I reached León, Spain on my 19th day of walking,  with the high plains of the Meseta and the Tierra de Campos in my rear view mirror,  roughly two thirds  of my journey to Santiago completed.  León is a fantastic city with great night life thus a natural location to take a rest day and get a hotel for two nights which I did.  My body and feet needed a rest after more than 400 KMs of walking!

Both evenings in León I enjoyed cold beverages at the El Tebede Taberna with this local hero named Sandro (on left) who spoke excellent English and enjoyed his classic British rock.   He told me his favorite band was  The Who, and when I asked him which Who album was his favorite he replied “Quadrophenia of course” and our friendship was sealed for the rest of the evening!

I would rate the León Cathedral as the finest Catholic monument on the Camino, as its towering stain glass windows rival the finest gothic Cathedrals in France including Notre Dame and Chartres.  I was entirely alone in the  adjacent museum which housed three floors and essentially a thousand years of catholic history including this crucifix with Christ posed in the most unusual position of any I have seen in Spain.

Leon Tapas night from left to right: myself, Alberto from Madrid, Lara from Cologne,  Sarah from Texas, Michelle from Chicago, Laura from Capetown, Massimo from South Africa, Juan from Bogota, and Patricia from León.   Basically,  I just went out for Tapas by myself at 8 pm  and within an hour pilgrims  I had met over the course of 19 days joined the entourage.  Alberto and Patricia were our guides taking us all over the old city to 6-7 bars with one drink and one distinctive Tapas at each location.

What most struck me about León was massive influx of Pilgrims wandering the streets, including many cyclists.  It’s 12-14 days to Santiago depending on your pace, so many people commence ttheir Camino from León, taking a two week holiday.   Like a gathering tide,  pilgrim traffic on the Camino has started to swell and a like a rock concert or major sporting event,  the closer you get to the stadium,  the greater the excitement and anticipation.

Next, the final third of the journey,  with a climb into the high mountain country of Galicia and a deteriorating weather forecast!  Buon Camino!