02 October 2017
Walking Day 20:
18.5 Kilometers
24,920 steps

We are having no complaints about the weather since I started walking in the autumn on the Camino de Santiago. Today was another very nice day, and a bit of a short walk at that, only 18.5 kilometers from Mansilla de las Mulas to León. For me this means a rest day tomorrow, and I am looking forward to not setting my alarm for tomorrow morning.

So, tonight I am posting pictures with brief captions, and shall add more of my thoughts and descriptions tomorrow on my rest day.

Knowing that the walk to León was short, we left Mansilla de las Mulas at about 8:30 and the sun was already warming the 10C (50F) morning. Once out of town, we are again on the meseta, the great plains of Spain. León marks the end of the meseta, but we shall see a little more rolling plains before we ascent up the mountain, over Cruz de Fero, and into the Bierzo valley.

The first part of the walk after this cornfield was along a fairly busy highway, and while the Camino path was about 10-20 meters from the highway, the noise of a busy Monday was slightly bothersome. Occasionally we dipped into some forest and the noise of the highway dropped considerably. In one of those bits of forest is this Camino sculpture, an iron caricature of a pilgrim.

We cross over a separated pilgrim bridge, avoiding the highway that travels over an old, stone bridge … the shoulders are very, very narrow on the highway bridge, so it is good to be separated.

Another view of the rest of the highway bridge…a very cool old bridge, but too busy and not safe for pilgrims.

We continue walking towards León. Here are Jeff and Tracy from Minnesota nearing the outskirts of León.

Another large, and rather majestic-looking willow appeared at this home by the Camino path:

Then we arrived at a rest area with a fountain – non-potable water, so we don’t drink (I never drink from the fountains in Spain…people say they are safe, but I’m just not so sure, and take the safer path and use bottled water). It is a very old fountain, so a good place for a photo. It says 307 kilometers to Santiago. We have about 7 kilometers to León, and León is generally believed to be 307-310 kilometers from Santiago, so I am not so sure this is accurate, and it does not really matter. I look a little weary here, but it is a good day.

The final hill before León – much steeper and longer than it looks.

Finally, the odd blue bridge over the N-601 highway, the main highway into this part of León. Here are Jeff and Tracy at the bridge.

After crossing the blue bridge, we head into the city of León, a city with a population of about 150,000. We have to get through the suburbs and into the old city; it is a bit of a grueling walk of about 3 kilometers when we are ready to be done. Finally we reach the river and cross a walking bridge parallel to the main highway bridge with a nice view of the highway bridge:

One more view of the bridge into the old part of the city before we actually get there:

Then we have arrived at the Puerta Moneda, the port in the old city wall letting us into the old city. As were many old cities, León was built as a walled city and parts of the old city wall are still here:

Another view showing some of the wall the other direction from the entrance:

We wind our way through the narrow streets, following carefully the Camino yellow arrows. In short order, we have arrived at the León Cathedral, one of the more remarkable in all of Europe.

A view of the front showing a bit more detail:

Inside the main part of the nave showing some of the structure and ceiling:

Some detail showing the remarkable stained glass above the main altar.

And finally, the stained glass that is seen from the outside front but from the inside:

Next: A Rest Day in León