| Day # | 52 | State of Legs | :-) |
| Distance (miles) | Distance (km) | Ascent (feet) | Ascent (metres) | Punctures | |
| Today | 62 miles | km | 1339 feet | metres | 0 |
| Trip Totals | 2388 miles | km | 102186 feet | metres | 0 |
| Today's Route |
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| Route So Far |
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Travelogue
Last night, the small town with the cool name of Carrión de los Condes threw a party. All afternoon and evening, droves of "young people" arrived at the campsite, pitched their tents and arranged their vast collections of alcohol in a way which ensured others could see it and be impressed. Portable sound systems were plugged in and music played. As evening advanced, loud music started from the other side of the park which was adjacent to the campsite. This was the official party, complete with professional DJ. The young 'uns left the campsite and headed off to enjoy a hedonistic time.
Meanwhile, not so young 'uns like me who had cycled many miles and even more kilometres in the last week, were wondering about sleep. It's desirability. It's likelihood. And so on.
I decided it would be prudent to get some sleep early, knowing that the party would get wilder and louder and that there was a strong likelihood that it would find its way back to the campsite itself after the official party had ended. I was wrong about this last part.
So, I read my book a while and got to sleep at about 09:30, largely thanks to the Magic of Earplugs. I then went through a repeating cycle of being woken by The Party, reading a while, exhaustion overcoming me and sleeping for a bit, being woken by The Party.... and so on. The key thing to take away here though is that I did actually get some sleep, very much against the odds.
At 6:30 I woke again and decided it was time to get up. And guess what? The party had not found its way back to the campsite as I had predicted. Because The Party was still in full swing! The DJ had not flagged. Their playlist was not yet exhausted and nor apparently were the party goers! I'd left by about 7:30 and The Party was still going. I'm telling you, the yoof of Spain have got real staying power!
Cycling out of the town, I saw loads of people drinking and laughing in the streets. I encountered a large group coming the other way down the street I was cycling up and taking up the entire width of the road. I just kept on cycling and they started shouting what appeared to be good-natured comments with grins on their faces, the same grin I had on mine. It was a good, happy vibe.
The town has a nice church as do many of these Spanish towns and villages.
Very soon, I was on the Camino de Santiago, initially on a road with the walker's path running alongside it.
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| Look carefully and you can see walkers on the path to the left |
Soon though, I had a choice of staying on the road but leaving the camino or taking an off-road section of the camino. It wasn't so bad yesterday so I decided to stick with the camino and hope the surface didn't degrade. It looked OK to begin with.
And it stayed OK. This was a lengthy section of off-road cycling of about 10 miles. The surface was gravel on packed earth and it was to The Mule's liking. Not as fast as on the road, but fast enough and not so rough as to generate Spoke and Tyre Anxiety.
Not far from the end of this section, I came upon a hostel and bar and decided it was time for coffee and a slice of apple tart.
There was an Australian guy at another table who was walking the camino. We started talking and I commented that he was a long way from home. He said, "yes but my mum died 10 years ago and then my sister last month". I was a bit shocked and responded by saying nothing much but in a tone I hoped conveyed sympathy and understanding. So, he was here to walk and come to terms with these two important people in his life having died? OK, some people find that helps.
And then he said "It's a kind of tradition in our family". What is? Death? Well, then it's a tradition in everyone's family!
Hang on.... maybe he didn't say "died". Maybe he said "Did"! "My mum did it 10 years ago and my sister did it last month"! Yes! That makes way more sense!
It was the Australian accent! :-)
I continued on my way and soon completed the off-road section. The road and walker's trail then ran side by side for many miles. The road itself was excellent. Almost free of traffic like yesterday, gentle gradients and a great surface. I was fairly whizzing along if The Mule and I can ever be said to "whizz"!
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| The town of El Burgo Ranero |
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| More penthouse nests |
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| The Camino crosses an enormous plain with mountains to the north |
I'd booked an Airbnb studio apartment near the centre of León and on arriving in the city, went straight to it. It's on what is apparently a famous street called Calle La Rúa. It's a great location because it's literally just around the corner from a lovely square called Plaza San Marcelo which includes the town hall, Gaudí's Botines Building and the Palacio de la Diputación de León. I couldn't get into the apartment right away so I relaxed in the shade by a fountain at one end of the square until I could.
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| Calle La Rúa |
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| Calle La Rúa |
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| Plaza San Marcelo |
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| Plaza San Marcelo |
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| Gaudí's Botines Building |
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| Ahhhh, shade! |
Since checking into the apartment, I've been most industrious. I've washed almost every item of clothing I have, I've washed The Mule and degreased the chain and I've been to the nearest supermarket to get groceries.
It's now time to relax. I'm here for two nights and will do no cycling tomorrow.
Adios!
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