Time Departed: 8.15 am
Time Arrived: 12.45 pm
Distance: 18 kms
Cumulative Distance: 472 kms
Percentage Complete: 58%
Weather: Cool then sunny and warm
Accommodation: Hotel Real Colegiata de San Isadoro
Feelings: Henk - Excited, Neil - Excited, Di - Excited
What a difference a day makes! The path provided much more variety and knowing we would be in Leon for two nights certainly put a spring into our step. We walked through a number of villages and after a couple of hours settled for a coffee and Tortilla Espanola at the small village of Archaueja. We decided it was the best potato tortilla we have had on our walk so our quest is to see if we can find any better. It seems to be a staple at the local bars and served as a tapa. Neil and I have decided we are going to make this when we get home.
Our walk into Leon was very exciting. It's fiesta time from this week until 5 October and the streets were crowded with well-dressed Spanish, tourists and peregrinos.
In the old town there was a second hand market in one street and shoppers walking down the many traffic-free streets of the old town including Calle Anche. This led us to a fresh food market directly beside Leon Cathedral.
We chose to have lunch at an outdoor cafe directly opposite the cathedral so we could get a good view of it as well as the market. We watched the passing parade which included peregrinos following the Camino.
Our accommodation is excellent. It is a former monastery attached to the church San Isadoro and is about a five minute walk from Leon Cathedral.
We set out at six o'clock and all the festivities were getting underway. The Old Town had a lot of energy. We followed a medieval procession and watched traditional dancing.
The costumes were very colourful. All the plazas had something to offer and people moved from one to the other.
Aussie Claire spotted us when we were heading to Plaza Mayor. It was so good to see her and she looked so different. She and her friends had gone shopping and were in "civvies" instead of "Peregrino Clothes". We took a photo so she could see it on this blog.
We had dinner in a very small bar which was frequented by locals. There was a light show starting at eleven thirty but it started to drizzle and we just couldn't keep awake that long. When we came back to our hotel after nine o'clock it looked like many had only just started to settle in for the night.
Tomorrow is our rest day and there will be more festivities to follow. We are hoping to catch up with John and Linda tomorrow night.
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