I understood only a small fraction of the homily in Spanish, it is unfortunate as the priest's homily appears to be animated and interesting.
This is the chapel.
The Cathedral is under renovation and I can see that there was a display requesting for donations. Even with scaffolding I still thought it was a beautiful place.
This is another one of the main stops along the Santiago pilgrimage routes, I can imagine so many pairs of tired feet stepping inside this place, prayerfully seeking refuge spiritually from the world and possibly physically from the mid summer heat!
At 10.30am, the sun is up and starting to heat up the earth. Although the sun here is not as burning as at home, I wouldn't fancy an afternoon walking in the baking sun without any shade. I start to admire these pilgrims.
The pilgrims along this path are identifiable by the clam shell they wear and the walking wooden stick they hold. Here in Leon I see many more than Burgos.
In fact last night we happened upon a pilgrim walking towards Santiago. Her name was Manuela.
She had walked from Burgos two days ago and has since taken a rest in Leon.
If you think back to yesterday's blog, it was a two hour bus ride from Leon, it easily could have taken her a whole day! We asked her if she will be walking to Santiago from here but she said it is too hot and difficult. She will take a train till 100km from Santiago and begin again from there.
A women walking so far alone, I really admired her courage and perseverance. She tells us that she has made many friends along the way too!
After Mass, we walked 20mins to the railway station to arrange our tickets for tomorrow. We happened upon the local Sunday markets.
It's a bit like our flee market, majority of the goods are clothing, second hand items and antiques.
I saw these little girls and somehow they remind me a little of my childhood when we first arrived in NZ.
Next to the market was a park, what is interesting was the park was arranged into two sections, one for children,
One for adults!
I had to give it a go, I thought it was fantastic initiative by the local city council.
A little dilemma we came across was that many of the shops and museums were in fact closed for Sunday, even the supermarkets!
Some museums were open until 2pm, but we found this out a little too late.
So, following the example of the locals, we wondered around, then headed into a local bar for some tapas for lunch. This is our Rationes for the table, consisting of two different jamons, salami, churisos, cheese and bread. All for 10 euros.
It was a hot day, around 30oC. I appreciate the way Spain has the tradition of narrow footpaths, it gives more shade for the pedestrian wandering the streets in the afternoon.
This is the Plaza Mayor. In the old days, this would be the town square, but as the city of Leon expanded, this location has more historical significance now than function.
There was not much else to do, so we do like the locals and headed back to the hostel for a siesta break.
We came back out again for dinner at 8pm. Here is us taking a late evening stroll.
Note the light, the sun is still very high up at 8pm!
We took a walk around, we were disappointed to discover that in fact Spanish dinner time does not start till at least 8.30pm. We finally found our way to a local restaurant for a sit down dinner.
This is an interesting entree. Creme de melon, with jamon flakes. It's actually quite nice, but too creamy.
Chicken soup
Guspacho
Fried salmon
Ox tongue
Calamare
Beef brisket
And dessert is vanilla ice-cream
Since the night was still very warm, we decided to head out for some sangrias!
There was a lovely gentleman at the bar who helped us translate what we wanted to order.
Conclusion of the day? Most places do not open in Spain on Sundays. Why not try to schedule long travel days to coincide with this to save some sightseeing time!
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Location:Carril de Flores,Lugo,Spain
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