Day 20, Rest day in Leon

With a desire to see the Cathedral and other sites before the siesta (2pm to 5pm) I was up early for breakfast and off towards the Cathedral a few blocks away. Upon arrival I found the square in front of the Cathedral abuzz with a Farmer’s Market, and the locals stocking up on the fresh produce. Turns out the Cathedral is closed during the day on Wednesdays for cleaning etc… perhaps it detracts from the Farmer’s Market.

So with a plan to back after 4pm, I set out to explore a few shops and see some more sites. I discovered the river park that runs on the east side of the city. It was nice, but Burgos has the upper hand on river parks. While enjoying a walk in the park I ran across a restaurant from home, McDonald’s. Yearning for a taste of homeland food, I stopped in for lunch. 2 Big Mac’s, fries and a Coke. I am sure this was well north of 1500 calories. A luxury of the Camino is to eat well and fuel up… not sure if it’s the Spain version or what, but those were the best Big Mac’s I have ever had. Made fresh to order, not sitting under the lamp for hours like in the USA.

Fueled up I headed back for a siesta. As I was walking the main Street filled with shops the clock ticked past 2PM, and almost like dominoes falling, the shop security doors all came down and folks closed up shop. Still hard to get used too…

After siesta, I headed back out to the Cathedral for a tour. It’s quite an amazing building filled with stained glass built in the 1300’s.

I’ve mentioned a few times about the spontaneity of the Camino as well as new friends are just around the corner. So it was for me last night. After touring the Cathedral I ran into Ernst from Norway, and while sitting with him in a street cafe, Kate an American young woman from Sacramento was a few tables down. She heard us talking and asked if she could join us. And soon two more of her friends joined us, Patrick from Austin and Lisa from Norway. We spent the next several hours talking, laughing and enjoying the discovery of new friends and sharing our Camino experiences. Undoubtedly one of my best experiences thus far.