Day 17: The Kings of Léon | Alex Carruthers

"If you are going to skip a day of the Camino, today is the day to skip."  This is the opening sentence of our guidebook about today's hike.  I was appalled that it even suggested skipping a day of the trek.  Can you just wake up one day during life and say "yeah I want to skip this stage of my life?"  No.  You cannot.  And I can wholeheartedly assure you that your Memphis Pilgrims did not skip today.

Yes, it was on a highway for some parts.  No, it was not "beautiful" in a conventional sense.  Yes, it was comparable to Hacks Cross.  So we were not "looking forward" to today, but we still found the beauty in it.  We still found that we would put one step in front of the other to walk 24 kilometers from Reliegos to Leon, our fourth major city (population 135,000) before the Grande Perro (Santiago de Compestella).

Last night, we called ten private accommodations to get a reservation in Leon,  When we would ask for a reservation, they would give the curt reply "completo," which means "full."  So instead of treating ourselves tonight, we have the privilege of sleeping with 130 of our closest friends.  Judging by my nap today, there will be another concert.  In fact, during my nap, while listening this to this soloist, I heard my bunk mate mutter "Oh God."

Being in Leon is a pretty sobering moment.  If you look at the map, Leon is on the western end of Spain, and we started about 10 kilometers in France.  We've come a long way.  We still have a lot to go, but the trip is beginning to near an end, and so there are a lot of mixed feelings about it.  We are looking forward to not walking 20-30 kilometers a day, but this means that the trip is coming to a close.  And I don't want it to end.

But the trip is nowhere near over.  We are looking forward to leaving the Meseta and entering the Galicia area, which has mountains and beautiful views again.  The most notable landmark is the Iron Cross, where people from all over the world have been carrying rocks on the Camino and they put their rocks at the base of the Iron Cross.  Stay tuned for that day.  I've been carrying a boulder.  A nice boulder. Murray thinks he left his boulder in St. Jean. I think intentionally.

Have a blessed day, America.

Pictures: Not the greatest quality picture, but this was a pretty river.  A nice break from Hacks Cross.  Pictured to the right is the highway to Leon.

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