spires of the main cathedral, usually a sure bet. The cathedral is impressive, as in every major Spanish city. I would recommend looking for pictures of the cathedrals of Burgos and Leon on the internet. I am sure the photos there are better than any I could take. They have a long history and are beautiful. The scale and detail are both astounding. I spent a lot of time in the one in Burgos and it seemed every surface was intricately carved wood or stone. The main vaults seem to reach up forever and much of the light is from stained glass windows, high above you.

We spent the night last night in the Benedictine Monestary in Leon. It was a beautiful old place which welcomed Pilgrims very graciously. The only downside is the Pilgrims want to get up too early. People are up and stirring before 6 am.

We are staying the morning in Leon to see more of the city and to replace one of our rain ponchos. We think we mistakenly placed one poncho on a rack with items left at the Albergue for anyone to take. As it was raining, someone borrowed it immediately. I expect we will not see more rain, but Patsy is forever the pessimist.

We are not able to do as many miles as we had hoped but after the bus ride, we should be able to maintain walking the remainder of the way. If not, we can adapt easily enough.

We are meeting people from everywhere. Because we had only heard of the Camino when we crossed in on our European bicycle ride, I was surprised how many Americans we are meeting.

I am still trying to figure out how to download photos. Hopefully they will be along, if not soon, then eventually.