Camino Pilgrimage Day 1

May 16, 2016

First day of our Camino Pilgrimage, although we didn't do much walking today. We met our fellow pilgrims and our guide David at our hotel at 8:15 this morning and, after loading the van with all our luggage, proceeded to Leon, approximately a 4 hour drive away. Once we got to Leon we were greeted by our other guide Carol, who checked us into our hotel, which sits in the historic part of the city. After everyone was settled, we trooped across the street for a delicious 3-course lunch.

There are twelve of us "pilgrims" in this tour: a couple from Denver (the only man in our group other than our guide David), two women neighbors from Santa Barbara, an elderly woman (who is returning for her third Camino walk) and her great niece, two women golf buddies from Australia, a single woman from Massachusetts, and the three of us. It seems to be a congenial group, but maybe that's just the wine bringing out the best in everyone.

We had our first group meeting where we received our pilgrim's passport (which we'll have stamped at various towns along the way to prove we've walked 100 miles) and our clamshell (a symbol of our pilgrimage which we can either wear along the route or tie to our backpack). We also discussed the logistics of tomorrow's walk, which at 7.7 miles will be the shortest walk of the week. After the meeting, we joined a local tour guide for a 2 hour tour of the historic district including the town's 13th century Gothic cathedral. There was a mass at 7:00 at St. Isidoro church a few blocks away and a number of us went to mass after the tour. Dinner was a 4-course affair and lasted from 8:30 until 10:30. Dinner was delicious, but I don't understand how the Spanish can eat this late at night and stay up long enough to digest their food if they have to work in the morning.

Leon Cathedral

Interior View of Cathedral

In Front of our Hotel

I better start walking at least 12 miles a day or I'm going to inflate like a balloon with all the food they're providing!