Blogs from León, Castile & León, Spain, Europe - page 9

I arrived in Leon very late...almost 10. I was glad the streets were labeled and got to the hotel very quickly. I did not sleep very well as the hotel was not that sound proofed. Probably at 4:00 AM some drunks were walking through the street. When I finally got going Saturday (3rd) morning, I had no real plans...just exploring. I passed some very neat cathedrals and churches. I walked and walked and just explored. Leon is growing and there are a lot more modern buildings here. Eventually....I ended up back on familiar territory. Thats the best part. You just walk and sometimes you end up right where you need to be. SO creepy guy #1 sees me walking and wants me to follow him. Weird right? Then I had gone and used the computers. I ... read more

Leon was a success two days ago. Camping gas replenished (after a meticulous search lasting two hours and including much head shaking from the locals) and photos copied to CD. Leon is the major city of this region. As we approached a Commando strategy was hatched (get-in, get-it, get-out) to minimise the discomfort and avoid another Burgos style shock to the system. The past two days have been highly exciting watching the Spanish play chicken on the N-120. The N-120 is a fast, 100 kilometers per hour, single lane in each direction road that runs directly from east-to-west (the Romans would be proud). It is a road we are now very familiar with as our path has often gone close or crossed it several times. The province of Leon seems to have somewhat over estimated the ... read more

Hello everybody!!! So here I am in a little city called Carrion de los Condes in the province of Leon, Spain. Tomorrow will be my 14th day on the Camino, and it has been amazing so far!! Ok, so much to say! I´ll try to organize info a little bit so I don´t ramble... The walking crew... Ok, so I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous arriving alone and walking 500 miles by myself, but I met the best group of people on my very first night, and we´ve been walking together ever since. There are 5 of us...one Italian named Valentina who is hilarious and uses the word beautifu labout 100 times a day. She´s great! Then there´s Tilde from Denmark who is probably laughs more than anyone I know. Loreto ... read more

We came in out of the rain after 20 miles of walking. Soaked head to toe in ponchos and rain pants. Socks swimming inside our boots. But Thank God, after all that open space, we had finally found a hostel. A place with a roof and a radiator. Some place not out there... Such solace in small things. Simple things like roofs. Except... ...realizing with dread that I didn't have enough cash for the room, I asked the proprietress--a sawed-off fire hydrant of a woman who looked suspiciously like Pat Buchanan--if they accepted Visa. They did not. I asked if there was an ATM in town. There was not. A stupid question, in restrospect, given that the majority of the buildings in town were built of mudbrick, with nary a right angle to be found. Chickens ... read more

In León town again... read more