Day Twenty: Leon to Villar de Mozarife

I slept so well last night - but was abruptly shook from my sleep by a man who worked at our Albergue who wanted to open the window that was behind my bed. Humph. Good thing he also had coffee! Today was another lovely day on the Camino de Santiago (after we got out of the bustle of Leon -- it's fun to be in the city; it is not fun to have to walk three kilometers through busy dirty streets to leave the city). There was a bit of sadness this morning: Olivier (the French pilgrim) has a leg injury and is staying an extra night in Leon to rest and mend; I will miss seeing him every day! Hopefully we will see him again in Santiago since we will be there a few days. We stopped for some breakfast before leaving Leon and then were on our way. The first town we arrived to was about six kilometers outside Leon. There we ran into Carol, Liz, and Murial -- our favorite UK ladies! (They are now referring to Vera and I as "our darlings" haha) We sat down for breakfast (yes, another one -- you walk twenty miles a day and see how hungry you are!!) and then continued on. 

We had a very small climb, and once we reached the top, the view and the weather became absolutely wonderful. I know I say this a lot, but I could have stayed there all day! The sun was warm, the breeze was cool, the mountains were in site (but not too close) and covered in snow ... The world really can be a most perfect place. Walking doesn't seem such a chore when you are walking in such lovely surroundings. We came across a man selling fruits and chocolates and drinks and tissues (all for donation -- no set prices) so of course we purchased some fruit and took a rest. A little while later, we came across a town where we could have eaten lunch (had we not already eaten two breakfasts and fruit) so instead we had a frozen icee and some tea. And finally, after many breaks and rests and soakings in the sun, we arrived at our final destination. 

We stopped at the first Albergue we saw, and luckily they still had beds available. The path is becoming thick with pilgrims, but not pilgrims who get up everyday and put on their packs and walk, but rather pilgrims who pay to have their bags transported for them or who take taxis from town to town or who make reservations ahead of time, leaving those of us who started weeks ago searching for beds and fearing we will have no place to stay / will have to walk to the next town. (Disclaimer: The Camino is different for everyone, for every pilgrimage is as different as the pilgrims who journey; in no way do I judge those who choose routes or means of transportation that are different than my own.) Plus: these pilgrims are fascinating to talk to! I suppose that if we were really concerned, we could always call ahead and make a reservation, but this seems to contradict the spirit of the Camino, or at least the spirit of my Camino. My Camino is a journey to sort out uncertainties, to discover God's plan for me and to embrace it wholeheartedly; I am not the maker of the plan here, God is -- to plan my Camino with reservations and set in stone destinations would be to take back the control, and God is in control of this journey. 

The Albergue we are in tonight is very nice: clean with plenty of showers and a communal meal (and free wifi!). At dinner, we met a really nice couple from Holland who have been training for their Camino for three years; they are currently in week fourteen of their journey, but they started their Camino in Holland. The wife told me that for twenty years it has been their dream to do the Camino, but that they were raising their children and then their grandchildren; finally now they have time. I'm sure it is impolite to ask how old they are ... but she told me that they celebrated their sixty-eighth wedding anniversary, so I would think that puts them at least in their eighties. We won't see them again -- they don't do more than twenty kilometers a day; but it was a lovely dinner with them! We were talking about the rest of our walk, and we said how bittersweet it is to reach Santiago, the goal, but then be leaving the Camino. She shook her head and said that this pilgrimage isn't really about getting to Santiago -- it is all about the walk: the people you meet and the experiences you have and the things that you learn; and that doesn't stop in Santiago. I couldn't have said it better. 

And now I am sitting at an outlet, charging my phone so as not to disturb the others in my sleep room. Here are a few pictures from today (and per Jolene's request, there are lots of pictures of food!!): 

Breakfast number two (because I didn't see the request for food pics before I ate breakfast number one): tortilla and zuma de naranja -- or egg, potato, pepper casserole with freshly squeezed orange juice. I am a little afraid I will have withdraw when I come home -- I am an orange juice addict! 

Hello, little pilgrim! 

Horse!!! (No, Becky; I didn't steal it to ride it ...) 

Going up!! 

Selfie on top of a hill : ) 

Tell me you don't want to walk that path! 

I see mountains!!! 

Lunch!! (I know, I know -- this isn't what you meant by show me what you're eating. haha I did spare you the pics of our candy though!) 

I can't even imagine how many years it is going to take for me to get rid of these tan lines. Nobody get married for the next three years. I'm serious. (For those of you wondering why in the world there is a sun free strip across my knees, I wear kinesio tape instead of knee braces when I walk -- it helps to keep my knees in line and pain free!) 

Dinner!!! Salad with raisins and sunflower seeds and an amazing drizzle of poppyseed dressing. And I'm pretty sure there was clover in my salad. Like, 100% sure. (And Jarek -- Vera ate her ENTIRE salad. And every bite of every course for that matter!) 

Pumpkin soup!! Yum yum yum yum. 

Vegetarian paella! Peppers and peas and cauliflower and beans -- so so yummy! 

Chocolate crepe with strawberries and whipped cream!! Allow me to waddle away from the dinner table ... (Except not really because pilgrims can really pack away the food -- you'd think that we are fasting all day whilst walking.) 

My second passport is filling, too!! That colorful star is the one that was given to us by the sisters in Carrion -- such a special "stamp". 

And my bed for the night. No, that is not a double bed, it's two bunks pushed together to save space ... getting cozy with my fellow pilgrims! There is one big room with 48 beds. 

And now it is time for sleep. Vera and I are really REALLY going to try hard to wake up before seven to get an early start -- I'm setting an alarm (aka We mean business. Tara: If it wasn't so ridiculously expensive for me to get phone calls, I'd make you call and wake us up!) Tomorrow we have a long walk ahead of us (thirty one kilometers) and then we will be in Astorga where we want to explore an ancient castle and eat lots of chocolate. haha 

Buen Camino. 

Jena