And We Are Off to the Big City, Leon

Slept well last night after all the singing, dancing and laughter. I got up and got ready with a heavy heart. Both Nadia and her Mom, Satsa and Alejandro and his dad, Michalante are stopping in Leon and going home. I got a picture of Alejandro and Michalante while we were packing up. We all slept in the same room last night. 

Then they left and one of the four Spanish girls took a picture of Satsa, Nadia and I. 

As I write this there are tears forming. I think it's odd that I can get that attached to people I've known for a week. But, it happens. Satsa and I exchanged emails and phone numbers. 

Then we started walking. It was dark and the path was off road, but I knew Alejandro and his dad were in front of me and Nadia, her mom and the four Spanish girls were behind me. It was another beautiful sunrise, even though we were walking along a highway. 

The sky was filled with dark clouds, so it added some drama to the sunrise 

Shortly after sunrise it started sprinkling. It wasn't enough to take the pack off and prepare for rain. It stopped after about thirty minutes. Then we saw a faint rainbow. 

About an hour later the thunder and lightening started. That stuff is unnerving enough, but when you are out on a path in the middle of an open field it is just a tad scary. Then it started raining seriously. Just about the time I got the rain gear on and I was a little soaked, it quit. No more rain, thunder or lightening until 7:30 this evening, but I was tucked into the Albergue at that time, and it was of short duration. 

Here is the river we crossed and the sky after the storm. 

I walked with Satsa some today while Nadia walked with the four Spanish girls. We saw a lot of snails because of the rain. We moved some of them off the trail. Then later I saw two slugs. I didn't move them. They were busy being sluggish. 

I caught my first sight of Leon and then got another view after climbing the big blue ramp over the highway. 

After I got to the Albergue and took my shower, Satsa and Nadia showed up. They took a shower at the Albergue. They walked all day and they were going to have a long bus ride home. After they showered, we went and got tapas.  Then we said good by and they walked out of my Camino with packs on their backs. 

Later, I took a walk to look at the walls that protected Leon back in the day of knights and swords. They would not be much help agains t drones. 

And then I went over to check out the stained glass in the cathedral. It was a major engineering feat to build a gothic cathedral with the amount of stained glass in the walls of the Leon Cathedral. I believe it is still the only one with that much stained glass. 

After my walk, I had dinner at the Albergue. I skipped the Mass and Pilgrims Blessing. I got a Pilgrim's Blessing in Carrion. After dinner I crawled into bed for a good night's rest.