Ultreia... Onward to Leon on the Camino Days 16-22

From Castojeriz we walked through autumn days westward through Spain. The map below shows our progress, outlined in dark blue-green. 

We stay the night at the beautiful monastery of San Zoilo on the outskirts of Carrion de los Condes, a small Camino town. Once a fine and powerful institution, it has been converted to a four star hotel while maintaining it's ancient Spanish character.  I had strolled the grounds and forgot to tour the cloister until it was almost closing time, at dusk.  They reluctantly allowed me to enter so late in the day, as it was completely without electric lighting. I was all alone, walking down the loggia to the entrance of the fine, sparsely adorned gothic church.  I entered the cathedral; my footsteps were the only sound. On each side of the aisle were the tombs and effigies of twelve ancient abbots and bishops.  It was silent, as nightfall here has been for nine hundred years.  It was almost as if they were waiting  to see what I would do in their consecrated space. So, I sang "Gaudete", a Christmas song in Latin they might have known in life.  The echos and acoustics were wonderful and the whole church was filled with my voice  They exhaled in their eternal silence and were pleased.

Here is "Gaudete", by the Mediaeval Baebes!

Leaving Carrion de los Condes the next morning, Jack Frost had painted the leaves for us.
Days are growing cooler, the shadows longer.

Another gothic church along the Camino; such soaring spaces.

Day 16  A tomb effigy of a church official. This one still bears it's original paint.

Day 16.  Having lunch with another pilgrim.

Day 16  Lyn and I warming up with hot Castillan
garlic soup and crusty bread. Yum!

Day 17 dawns cool and clear.

Day 17. It rained in the afternoon, a gentle shower for a few hours.
 I was glad to have a full rain suit.

Across a centuries-old bridge, we approach the half way mark!

Yellow arrows, some artfully done, point the way to Santiago.

At last!  Fabada Asturiana, my favorite bean stew!!!!

Day 18  At the end of the day, we visit the Church of the Peregrina to receive a special certificate to mark the occasion of passing the halfway mark. This church was built by artisans from Moorish Spain, and intricate geometric patterns were carved and painted into wet plaster. 

Day 18  A typical view, pilgrims nearing the end of the day's walk.

Day 18  Another day on the flat mezeta, for a total of about six.  A Spanish friend says that on the mezeta,
hot days are hotter, windy days are windier, cold days are colder .  I believe it.

Spanish style and playfulness can be seen everywhere.

Day 19 We passed a shepherd and his flock, with his two happy dogs who

love their jobs!  The sound was of tinkling bells around their necks.

Another church, each beautiful for the architecture and feeling of sanctity

At last we enter Leon.  We are staying at the San Isadore Casa de Espiritualidad; another monastery made into a hotel, preserving wonderful paintings, furniture, fabric hangings, and frescoes for another generation.

At the Pantheon of St. Isadore, vivid and artful 11th century frescoes.
 I had to sneak this photo, so that's me peeking into the picture.

We go out in the evening to see Leon. Spaniards dine quite late,
so we settled for tapas and great wine.

This is the cast of a Roman soldier's bootprint, found in Leon. These are used  to indicate that the streets
 we walk on were part of the original footprint of the Roman garrison town .

The cloister at St. Isadore monastery we stayed at.

A lion, the emblem of the City and old Kingdom of Leon.

Leon's gothic cathedral,  impressive outside, and absolutely brilliant inside.

Dogs were just as silly and beloved in the 11th century as now.

Over a thousand square meters of stained glass, made in the early middle ages.

Really quite breathtaking.

The tomb of a longdead cleric.

Detail of the rose window in Leon.
Madonna and child surrounded by 12 angels playing music.

As we walk the Camino out of Leon, we watch a fly fisherman in the river.

These "bodegas" are built into the hillside. Originally the housed wine presses and cellars, cooled naturally by the earth. Many now are made into little cottages for their owners to enjoy, like hobbit houses.

But first, a last view of Leon. The cathedral spires in the background, Gaudi's stately home on the left,
and Leon's signature street lights along the fashionable Calle Ancha.

Gaudi designed this for as a home for two prominent families of Leon, at the request of his friend.
 He used locally sourced materials such as limestone and slate.

Gaudi and me!

Until next time, Buen Camino!