Camino: Leon to Ponferrada

Catedral de Leon

I got out by about 8:30 a.m. and took some pictures in the cool blue early morning light around Leon.  The cathedral had a different look at that hour.  I roamed until I found the Plaza Major – totally deserted at that hour – and  the Plaza de Santa Maria del Camino, with a nearby hostel, and the Puerta de la Moneda, traditional entry point through the city walls for pilgrims.  There I got a particularly good picture of one of the brass shells embedded in the street, as a starting point for our own pilgrimage.

I went back up to the cathedral and went through the museum which I’d not done the day before.  It was genuinely worthwhile, although poorly laid out and with signs only in Spanish.  Still the Bible from 920 A.D. was worth seeing, along with a particularly good crucifixion statue mentioned in the Michelin guide and the Plateresque stairway.

I encountered the entire Reston Runners group in the street café a block or two from the hotel just as they were sitting down for lunch.  I joined in, even though this was the same place Judy and Lea and I ate yesterday’s lunch.  Well, the guy was very forbearing about our confusion and misunderstandings of menu items, etc.  

Alex and assistant guide Cate showed up at the hotel just about three o’clock. We had a general information briefing in the hotel dining room before departing with all our luggage on the bus.  It’s a twenty-two passenger bus, so there is plenty of room, even with everyone’s backpacks.

Pilgrims' shoes - outside the dorms

We're arrived Ponferrada after a pretty bumpy trip over the mountains from Leon.  There were Camino signs and yellow arrows all along the way.  We paused at Racambla del Camino for a coke and bathroom break, and a chance to see up close our first “real” pilgrims (the ones carrying all their belongings in a backpack) in an albergue.  The shoe rack outside was impressive – I guess no one wants the stinky shoes in the sleeping area.   

We also stopped at the Iron Cross above El Acebo to leave our stone/sins behind and take a group photo.  

Left our sins at the Iron Cross

Dinner in Ponferrada was held outdoors, in a courtyard under the castle walls.  We enjoyed a good feast of multiple dishes including a memorable vegetable salad, hush puppies (as Alex called them), and roast lamb.  There was lots of local white and red wine.