Trent Dalton’s editor character espouses that any good story can be reduced to three words; boy swallows universe. So for today; cold, wet, dreary, sums it up. Perhaps for us the Meseta’s endurance testing is not repetition of landscape, but rain? We’ve not found the landscape or the walking monotonous at all.
If I could add a fourth word it would be flat and a fifth, urban-industrial (ok that’s two). A fair chunk of the tail end of today’s walk is through the warehouse, car sales yard, industrial estate, abandoned shed landscape inevitable on the outskirts of any large city.
The rest was typical Meseta farmland interspersed with a few small towns. A stop in an under highway tunnel to shove in some fuel (out of the rain) at the halfway mark (9km), required puffer and beanie as the temp is still hanging around 5 to 9 degrees.
People were in great spirits but it’s still, hood up – head down, ‘just keep swimming’ to push through. I remember green, water, tilled soil and mud…oh, and a wet donkey.
Coming into Leon I spoke with a young Dutchman (30 tomorrow) who’s travelling solo and booking nothing. Only twice since Saint John Pied de Port has he had to walk to the next town for lack of accommodation however he did say that he typically gets up at 5am for a 6am start to make sure he gets in early (30km days) and also that there’s always a sense of rushing to get there in time to get a bed ( he’s staying almost exclusively in donativos – donation only places – and municipal albergues).
Whilst weve loved our few walk-in donativo / albergue experiences, rocking up at the end of the day to find you’ve got another 2 to 10km to go is not for us. Nor is getting up at cock-sparrow-fart and rushing to get a bed. We’ll keep booking ahead.
Today’s rain cloud silver lining was undoubtedly the unexpected sun flooded entrance into the Leon’s cathedral plaza. Clouds dissolved, rain ceased, pavers glistened in the sun as the yellow pilgrims arrows led us inexorably into the old town centre and toward its impressive cathedral.
Even more impressive was the Leon Pilgrims Hostel adjacent to the Cathederal and overlooking one of the main eat streets (39 euro for private room – share bathroom, awesome).
We had plenty of time to check-out the cathedral and cloister, take a walk around, and dine at an exceptional restaurant across the road. All in all a great day.
