Day 23 - León to Villar Mazarife - 22 km
Today we were more organized with the bus. Based on a suggestion from a friend at home, we were already planning to take a bus out of León. That way you miss about 8 km of city and industrial zone. But this time we knew where to catch the bus! And at the bus stop we actually met up with some other friends who were going further on the bus (it’s not just us).
We got off in the first town outside León, and started walking. It was actually nice just to walk. No pressures to be anywhere at a certain time or to find a certain place. And the weather had switched from just above freezing a couple days ago, to reaching highs above 20 degrees now. We had a cloudless blue sky for most of the day.
We walked through one town that had a great pilgrim retreat- geodesic domes with a WC, snacks, drinks, pilgrim souvenirs and even credencials! and a dog named Tina. And both dog and man so friendly. The fellow there made us each a ham and cheese sandwich - even heated with a sandwich press! All for donations!
The landscape is now different. Not as flat. Some fields. Some flowers. Some dry patchy areas. But we saw two Canada geese in a pond! Are they lost or what?
After that lovely break, we kept walking with only brief pauses to drink water. And we got to our destination before 1:00. Today we stayed at Albergue de Jesus. Very nice with a lovely owner.
Shower, laundry, snack, cerveza. The usual. Short walk around town. Found a grocery store open on Sunday. Didn’t buy much. Ice cream. Saw the church.
Today is Dias de Madre (Mother’s Day) in Spain. Rachel was going to give me the bottom bunk but she didn’t have to as we both got one.
After our walk we laid down for a bit. I’m starting to actually nap! Followed by a glass of vino tinto. We reviewed our walking plan and amazingly, it looks good. Only 13 days of walking left with an average of 23 km per day. And only only night of accommodations not reserved. I love it when a plan comes together.
The warm day was great for drying our clothes. After putting away our laundry we had dinner at the albergue. Good value as usual. While we ate, the breaker kept going off, which was entertaining as the owner and the staff had a bit of a shouting match to turn the power back on. Then went for a short walk, since we didn’t walk far enough today.
There was a bit of a party at the albergue tonight. Not only was it Mother's Day, but there was a very important football match - Barcelona against Madrid! Exciting!
Today’s lesson: take a bus or taxi out of a big city. It gets your day off to a great start.
Bus 2€
Donation for sandwich 2.50€
Albergue 7€
Beer 1€
Groceries including ice cream 4€
Vino 1€
Supper 10€
