Distance: 13.35mi (21.5km) Elevation: 705ft (215m) Duration: 5h 05m Calories: 979 Steps: 37,594 I got serenaded today!! And got a really big hug from my hostess as I departed her wonderful country home….and then, as if some invisible line was crossed, the road turned upward and I began walking into a forest. The Meseta is finally over!!! WOHOOO!!! I’m not sure I could have taken another day of that monotony.  This was a good day. It was also the first day since my journey began I legitimately got really crabby for a while there. I left Molino Galochas around 7:15am. The promise of another 95 degree day making me leave…

Distance: 25k (15.5mi) Elevation gain: 111m (364ft) Duration: 5h 15m Steps: 39,249 Calories: 1,469 What a fun night. And what a lovely homemade meal. My guesthouse today really was like coming into a person’s home and spending the night with friends. But more on that later.  I took a cab today. Yes. You read correctly. A cab. Not for the whole distance of course. Just the first three and a half miles out of Leon. This is something I always planned to do. Skip the completely uninspiring, industrial way out of the city in order to cut down some of the distance, which otherwise would have been close to 19…

Of all the city’s I’ve spent a rest day in so far in, León is the one that feels the most like an actual city. What I mean by that is that it’s not just a big tourist center, but a place where people live and work and play. Mind you, there are still a ton of tourists. But not just Pilgrims. I really enjoyed that about León. While I do like the pilgrim vibe, sometimes it gets a bit wearing and you want to see “normal” folks out and about. In the smaller towns we mostly stop in that’s not a thing because they are for the most part,…

Distance: 13.12mi (21.1K) Elevation gain: 367ft (112m) Duration: 4h 34m Steps: 44,395 Calories: 1,303 Leon is a fantastic city. And omg, is this really a hotel and really MY hotel? I felt like a fairy tale princess walking through the doors of the Parador San Marcos today. Calling it a former convent and pilgrim hospital makes it sound pedestrian. This place is more like a palace. Mind you a palace where the exterior blows you away. The interior is a mixed bag. The historic parts that have been preserved are beyond stunning, but the hotel area is completely renovated and feels too modern and out of place. Like why would…

Distance: 24.8km (15.4 mi) Elevation gain: 69m (225ft) Duration: 5h 23m Steps: 37,246 Calories: 1,509 I almost got mauled by four sheep dogs today. I’m not joking. I could see the Camino flashing before my eyes as I stood as still as I possibly could while the dogs barked viciously at me just feet from my face.  I get it, they were doing their job. I happened to walk up just as the herd was crossing the road. But I’ve never been so afraid of a dog in my life. It didn’t help that the sheep herder took his sweet time to come over and call them off. Felt like…

Distance: 15k (9.3mi) Elevation gain: 109m (359ft) Duration: 3h 33m Steps: 19,996 Calories: 955 Wow, just looking at my step count I’m feeling like a total slacker today. The shortest of all my Camino days this was planned purposely for a couple of reasons. The first was to recover from yesterday’s super long day. The second, because there simply was nowhere else to stay along the route I’m currently on. I left the official Camino Frances today to take an much more isolated, alternate along an ancient Roman route called La Via Trajana. Months ago when first planning this day, my main reason for doing this was because the usually…

Distance: 30km (20mi) Elevation gain: 552ft Duration: 6h 37m Steps: 39,878 Calories: 1,730 I’m a total slacker. I was supposed to walk 24 miles today. I only walked 20. But I have an excuse. I was walking into a lightning storm and a nice Spanish man at a bar offered me a ride along with three others. Legit. I took it as a sign. And you know what? It took all of 5 minutes instead of another hour and a half to cover the last four miles. It really puts this whole thing into perspective doesn’t it? I left Carrión de los Condes today bright and early at 5am. It…