We spent two nights in Leon and a full, much needed rest day. All three of us have a variety of aches and pains after walking 289 miles. Good grief…we can not believe we have actually walked that far! We asked the lady of the house, where we were staying, for recommendations for a massage center. Gratefully she set us up and the three of us each had one hour massages…it was glorious!

Wednesday we spent exploring Leon. We toured the Cathedral, a 13th century Gothic Cathedral in the Plaza Regal. It is know for its magnificent stained glass windows that are set in rows and reach up to the top of the ceiling. A good majority of the stained glass tells the stories of the bible and there are a variety of motifs such as harvests and flowers. It is absolutely beautiful the light that streams in in all different colors.



We also walked over to the Plaza San Marcos. It is an ancient monastery dedicated to St. Mark. The buildings design is Renaissance craftsmanship with scallop shells covering a good majority of the entrance.

At the Plaza there is the Pantheon. It is part of the monastery that houses the tombs of 11 Kings, 12 Queens and 23 Princes.

And finally, in the Plaza is the Paradore. It is the breathtaking hotel that was in the movie The Way.

Celebrating the Festival of San Juan continued through Thursday. There were parades, concerts every night and all kinds of entertainment. We had a wonderful time in Leon, taking in the historical aspect of the city, meeting other pilgrims and eating delicious food (gelato every night)!
The road out of Leon was unpleasant. Hard pavement, noise pollution from cars and trucks and yes, the heat. But we journey on to San Martin and stayed in a pleasant Albergue where we got our own room, towels and shampoo. We have come to appreciate the small pleasures in life, like being clean and having a quiet room.
On our way to Murias de Rechivaldo we crossed over one of the longest and best preserved medieval bridges in Spain. It dates from the 13th century and is built over an earlier Roman bridge which forms one of the great historical landmarks on the Camino. It is famous for jousting tournaments that took place here in the Holy Year of 1434.

Today is Satuday and we are on our way to Manjarin. We will be climbing to the highest elevation on our journey (higher than the Pyrenees). It will also be a bit emotional for us as we will be passing by Cruz de Ferro. Cruz de Ferro is where the Mountain of Burdens is. We have our stones we’ve carried from home and will place them there. The Mountain of Burdens is where you place your stone (your burdens) and release what burdens you may have…what you have been carrying in life.