León, Castile and León, Spain and Canary Islands
Distance by the guide book - 18.1km
Total distance for the day - 12km
Flights climbed - 1
Well the Camino has unexpected twists and turns! We left Mansilla this morning after a nice farewell from Marisa and Carlos. They do a basic continental breakfast for a donation. It was only an 18 km walk into Leon and most people in the Albergue were planning to do that so no one was in hurry to get going this morning.
It was a pretty uninspiring walk, as most are, into a big city. After a couple of hours of gravel paths close to the highway we started to hit suburbia with some small shops and industrial areas. We still had about 8kms to go and we started to wonder which side of the city centre our hotel was on. I put it into Google maps and it told us it was 22kms away! We thought, ‘that can’t be right’. Did a bit more research and discovered we’d booked a hotel 15kms from the centre of Leon! It was too late to change the booking and our luggage was on its way there anyway. We debated whether to walk the rest of the way into the city and then find our way to the hotel or to just get a taxi and let them take us there to check in and drop our backpacks off.
We could always get a bus back into the city afterwards, we thought. In the end we opted for the taxi for two reasons. The first was, a call to the hotel elicited the information that we could check in straight away and leave our things. The second was, the walk into the city was boring!
A kindly bar owner phoned a taxi for us. We should have clued in when the taxi driver had no idea where the hotel was. Twenty euros and twenty minutes later he dropped us off at a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. The building he left us at had part of the name on it but it turned out not to be our place. Luckily after ringing the bell and getting no response we googled the hotel again and found it around the corner. The hotel is lovely and very comfortable and it is on the Camino route so we’re in the right place for when we want to leave on Saturday but there is no transport back into Leon! We’re definitely going into the city tomorrow for the day whether it be by taxi, shuttle bus or walking to the village 3km away where we can get a bus!
A little bit of serendipity did happen today, however. We decided that since we were stuck here for the day we’d go out and have a wander around the village just to see what was here. There was a man setting up an area for a fiesta on Saturday, an old decaying church steeple with the obligatory stork nesting on the top, some very old houses and a few very new houses and another Albergue across the street from us. We thought we’d look in there and see if they were selling lunch. And as it happened signing in at reception was Gabriella, a German lady we met on the very first day at Borda! We shared lunch and caught up on each others adventures since then. If we hadn’t accidentally booked the wrong hotel we may never have run into her again. She’s planning to finish in Santiago on the same day as us.
We whiled away the afternoon doing washing, resting and sharing drinks with Gabriella and a Swedish lady just starting her Camino today. Dinner didn’t start until 8:30pm at the hotel, the only choice in town. Much too late for us. We’re in bed by 8:30! They had said there would be pizza available at 7. That didn’t happen. So we were reduced to raiding the vending machines for some sustenance. Not a very nutritious dinner but hopefully it will tied us over until breakfast tomorrow.
It didn’t warm up all day today and it was very cold sitting outside with a drink. Thank goodness the room is nicely heated.
Jayne
2023-05-18
Some days just go to plan! Let’s hope you get a doesn’t breakfast in the morning
Laurel
2023-05-18
I have finally caught up after a mammoth couple of hours of reading. Your photos and descriptions bring it all to life so well. How are you feeling? Fit as fiddles or tiring? You look fantastic. I fear you will leave our little walking group for dead when you return. One consolation - you will never be able to out-eat us. Cheers and good luck for the rest of the trip.
Jenny
2023-05-18
I hope your brekky lived upto your expectations! Keep smiling…😘
Karry
2023-05-18
Glad I’m not the only one who books dodgy hotels!
Marl
2023-05-18
There’s always a few mishaps. It makes for funny stories later. 😂 Hope tomorrow is better. Xx
Chris D
2023-05-18
I'm vicariously relishing this journey Leanne and Sheila...always looking forward to tomorrow's highlights (and inevitable lowlights). Thankyou for taking the time to share it with us. xx
Helen
2023-05-18
Love how you say 'only an 18km walk.'
Margot
2023-05-18
As least you wouldn’t have been woken up by the cathedral bells in Leon.
Beth
2023-05-19
Leanne, you and Sheila continue to inspire me. Well done, girls! x
Suzanne
2023-05-19
What a strange day you had, and nice that you were able to catch up with other walkers. Eating late was a problem for us as well in Spain. Enjoy your rest day.
Liz davis
2023-05-19
Glad that vending machines were available. No need to worry about extra calories with the amount of exercise that you are doing.
Claire
2023-05-20
Now there’s a first! Sheila eating from a vending machine 😂! Definitely a low light eh? On onwards girls😎! Your impressive efforts continue.