Whew, what a whirlwind series of days!
Camino must have been trained in art history or architecture, because most of her tour focused on the structure of the building itself, and specifically the windows. Rather than telling you about the cathedral, I'm going to tell you what the students learned. I'm keeping responses anonymous and not editing any of their words--a few knowledge nuggets may be repeats.
After free time, we hopped on the bus again for another 45ish minute ride to Astorga. Astorga has a beautiful cathedral and a bishop's palace and a chocolate museum, but most of us (myself included) elected to get started on our 3km walk to our albergue.
Today was all about relationships. We ate breakfast and said goodbye to Juan and the hospitaleras and set off walking. Jeff and I walked the first few miles with a group of 6-7 students. Jeff stopped for a cafe break and I kept trucking. And kept trucking. And kept trucking. All gas, no breaks today. I arrived in Rabanal de Camino at 11AM, well before we could check into our albergue, so I posted up at a cafe and waited for others to arrive.
Where I last left you, we were at Carrión de los Condes about to board a bus to León. I knew nothing about León prior to our arrival, and it totally blew my non-existent expectations out of the water. I found a *much better* source than Wikipedia to give some context for León:
From la Página Oficial de Turismo de León
From la Página Oficial de Turismo de León
The capital city of the Old Kingdom of Leon is full of surprises for any visitor: the history and beauty of its buildings – the Cathedral, San Marcos, San Isidoro, are just some examples – that meld together with a modern city full of tree-lined plazas, parks, fountains and broad avenues. This harmonious mix of ancient stones impregnated with history in the midst of a modern city designed with respect for the environment and a firm commitment to quality of life, makes the city of Leon a first class destination for lovers of cultural tourism.
Leon’s origins go back to the times when the Romans dominated Hispania; and parts of the Roman walls and other monuments of the period can still be seen. The city took on a new prominence in Spain’s history in the first centuries of the Reconquest. The city was a bastion for the fledgling kingdom of Asturias in the war with the Moorish invaders, and soon became the capital of its own kingdom, The Kingdom of Leon. A constant succession of wars and courtly intrigues formed the background to a turbulent period in which the Leonese monarchy extended its domains southwards, establishing the foundations for the construction of Spain.
Leon’s origins go back to the times when the Romans dominated Hispania; and parts of the Roman walls and other monuments of the period can still be seen. The city took on a new prominence in Spain’s history in the first centuries of the Reconquest. The city was a bastion for the fledgling kingdom of Asturias in the war with the Moorish invaders, and soon became the capital of its own kingdom, The Kingdom of Leon. A constant succession of wars and courtly intrigues formed the background to a turbulent period in which the Leonese monarchy extended its domains southwards, establishing the foundations for the construction of Spain.
León Cathedral
The Gaudi building
Una tienda de queso (mi comida favorita)
Old city center
Upon arriving in the city, everyone had about an hour of free time to explore, get a snack, shop, etc. Jeff and I found a cool little cafe in the Cathedral plaza for a cafe con leche.
Cafe near the cathedral
Probably my 40th cafe con leche of the trip
After our break, we met our *amazing guide* whose name happened to be "Camino. She was thoughtful, well-versed in cathedral and city history, and fully engaged our students in the tour.
Camino giving students context for the cathedral
Student Learnings from the León Cathedral (link) <--definitely check it out. Lots of info about the stained glass windows!
"The Leon organ is electric, meaning a current is used to control which pipes sound at a particular time. Some of the pipes are located in cupboards within the stone walls of the cathedral, accessible via narrow spiral staircases" (From DW.com)
After finishing the cathedral tour, Camino gave us a brief tour of the food & wine district of León as well as the plaza where the Casa Botines Gaudí Museum is located. We thanked Camino, and spent the next few hours with free time in León so folks could grab lunch and explore.
Touring the Cathedral
Learning about the statues--13th century!
You can tell which one is Santiago de Compostella based on the shell on his hat
Touring the Cathedral
Check the link above for cool context about the stained glass!
Camino, la guia mejor del mundo
Check the link above for cool context about the stained glass!
