Leon

Having a few rest days in Leon. Stayed in a 4 star hotel the first night (at pilgrim rate of 44 euros!) we get discounts.  Went into town with Gerard and had a few too many drinks I’m afraid. Things got a bit wild and you could say I left my mark in Leon. Just as well I had someone to show me the way back to the hotel. Oops!  But I had such a great night. It was difficult when tapas came with a glass of delicious red wine, and we were bar hopping, tasting all the food. We came across a bar that had sushi, and Gerard who is such a foody and also a sushi chef, commented that it didn’t look right. He offered to pop in the next day to show them how to do it, and they jumped at the chance, so the next day, he actually worked the lunch shift. He said it was like the Iron Chef, because he had to produce a few different things with whatever ingredients they had in the fridge. 

I had arranged to meet the Canadians that I walked with on the first day, at the Parador for dinner, so I also booked a room there. This is the luxury hotel in the movie The Way. 

Had  a great night and ended up meeting with so many others as well. Seems this is a stopping point for many of us. I found Anne, a French lady I met a few days ago, and she was having to leave (as so many others have) due to injury, so she joined us as well. And, after this photo was taken, Jillian Liefman and her friends joined us too. Such a small world…..I speak to her husband often on the phone because he refers patients to Tom. They live in Black Rock!  But, what happens on the Camino, stays on the Camino!

  
Today, we began with a REAL buffet breakfast, a veritable feast, instead of a coffee and a piece of bread. I felt full all day. Anne, Gerard and I went to see the magnificent cathedral after that and then went to mass.  We were sitting outside a cafe, and one of my Irish friends, Noël, wandered past and then Mary, an English lady I met a few days ago, so it seems that everyone I met at the beginning are limping into town too. We had been playing “spot the pilgrim”, something that is now very easy. The clothes are a dead giveaway, but also the limping, and the camino groan as they sit down or get out of a chair….Aching bodies, blisters and sheer exhaustion are so common.

Tonight, Gerard’s girlfriend Rachael arrived to spend a few days with him. We met at a bar for a drink and then they went back to their hotel. I hung out with the Texan ladies for a bit and then joined another group of people at another bar. Sounds like I’m just drinking my way along the Camino, but not really. I had Coke tonight, so don’t worry. I’m going to stay one more day and then start walking again with everyone on Tuesday.