Destination - Leon
Distance - 15 km by foot, 1/2 hour by train
Hours of walking - 2.5
Terrain - did we mention we are in the desert
Weather - lots of layers to start, not many to end
Nature - if I had seen the dog that barked all night, we would have had words
Misadventure - nothing of note
We woke up and took inventory of our wounds. Wendy is still suffering with her Achillies tendon, Dee with her Camino toe and all of a sudden I have a shin splint. The decision was made to hobble to the next town and then either spend the night or go to Leon. Seeing one of our pilgrim friends decide she would take a doctor's recommendation and fly home has made us realize we need to patch up so that we can complete our journey.
We had a walk the was painful but character building. As the days go on, we rely each other and fill many roles for one another. Our friend Maria has started calling us the YaYa Sisters from the movie that none of us have seen. She says it is a compliment, but we won't know until we get home and watch the movie.
A big moment of the walk was hitting the geographical centre of the Camino. It was an emotional moment. Half way - we have worked so hard; learned so much; struggled; succeeded. It seems like forever and it seems like only a moment.
We opted to go onto Leon on the train so we found the station and then had a picnic while we waited.
Dad - you would love the selection of sardines here
After a short train ride and a snooze we were in the city! Leon is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone. Wendy is having the shakes because there are amazing shoe stores and we cannot add anything to our back packs. We found a great hotel for a good price and no bunk beds. Then we thought we would see the city via a tourist train, as we are here to rest our feet.
We had an amazing meal at a brew pub
And then set out to see the cathedral all lit up. On the way we ran into familiar pilgrims. We were delighted to run into Ari again as well as Ken, Ellen and Robin.
Cheer of the day from Wendy - when we stopped at the centre of the Camino, Maria was there. We celebrated with her and then just before we left, she asked if she could share a song that she was listening to with us. She said it reminded her of us - how strong we are together, how we work as a unit, and with our strength we are able to share our gifts with others. She played us a song by Laura Story - it was a beautiful song and we stood together hugging, crying and laughing. It was a special Camino moment.
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