Thursday, May 15, 2014

Day Nineteen: Mansilla to Leon

Without the Canadian couple in our Albergue last night, Vera and I again reclaimed our title as the last ones out of the Albergue. We were up, packed, and had breakfast all by eight fifteen, one of our personal bests. In fact, Olivier (the French pilgrim) saw us leaving Mansilla this morning and commented that we were earlier than normal! We walked quickly today because we knew that 1. We only had eighteen kilometers to walk and 2. We were goin to be in Leon tonight!! The walk today wasn't the prettiest -- in fact, it was almost as bad as the walk into Burgos, but the beauty of the cathedral helped us to forget. 

Upon arriving to Leon, we were stopped by (who we thought were) the police, asking us for our passports and if we were pilgrims and where we were stating. In the end they just wanted to give us maps and stamp our credentials, but for a moment we thought it was "arrest all the pilgrims" day -- thank goodness it was not. After making it through the checkpoint we found our Albergue that is run by the Benedictine Nuns. This Albergue is different in that they separate the men and women into different sleeping rooms. While standing in line to be assigned a bunk, we were found by Gosia and Jarek and made plans to meet them for dinner. 

Vera and I were led to our sleep room where we dropped our stuff and went to find lunch -- we actually made it to our final destination before lunch time!! We ate some delicious tapas at a nearby cafe and then went to find what we were eager to explore: the cathedral. 

The cathedral is a gothic style cathedral, much like the one in Burgos; but unlike the cathedral in Burgos, this one was much less expensive to explore, especially after my student discount. I entered the cathedral and was struck by its immensity. The pillars are massive, the ceilings forever tall, and the pipe organ took up the entire center of the church. Surrounding the main church are side alters that serve almost as shrines to different depictions if the Blessed Mother and a few saints. I viewed each side chapel, one more beautiful than the next, and took my time observing the scene and soaking in the beauty. As I explored every nook of the cathedral, the pipe organist played soft music in the background, adding to the atmosphere. After I was sure I had thoroughly seen each side chapel, wall hanging, and sculpture, I made my way to the center alter where I knelt down in prayer. You know how sometimes you start to pray, and everything and anything becomes a distraction? The sound of your breathing, the feel of your sleeve on your arm, thoughts of work and schedules ... Well I had the opposite occur: in the midst of that noisy, tourist filled, bustling cathedral I was able to tune out the world and share some quiet time with God. The Camino has inspired me to pray in new ways -- not new prayers or new prayer styles, but in the way I talk with God and the way I ask for things and tell Him things. After quite a bit of time, I knew I needed to leave the cathedral, so I quietly exited and rejoined the busy square outside. 

I returned to the Albergue for a short rest before heading out to dinner with Jarek and Gosia and Vera and Tim and Joanne (the couple from Canada); we were also joined by a lady from New Zealand. We started at a pub for drinks whilst waiting for a restaurant to open and then went to the restaurant where we had the pilgrim menu. The conversations and laughter that take place at dinner fill my heart with joy -- whether we be teasing Vera about not eating all her food or discussing global health care, there is never a dull moment. Speaking of not so dull moments, we were about to get our deserts when I happened to look at the time -- ten ten. This would be no big deal if it wasn't for the fact that our Albergue locks its doors at ten thirty! You have never seen four pilgrims move so quickly as when faced with the reality that they may have to sleep outside in the street without their belongings. We tore through the city (although Jarek took a small break to take a picture if the cathedral at night -- which was very lovely if we weren't in such a hurry) and made it back to find two closed doors ... Luckily when we tried unsuccessfully to open them, our attempt was heard by a sweet Spanish lady who opened the door and let us in, smiling and laughing and scolding us for cutting it so close -- though we could tell she was only joking. The Fench man was sitting just inside the door with another pilgrim and was laughing, telling us he knew we'd be the last ones back and that he had positioned himself near the door in case we needed to be let in. haha 

And now I am all tucked into my bed, ready for some much needed rest. Here are some pictures from today: 

Pretty sites in the early part of our walk this morning! 

Safari selfie!! 

The cathedral!!!! We are waiting for it to open so we can go inside. 

Ice cream helps us wait more patiently ... 

At the door ... Please let us in!! 

And inside we go. Look at those monstrous ceilings and gorgeous stained glass!! 

Madonna and Christ surrounded by depictions if all the saints. 

The nativity. Isn't the carving beautiful?!

This rosary sure is getting a workout! 

The main alter. 

Coming in for the photo finish!! 

And my bed for the night. Again -- ridiculously close to the bed next to it!! But Vera is in the bed next to it, so that will be okay. 

Tomorrow we leave Leon -- then less than two weeks until we reach Santiago! 

Buen Camino. 

Jena 


1 comment:

  1. it's all so lovely. humbly requesting more food pictures. it feels like all i read about you eating is toast and pasta. oh, there was that fish, but still. as you walk through europe i am reminded of my dream to eat my way through europe (same thing, right?) and i wish to live vicariously.

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