Thursday evening I traveled North to the pueblo of Burgo Ranero with my Camino de Santiago class. Friday morning we set out for our hike to León. We would cover 36 Km (22.4 mi) in two days. We hiked for about five hours, arrived at Mansilla de las Mulas where we were going to stay, but decided to have lunch and keep going. We walked another hour and a half and stayed in Villarente. Saturday we only hiked for maybe three hours and arrived in León around lunchtime. Below are the highlights and lowlights from the trip. Click on the link to the right (under "fun websites") if you'd like to see the route:
Top Ten Lowlights of El Camino de Santiago
10. Litter at the rest station on the first day
9. Not having a camera (broken…I think for good now) ☹
8. The non-existence of the “menú del peregrino” (we were told that pilgrims could often order a special meal of the day designed for them at a low price…no such luck)
7. The bus driver who called me “cabrona” because I told him I liked smoke-free areas (while he was smoking)
6. The waiter and his “mala leche” (bad attitude, bad milk literally) in León on Sunday
5. Prof. Ramón not answering my questions and interrupting me when I tried to re-ask them
4. The drunk guy who yelled crass comments to the nuns from outside the monastery at 5am
3. My backpack
2. Gnats
1. Weird hip injury thing
Top Ten Highlights of El Camino de Santiago and León
10. Beautiful albergue (shelter) San Pelayo in Villarente and its hot showers
9. Buying four apples, one orange, two clemintines, two pears, a half pound of strawberries, a bottle of wine, a wedge of cheese, and 1.5 liters of water for less than 8 Euros in Villarente
8. The waiter at Café Gelo in Mansilla de las Mulas who just kept smiling and gave us free pens
7. Meeting Esteban (dad of eight) and Andrés (fourth son of eight)
6. The Cathedral in León in all of its stained-glass wonder
5. The mass and pilgrim blessing from the nuns in the albergue monastery in León
4. Tapeando (eating tapas and drinking wine) with Pedro y Christie in El Barrio Húmedo de León
3. Good talks and lots of laughs with “my girls” (Julie, Sarah, Kristen, Christie, and Maureen: You rock!)
2. Fresh air, sunny blue skies, green pastures, and snow-capped mountians
1. Time alone with God, praise songs on my iPod, and singing aloud
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment