Keep on Keepin' on

We finally think (having arrived in the large city of Leon) that we have made it off the lonely meseta.  The meseta was slightly prettier than we imagined, but it was long, exposed to the sun, and an unchanging landscape. This was the 7ish days everyone says is a slog. Not all 7 were bad.  The non existent spring kept temps low and the sun hidden for the first half, and we really thought the area around Castrojeriz and Hontanas was pretty.  But the last few days on a deserted roman road with few pilgrims (the road split into two routes for a couple of days and we had to take the lesser one because of baby accommodations) in mid 80s heat with sun was...not pleasant.  Luckily we made it into Leon without sunburn (Kepa included) and are now more worried about impending cold as we leave the meseta to a Spain that remains unseasonably cool

Kepa remains a celebrity. Beyond words

Met a man from Lisbon who is walking with his wife and little yapper dog. They walked the camino Portuguese (shorter than the Frances but very difficult) to Santiago.  Now they are headed up the Frances to St Jean then all the way to La Puy (a spot in France where the real crazies start).  From there they go to Lourdes and then on to (are you sitting down?) Jerusulum. They hope to make it by Christmas (!).  We also met a 17 year old from Switzerland who was let out of high school a trimester early because of good grades so long as he did something "enriching". He is walking to Santiago via the Frances having begun in Geneva Switzerland (!).  Before you start feeling too sorry for him though, he has recently teamed up with some hot French girls in their early 20s. Living the frat boy dream :)

June 5 Terrafillos to Calzadilla de Los Hermanillos (26.9 km)
Passed through Shahagun, a miderate sized city (huge for the meseta) that seemed a bit dirty and sketchy. Then onto a lonely track of roman road where we saw no other pilgrims (hot too). Got lost at one point and redirected by an old woman at a bar who directed us to an old camino route that was abandoned for "political reasons". She left her bar (door open) to walk us the first .5 km.  from then on we were guided by camino signs from the 70s, back when the mascot was a mouse dressed in pilgrim gear .   Calzadilla was awesome though, tiny village and remote, a nice terrace and beer on tap. Rabbit and lamb on the pilgrim (aka cheap) menu, and tractors driving back into town of an evening for Kepa to watch. A great way to spend an evening.

A whole lotta nothing on the meseta......

This arch just before Shahagun marks the 1/2 way point for the entire camino

And on our way out of Sahagun we saw sheep and dogs!  Kepa was muy impressed. ---->>

June 6 Hermanillos to Mansilla de las Mulas (24.5 km)
22 km of NOTHING   Barely even a tree.  No house. No crossroad. No anything.  Then we descended on the village of Reliegos and "bar Elvis".  Bartender in a beret, intentional graffiti everywhere, Mexican music booming, upgraded our beers because we were from New Orleans, and grilled us shrimp from scratch (with a rub he made in front of us) to makeup for being "humiliated" that he was out of the sausage we tried to order. It was EPIC.  Mansilla was less memorable.

Like a bird that flew?  We've been seeing storks all along the route, but especially of late. This one was taking flight!

The way signs circa 1980. Really comforting when you are on a stretch and only see these :)

A beautiful sky on the meseta. But a sad statement that the sky was the most beautiful thing.

Bar Elvis!  A hunka hunka burning meseta

June 7 Mansilla to Leon (18.6 km)
Most of today's walk was through suburbs but Leon is sublime.  Their cathedral is much prettier than Burgos (IMO) and we went to the basilica de San isidoro, which besides a 12th century bible (!) boasts ceiling paintings that at considered to be the medieval version of the Sistine chapel. Amazing.  We have been surprised to see a lot of political graffiti calling for indepence for Leon.  Who knew?  A 7th century fair is in town (think Renfair without pimples) meant to celebrate roman Castilian and moorish heritage. A bit cheesie but the food looks AMAZING.   Will be heading there for dinner after K's nap. Will eat more than I have in a week. Wood fired rabbit, chorizo, and short ribs are definites.  Authentic gyros, wood fired chicken, and smoked potatoes (with toppings like corn or chorizo) likely add ons.  And did I mention the Moorish pastries?

The spires of the cathedral in Leon. This photo doesn't do it justice.

Leon is a sleek, modern city that still feels old and historic. A nice mix. We like.

Wood. Fire. Pig. Yum.

They were out of rabbit (so sad), but still really good. The peppers on the right were awesome. The "authentic moorish kebob" (not shown) is the best kebob I've ever had.  Insanely amazing.

Todd's new tshirt. Morcilla is like the Castilla y Leon version of Boudin, only better.  I really like the stuff, and "es unica" has been my most common statement in spanish (about everything) so the shirt just seemed to fit.