We have now spent 3 days of not walking in the three of the biggest cities ( Logroño, Burgos and Leon ) we have gone through. We have found the activity in the cities has a definite rhythm that is quite different from US cities. We typically arrive in the cities around 2:00pm which is exactly when things shut down for siesta. The smaller towns are like ghost towns from 2pm until 5pm and even the large cities definitely slow down also.
In the larger cities it seems everyone in town comes out about 6pm and strolls around or stops in one of the many bars with outdoor seating. The usual fare is a beer, glass of wine, or coffee and maybe a small snack which comes with the drink. The streets around the Plaza Mayor ( every city has one ) have few cars and are basically walking streets lined with outdoor bars/cafes. It can be very crowed in the bars and a challenge to get a drink or food ordered. Nobody seems to be in a rush and they are just out to have a drink and socialize with their friends and neighbors. It is a very happy and relaxing phenomena we could use a little more of in the US.
If you want to eat a full meal in a restaurant you will be waiting until at least 8:00pm or later for most restaurants to start serving. Some of the places where pilgrims are staying will serve dinner earlier (7:00-7:30) because pilgrims tend to start their mornings around 6:30am and a late dinner doesn’t work so well.
Some things happen on the Camino that you never expect. We decided to stay in a nicer hotel, instead of an albergue, for our two nights in Leon. Upon checking in after walking all day the desk clerk left for a moment and returned with some Tee shirts for pilgrims that he presented to us. ( Of course they had the hotel name on it for some free advertising) We graciously accepted our gift and went to our room. We wondered if they gave us the shirt as gratitude for our business or because pilgrims tend to smell pretty bad by the end of the day and could really use a clean shirt. In any case I was happy to have a different shirt to wear that was already clean.
Tomorrow we are off to Astorga where we will be taking a day off from walking. We want to visit the chocolate factory which is closed the day we arrive. We do still have priorities beyond the Camino.
Today we passed the 300k remaining point. Yahoo. These milestones seem pretty significant to us at the time.
Sorry the pictures don’t really represent the message as well as we would like. iPhone cameras don’t capture those Kodak moments as well as we would like.
Buen Camino
1 comment:
Just catching up on the blog. We really enjoy your stories and pictures. What a great experience.
Larry & Donna
Post a Comment