Check the link above for cool context about the stained glass!
The group after the tour
Jeff, me, Gaudi
Faith and Gaudi
One more group shot
Jeff, Deya, and I decided to splurge today for lunch. Also, we got to teach Deya what "splurge" means in English :)
Scallops
Tuna
Poached egg -- not pictured was our cheese board :)
After free time, we hopped on the bus again for another 45ish minute ride to Astorga. Astorga has a beautiful cathedral and a bishop's palace and a chocolate museum, but most of us (myself included) elected to get started on our 3km walk to our albergue.
Look good, feel good
Bishop's Palace
The walk was super quick. And the albergue was the most incredible albergue we've stayed at thus far. Las Águedas. Juan, the owner, and his two hospitaleras (Sylvia and I don't remember the other's name :( ) were the most welcoming and warm staff. And the place was so, so beautiful.
One of the patios
View from the courtyard
View from the courtyard
View from the courtyard
After dinner, we invited Juan to share his story. He used to work in fashion in Asia. He made a lot of money, drove nice cars, had a nice house. And then he did the Camino. And he stayed at Las Águedas. Immediately signed up to volunteer, and a few years later, he's now the owner. He explained that if he had the choice of being rich and having a lot of stuff or living a simple life on the Camino, he'd choose the simple life every time. Richness in life is defined by relationships and gratitude. It was such a powerful conversation for all of us and made us really appreciate our experience and the relationships we've built thus far.
After speaking with Juan, I engaged in my daily/weekly routine of "sky looking" where I lay down on the ground and look up at the sky. A few students joined me. We just laid down straight on the gravel. Juan approached us and said, "there's a really nice yard behind the albergue. If you'd like, I'll go get yoga mats and lead your group in a meditation and sound bath." so we said "absolutely." We spent the next hour in community, focused on being present, feeling the earth. Feeling sound vibrations flow through our body. Thinking about being grounded. It was truly a special experience. One I will not forget soon.
View entering Murias de Rechivaldo
The group at dinner
Students and I sky looking (photo credit: Charlotte G.)
Getting ready to meditate/sound bathe
Getting ready to meditate/sound bathe
Murias de Rechivaldo to Rabanal de Camino (9.75 miles)
Today was all about relationships. We ate breakfast and said goodbye to Juan and the hospitaleras and set off walking. Jeff and I walked the first few miles with a group of 6-7 students. Jeff stopped for a cafe break and I kept trucking. And kept trucking. And kept trucking. All gas, no breaks today. I arrived in Rabanal de Camino at 11AM, well before we could check into our albergue, so I posted up at a cafe and waited for others to arrive.
4 hours later, I was still there! Nearly all of our group stopped at the cafe for at least 2 hours (or more). We had great conversation and enjoyed the sunshine and got to know other travelers on the Camino. We also worked on getting folks' blisters taken care of. One traveler, in particular, Chris (from the UK) was very excited to learn about our students' experiences and shared that he was using the Camino as one way of preparing to hike to Everest base camp in the fall. I especially enjoyed my conversation at the end of the afternoon with Lily, Paris, Berkeley, and Chris--discussing and sharing music is so fun. Question for readers: what's the best cover song of all time? We're even making a group Spotify playlist of best covers!
Students caught us on the road to make sure we didn't miss our turn
Finishing our hike to Rabanal del Camino
Some of the group and Chris enjoying sunshine and community
These photos don't do the wildflowers justice, but they were purple and yellow--Westminster colors!
Check out that blue sky!
Daily Kelfie
And now I"m here at the albergue. I believe we are going to a church service tonight (there may be Gregorian chanting??), so I'll probably add an addendum to this post tonight or tomorrow. I tried to see if we could somehow justify taking a cab to Ponferrada tonight to watch the live fútbol game, but we couldn't justify the expense (about 50 euro for the cab roundtrip and ticket to the game). I hope we get to see another live game before the end of the trip!
Edit: the church service was nice; I probably still would have preferred the fútbol game as far as spiritual experiences go, but it's not every day that you get to hear Gregorian chanting...
Until next time!
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