Latest

Day 17 – El Camino – Carrión de Los Condes to Léon

Carrión de Los Condes to Léon, the albergue emptied out early. At 4h45 already four beds from our dorm were vacant.

100km
~2 hours
2X water purification tablets
overcast in the morning and very chilly; windy, raining and cold in the afternoon; some sunshine in the evening
24€
– Albergue: 12€

By 6h30, the four of us and one other guy were the last in the dorm. A quick stroll past other dorms confirmed the same elsewhere.

As our bus to Léon was not due to arrive 11h51, so we slept in a little longer. Hoping that we wouldn’t get kicked out by the Mother Superior, we hung around until just after 9h30. Ooh how cheeky!

A sister came through the dorm to take the rubbish bin and wished us a good day and a buen Camino.

At breakfast I opted for something sweet, as a sort of treat to myself (cheat day). Two lemon cornettos were definitely worth being cold outside in the chilly wind. There were a few hours to wait so we reviewed the highlights from Game of Thrones, Season Four (particularly Episode 8 and Episode 10). Afterwards we reviewed the final battle between Firelord Ozin and Avatar Aang. Best!

We boarded the bus and got the front seats, which meant panoramic view through the windscreen!

Here is a photo from the glorious airconditioning of the bus.

The ride took us about two hours, as we travelled approximately 95km on the bus.

We arrived at Léon in the rain… I chucked on my poncho but kept on wearing thongs. What a mistake not to change into boots! The thongs and wet surface combination created a high risk of slipping. Aaron and I cautiously navigated the tiled footpath, often seeking more rough terrain to regain walking confidence.

I didn’t get a photo or a video, but I would describe us as either looking 1) like we had shit ourselves; or 2) we had serious knee or back injuries.

The first albergue we wen to was fully booked out, ‘completo.’ The lady directed us to the San Franciscan albergue, which we actually unknowingly passed on the way into town. 10€ each got us a dorm with four beds (two bunks). BUT, there were no covers on the mattress or the pillow!!! There was a vending machine on the ground floor with bed covers, 2€ each. We each bought one (except Matt, who chanced it with just his sleeping bag).

We went to a bar for a pilgrim’s meal, which would be our linner or dunch (lunch + dinner). I got fried eggs for my entree and a beef steak with chips as my main. With a glass of red wine and a peachy desert, i was totally satisfied.

In the dorm we listened to Matt’s Spotify playlist given him by his beloved. It resembled quite closely my own playlist on my iPod. I was the DJ, divinely chosen, I knew I was doing it right because everybody was dancing.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*


More in El Camino de Santiago, Europe, Spain
Day 16 – El Camino – Fromista to Carrión de Los Condes

Fromista to Carrión de Los Condes, the four of us...

Day 15 – El Camino – Castrojeriz to Fromista

Castrojeriz to Fromista, an early start meant that we could...

Day 14 – El Camino – Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz

Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz, did we beat the sun rise?...

Day 13 – El Camino – Burgos to Hornillos del Camino

Burgos to Hornillos del Camino, we all spent the night...

Close