Leon to Villar de Mazarife, 11 May (22 kms - part by bus)

I arrived very early for the 8.30 a.m.bus out of Leon.  Several people were already hanging about at the bus stop, hoping for a 7.30 bus, not realising it was Sunday service.  So, I shared a taxi with Jose from Melbourne and Thomasina from the U.S., both fluent Spanish speakers.  We each paid €5 to La Virgen del Camino, and then set off walking.  There was a choice of routes.  Most people chose the send, but I wanted the scenic route through more small villages.

It was a day for wildflowers, with great clumps of European orchids, blue gentians, yellow gorse, cornflowers and poppies.  I saw a French couple who had hired mules to carry their belongings.  Apparently when they reach Santiago they put them on a train and send them home!  I also met 2 Finnish ladies, older than me, one of them blind.

Mazarife

It was rather cloudy and a cold wind started blowing across the fields, some with wheat and one stretching as far as they eye could see with the remains of a corn on the cob crop, which had all been slashed in the Autumn. I had a beer at 11.30 a.m. in the practically deserted village of Chozas de Abajo, before walking the final hour into Villar de Mazarife and my destination:  Albergue Tio Pepe, where they gave me a private room in the house next door.  This had either been vacated for the season, or somebody had died, for everything in the wardrobe and kitchen was intact. I helped myself liberally to all the oils and greases in the bathroom, then went along to the bar at Tio Pepe for an ice-cream and a turn with the Internet.

I sat outside in the sun near the Church opposite and wrote up my diary.  I also chatted to a Danish woman and her walking companion from Brazil.  They had just started the Camino and met that morning starting out from the albergue.  We had a vino rosado with the couple from Cairns, who were planning to do 28 kms tomorrow to Astorga.  Madness!  Especially as her feet were not recovered from a blister attack.  I think they were behind schedule because of his gastro a few days ago.

Dinner at Tio Pepe was paella, meatballs and yoghourt, with very friendly service.  Not all the pilgrims were having dinner, but a great crowd of them were boozing on beer, wine and cider in the courtyard.

Lavender

Orchid

Gentians

Meadow

View from my window:  storks nesting

Albergue Tio Pepe

Leon, 10 May (rest day)

I was up fairly late at 8.00 a.m.  Breakfast was very ordinary, with not much fresh fruit to be had. I went off to the Plaza Mayor, which has a big fruit and veggie market on Saturday mornings.  Everything was so tempting: boxes of strawberries and cherries, but these would only get squashed in my backpack tomorrow.  I settled for an avocado, a tomato, some dates and 2 mandarin oranges.  I then went on to the Albergue Santa Maria de Carbajal Convent to buy a new Credencial, as mine is almost full of stamps now.

I also revisited the Basilica of San Isidoro with its amazingly detailed and colourful 12th century frescos. I was able to take 3 illicit photos whilst the guide was busy outside! The frescos are a sort of calendar of medieval life, depicting what folk were doing in each month of the year.

San Isidoro cloisters

Frescos

October: gathering acorns
November: killing the pig

San Isidoro door

After a snack lunch of bread, cheese and beer in my room and a quick siesta, I did some booking on the phone for Monday and Tuesday.  Then I went back to the Cathedral Square for one of Leon's famous hot chocolates.  Groups of well dressed Spanish people started arriving in great numbers.  Of course, it was Saturday and this was the Cathedral.  Time for a wedding!  Sadly for them, a sneaky wind got up and began to ruin their hairstyles.  I tried for some photos through the railings which closed off the Cathedral entrance.  The west door, beneath the big rose window, was now open for guests only.  I also took a photo of the 2 smiling sisters at the hot chocolate cafe.

Market

Fish market

Sisters at Choclateria

At 8.30 p.m. I went back to the good restaurant at the Hotel Albany.  They were in no hurry to start serving dinner, but I hung in there and ordered stuffed asparagus with noodles for Primero, then sea bass with salad for Secundo.  The inside restaurant was deserted as Janet, the disgruntled waitress, busied herself laying the outside tables.  I was later joined by an English couple who were touring Spain for 6 weeks by car, and had pre-booked all their accommodation in self-catering places on the Internet before setting off.  Then came an Aussie couple, whom I'd seen before, but the waitress wouldn't give them the pilgrims' menu (in English) because it was now 9.30 p.m.  Only Spanish a la carte was available, which they couldn't understand.  They left to try somewhere else.  What a way to do business!  The food was good, though. (Las Termas Restaurant).

Mansilla to Leon, 9 May (by bus)

Gaudi's Casa de Botines, Leon

Sitting with Gaudi

The guide book recommended taking the bus into Leon, to miss all the industrial suburbs.  I arrived at the bus station to discover that the next bus was at 9.00 a.m., having just missed the 7.30 one.  This gave me time to sit in a sunny corner of the bus station to write up my diary.

On the bus, we passed the familiar stream of pilgrims heading out of town.  On arrival in Leon, I made my way from the bus station, across the river and up the main street towards the Cathedral, knowing that the Posada Regia was just off to the right.  When I asked for a quiet room, I was allocated one in the annexe nearby: a similar historic building with creaky wooden stairs and interesting pictures on the walls.  The room on the ground floor was where we met the Fresco Tours group in 2011.  There was also a public Internet terminal down there in a quiet corner.

I had a nice lunch at the restaurant belonging to the Hotel Albany, an upmarket place with an interesting menu, changed daily.  I had scrambled eggs with shrimps and mushrooms, followed by fresh anchovies and pimientos de Padron, plus 2 glasses of Rosado, all with a view of the Cathedral diagonally across the square.  How lovely to be back in civilisation after days on the Camino!  After that delicious lunch, I was ready for a 2-hour siesta, from which it was difficult to wake up!

Lunch with a view

Scrambled eggs and vino rosado

I then made the effort to take a tour of the Cathedral with the audio guide and tried to take photos of the magnificent stained glass inside as well as the architectural features outside.  I decided to stroll down to the Parador and back since it was such a lovely evening: 26° at 8.30 p.m.  On returning to my hotel, I just ordered a cheese platter and a glass of red in the courtyard, before going to bed at about 10 p.m.

Cathedral spires

Rose window, Leon Cathedral

One of many stained glass windows

Cathedral by night