Days 27 through 31, Leon to Astorga, ~73,3km/45.5mi

While Camino lore’s “Mind Phase” extends all the way to the town of Astorga, the Meseta actually ends in the city of León, one of the major towns and historical centers along the Camino Francés. In my opinion, this makes for two very different experiences throughout this one phase. The first half has all the characteristics of the infamous Meseta, Spain’s northern plateau. You can read my interpretation here.

The second half was quite different, as was apparent stepping off the bus in León. The “big city” felt like a bit of a shock after having been in such a remote location, seeing so few people for what felt like days.

I was in a bit of a funk upon arrival, experiencing some guilt over “Camino by bus” coupled with regret over having skipped 3 days of walking. I was feeling a bit depressed and downtrodden. Since I had skipped ahead, all my Camino pals were either behind me or ahead of me. Plus a cold front had blown in, sending me from short sleeve tee-shirts and shorts back into merino wool and fleece. While Burgos, the last city I had passed through was warm, bright and cheerful, the narrow medieval streets of León felt dark and imposing. If there are walls along the Way, I had just hit one.

The weather now suddenly turned downright brisk, I couldn’t seem to get warm, so I thought I would go sit in the sun at an outdoor café. A fellow pilgrim, sitting under one of the gas tower heaters said “You look so cold! Please take my seat!” I was overcome by her kindness. We shared trials and tribulations encountered along the Meseta, but as she left, I had another little meltdown. Alone again, naturally.

Soon out of nowhere, a waitress appeared with a glass of red wine, and said “This is compliments of the couple behind you.” I turned around to see the smiling faces of Kabilan and Scarlett from Australia. I asked them to join me, and we spent the entire afternoon drinking wine in the sun while swapping travel stories. Though I would never see their smiling faces again as they were consistently far ahead of me, they checked in on me almost daily via the “What’s App” messenger to offer support and offer recommendations from the trail ahead.

Another boost was when I learned my friend Rebecca was also going to be in León. Funny thing about the Camino, there may be a thousand people who all leave on the same day as you, yet you run into only a handful of the same people over and over again. And so it was with Rebecca from Chicago. We both left Saint Jean on the same day, and continued to bump into each other along the way. We had much in common and enjoyed meaningful conversation, so she was kind enough to slow her pace down so we could walk together on days when we were in the same locale. We met for lunch and toured the cathedral together before she moved on. We would bump into each other again in the streets of Hospital de Órbigo, and on and on it would go.

I spent a full day touring in Astorga, going strong until the doors were closing for the evening. Having been standing on my feet for 10 hours straight, I knew I had turned a corner when I realized my feet didn’t hurt!

So the city of León was a turning point on my Camino. After three days of rest alternating with a little touring, I felt like myself again. This second half would turn out to be my favorite part of the Camino for many reasons. The beautiful, lively cities of León and Astorga, filled with interesting historic buildings and cultural sites, the wineries, cherry trees and fields of lavender unfolded in all directions, and the elevation began to increase revealing awe-inspiring vistas across the mountain ranges of the Castile-León region.

Over halfway now, it would be the last time the “DNF Demons” tried to convince me I wasn’t meant to finish. I set my sights on Santiago, and never thought about quitting again.

There is much hype on the forums and among fellow pilgrims about “finding your Camino family” as a part of the Camino experience. These tribes often form early on, some even finding their “family” in St Jean, even before the walk begins, sticking together until the end. This puts a lot of self-imposed pressure on an introvert like me. And when you add my usual “snail’s pace” to the mix where no one wants to walk as slowly as I do, it can certainly cause one to begin to feel like Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen.” It took me a while to figure out that this “choosing sides for basketball” was causing me to have atypical feelings of loneliness. Once I figured out the root cause, I was content in my solo sojourn.

It’s an odd situation, these temporary fast moving friends. With each “rest day,” my Camino pals walked on, many of them never to be seen again. “Hello, hello, hello, hello…..Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye, good-bye” from Simon & Garfunkel’s “Leaves that are Green” ran through my head continuously as I quickly realized that while the Camino offered like-minded community, it also meant it was just going to be one goodbye after another…

Leaves that are Green
~ Simon and Garfunkel

I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song
I’m twenty-two now, but I won’t be for long
Time hurries on
And the leaves that are green turn to brown
And they wither with the wind
And they crumble in your hand
Once my heart was filled with the love of a girl
I held her close, but she faded in the night
Like a poem I meant to write
And the leaves that are green turn to brown
And they wither with the wind
And they crumble in your hand
I threw a pebble in a brook
And watched the ripples run away
And they never made a sound
And the leaves that are green turn to brown
And they wither with the wind
And they crumble in your hand
Hello, hello, hello, hello
Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye, good-bye
That’s all there is
And the leaves that are green turn to brown