Last night we had a nice supper by ourselves, there being many places to eat in Leon.
This morning the Canadian ladies were in the restaurant for breakfast. They had gone to the Parador the night before for some libations, and had met Richard from California. It sounds like he has torn his achilles tendon and is being forced to abandon his Camino. He does intend to come back next year to complete his pilgrimage. This brings to two the people we have met who we know have been forced to abandon the walk due to injury: Richard and one of the Germans. Both have not been able to walk since Sahagun and are leaving from Leon. We feel sad for them both.
It sounds like Jack is getting better and moving faster, while George now has major blisters and Martha has a problem with her achilles. They have been doing longer daily distances than us on the mesa and have gotten one day ahead of us. Margie ran into them on our first and their second day in Leon. So we probably won't see them again. They are staying in alberques and have experienced bed bug bites a number of times now. We're so glad we are staying in hotels. Somehow the romanticism of being true pilgrims and staying in albergues wouldn't compensate for being bitten by bed bugs and getting lice. And as for being a true pilgrim - I, Lynn, am every bit a true pilgrim even if I'm not staying in alberques. What could where you stay possibly have to do with your pilgrim status? A pilgrim is a person on a journey to a holy place.
Today was another walk with uninspiring scenery on the mesa. As we walked through Leon we passed the Plaza de San Marcos and the Parador Hotel San Marcos. We got a picture beside the statue of the weary pilgrim.
We went into the lobby of the Parador to admire the place before carrying on. Just as we were crossing the old bridge over the river Bernesga we met up with Margie and got caught up on all the gossip.
The next 8km to Virgen del Camino went very quickly. Lynn told Margie about her reason for doing the Camino, the people she had met that had had a great influence on her coming to terms with what she wanted to get divine guidance on and how she hasn't really thought about it too much since. Margie said that she had gotten distracted from her reason for doing the Camino because she had gotten caught up in the comeraderie of the Camino. She asked if we had brought stones to add to the Cruz de Ferro. We said we had. This is a time for pilgrims to pause awhile to reconnect with the purpose of their journey. I want to be sure that I have gone far enough and really come to peace with the matter. I also need to clearly formulate what I want to say to St. James when we reach Santiago. We will reach the Cruz de Ferro on Sunday. That seems like another divine coincide. It certainly wasn't planned.
We stopped for cafe con leche at Virgen del Camino with Margie and then our paths diverged again. We went on to Villadangos del Paramo (a real clue today was still on the mesa), and Margie went to Vilar de Mazarife. She was along a quiet path, and we were along sendas next to the highway, safe, for the most part, just busy. There was nothing but an albergue at her destination, whereas we have a church and the most famous depictation of St James as 'Matamoros'.
We did pass a major traffic accident, no one hurt from what we could tell, but obviously the first car stopped suddenly, and the second hit the first and the third the second.
We also passed a multitude of bodegas. No matter how many you pass it is always a pleasure. It was like a day in the shire.
Once again we were fooled by the yellow arrows upon entering Villadangos del Paramo. While it is true that every road leads to Rome, that is of little value when your hostal is on the other road. But we don't feel too bad as a lot of people showed up at the hostal walking upstream rather than down.
Summary - another walking on the flat along the highway day after a great day in Leon. The end of the mesa is in sight with more interesting scenery to come. Time to start refocusing on the real purpose of the journey. Wish we had had an opportunity to say goodbye to Richard.
Distance today - 22km
Distance total - 503.5km
There's no doubt in our minds that you are both true pilgrims! No doubt also that are glad you have boots rather than sandals, unlike "the weary pilgrim".
ReplyDeleteGod Bless.
R&D
I like your quote that "A pilgrim is a person on a journey to a holy place," which you, no doubt, are on - externally and internally. We had our Heretics planning meeting this morning. You were thought of and missed, as you will likely be missing your friends who have had to leave the Camino for now. Be well. carol
ReplyDelete