Day 2 in Leon

 

Lunch with the Guys 

We walked “downtown“, toward the cathedral to have breakfast. You are never alone on the Camino. we ran into Don, Jim Burd and Don‘s friend Mike who is starting the Camino today. Johnny Cash was there but I hardly recognized her because she wasn’t wearing black. I asked her about it. She told me her black clothes were being washed. It was fun to pilgrim watch as people arrived into town.

After breakfast I walked back to the hotel to take a shower. Michele booked Thai massages for all of us. I really needed it because of my back. in the shower, one of my toenails came off. this was a good thing. One more to go and I can probably put on a sock again. 

The massage: I haven’t had many massages in my life. I can only think of one, in Saint Helena. I was a little apprehensive. What is a Thai massage?Is it only a “massage”? These are the things going through my mind. I just laid down on the table and put my face through the little hole. 

I could see part of the floor and a bowl of water with flowers floating in it. A woman came in and started massaging me with oil. At some point I realized that she was no longer standing on the floor. I didn’t know if I was being massaged with her knees or feet. I had only  seen her feet as she passed in front of me. I didn’t know if I would see her.  It was a good massage. I yelped a few times when she worked on my low back. No surprises. I saw her. A sweet petite Thai woman. I felt better after. 

I walked back downtown to one of the tapas  districts for lunch with the boys. Good vino tinto, patatas bravas, calamari and sautéed veggies. 

Back to the room now for a siesta. After a few weeks I finally figured out that the whole country shuts down between 2-4 in the afternoon.

I love Leon. I could move here tomorrow and stay for the rest of my life.  A very easy city to navigate. I feel like every turn I take and every road that I go down takes me to a familiar traffic circle. And the food!!!

The Meseta: as you start out the Camino everybody warned you about the Meseta. You hear that it is a flat straight hot boring stretch of the Camino. People talk about skipping the Meseta , taking a bike, etc.  we just finished the Meseta. I didn’t mind it at all. it wasn’t as flat or straight as promised. There were enough trees and scenery to keep me interested. 

I forgot to talk about last night: Lea and Michele went out for a late dinner. I decided to join them. We went to what I would call the tapas District near the cathedral. I had a steak, sangria and tapas. We saw an American who was just starting out the Camino. Greg from San Jose. I politely invited him to our table. he was pleasant enough company until he started arguing with the waiter over the bill. He was wrong and out of line. I don’t need to walk with this guy. He needs to leave that stuff at home. Maybe the Camino will help him get away from it.

Michele hosted a pizza party tonight at her fancy condo. We all brought wine. I told her I wanted anchovy pizza. Everyone scoffed at me. She ordered one of each variety at the pizzeria, not knowing what she would get. I got my wish. A whole anchovy pizza to myself. The Camino provided. 

Love, 

the bear