August 30, 2018

Today has been a rest day for me in León. And it just further proves to me that stopping is detrimental to my psyche! I’ve had a whole enjoyable day to take my time and stroll about and do nothing, and it seems only to have fostered the idea that I just don’t want to go on. I don’t want to go to bed because I don’t want to wake up to have to walk again! I’m tired of packing, unpacking and packing my backpack and even though I am doing great, my body is holding up, I am just tired, tired, tired! My body doesn’t hurt during the day, but it is hard to sleep sometimes because my feet and legs ache so much.

Today I saw many of my pilgrim comrades walking in town and chatted and got caught up. As well, I took a tourist train about the city, which helped me get the scope of this town as well as to see what direction I need to go in the morning-which happens to be the opposite of what I thought I was going to be doing… That is a good thing!

“Leon began as a Roman military encampment in 29CE and developed into a permanent settlement charged with protecting Galician gold on its journey to Rome. Visigoths took the city in 585, only to lose it to Muslim invaders in 712. The city was reconquered by Ordóno I around 850, who initiated a building boom and welcomed Mozárabic refugees (Christians living under Muslim rule). The city was leveled in 988 by Al-Mansur’s troops. Rebuilding began soon after, and León flourished as a wool industry center. In 1188, the city hosted the first Parliament in Europe under Alfonso IX and became wealthy enough to construct the astonishing Cathedral.

León’s finest treasure is it’s sublime Gothic cathedral featuring 1800 m of magnificent stained glass windows from the 13th to 15th century. Without a flashy central retablo, the cathedral lets the streaming light steal the show. This is the fourth church on the spot, began in 1205 and completed in record time (about 100 years). From across the Square, the whole of the west side can be taken in. The serene Virgen Blanc welcomes from below the central tympanum.” (A Village to Village Guide to Hiking The Camino de Santiago by Anna Dintaman and David Landis)

I also made a big salad for dinner with a portion of the groceries I bought yesterday, but I still had to figure out what to do with the rest of them and my backpack seems very stuffed right now!!!

I have been gone from home a month and I still have nearly a month ago!