Sunday 14th May 2023
Distance 21.2 km / 13 miles
Puente de Castro, Leon – Villar de Mazarife
Up and ready to go at the crack of dawn. Once again a convenient park bench to say Morning Prayer as the sun rises. I set out to walk through the centre of Leon. It starts out with wide roads and tall modern apartments and offices with all the shops and businesses of any modern city until you come to the old city. You first see the remnants of the city wall. and the lion which is the cities symbol. I love too the artwork of the Virgin too and the sense that there is no distinction between sacred and secular space.
As I walked to the Cathedral it was clear that early on a Sunday Morning there were two other groups of people apart from those who were obviously pilgrims. The workers hosing down the streets and the mainly younger people who were still out from the night before. The architecture was beautiful and it was nice to walk through before the crowds of tourists filled the streets and squares.
On the way out of the city centre you pass this beautiful cross and it’s iconic statue of a pilgrim. Then across the bridge and into the suburbs.
The suburbs then gave way to scrub and industrial estates before coming to La Virgen del Camino. I am sure this town may have had ancient roots but they certain weren’t in evidence as I walked through. Even the church had been rebuilt in what I thought was a really beautiful way.
This day was going well it had been full of interest and I even loved the contrast of the ancient and the modern. I had decided to take what was billed as a scenic alternative route and had booked a bed in the Village of Villar de Mazarife.
The route started out through scrubland outside the village then there was a lot of crossing over and under modern roads and junctions before reading over the hills on some quiet roads.
It was down into a valley and the tiny village of Oncina de la Valdoncina and onto a dirt track up the other side. Today was certainly a walk with plenty of variety.
I think I was getting weary by this point in the day. I hadn’t had a proper rest break and my feet were quite sore. The blister on my toe was particularly problematic, when I checked later in the evening I was concerned that it was beginning to show signs of infection. The last section of the day was at the side of a road. It was fairly flat and straight but as so often when you are looking forward to the end of the walking day, it never seems to come quick enough. My mood seemed to plummet for some reason I am not quite sure why and this low mood remained with me for the rest of the evening.
Eventually I did reach my destination, the Albergue de Jesus. It was quite nice and very busy with the bar populated by locals from the village. I was all out of sorts though and couldn’t settle and relax. This was one of those times when I didn’t interact with other pilgrims at all. It was definitely a low point and for no real reason.