I’m taking some rest in León. It’s a pretty city and I want to make sure I get some time to see a number of the sights. I also can tell I need some rest to heal up a couple of nagging muscular issues. I’m excited to have a private room with a bathroom after several days of sharing both with others.
The first order or business is laundry. With basically 3 outfits, laundry is always somewhere on the list. I then check into my hotel where I’m delighted to find that I have a tub. After a quick run to the store to grab a couple of bottles of agua con gas, I happily spend the afternoon soaking, reading, and hydrating.
The next day I explore the city. The Cathedral is amazing and has a great audio guide. The stained glass is really impressive and I’m struck by the choir. Unfortunately, the organ player isn’t available for today’s masses, so I miss the chance to hear the massive pipes in action.
I spend the afternoon wandering the neighborhoods around the Cathedral and just as I’m getting ready to duck into a bar for a tapas and a drink, I run into a number of folks I’ve been seeing all week. Over an early-bird dinner, they introduce me to some of the folks I hadn’t previously met, including a woman from Blue Ash. She and I had been hearing about each other all week so it was nice to make the connection. While we frequent some of the same places, we didn’t find any people in common. It was nice to talk about home for a bit though.
When I got back to the hotel, I sat down to do some serious work on the next week’s itinerary. Some of the folks I ate with mentioned that they were having trouble finding rooms for the next stages. While my pace is steady like clockwork (unfortunately, even when I try to walk faster, same pace,) I am not the fastest walker on the Way. Because of this, I’m really unfortable with hoping that I can get to the municipal or donativo albergues, which don’t take reservations, before they fill up. So, I sit down with my guidebook, Camino Ninja, and Google Maps, and spend the next four hours planning out the stages between here and Sarria.
Like my friends, I am unable to find accommodations for the next 40 kilometers. I briefly play with the idea of a complicated series of bus and taxi rides to walk these two(ish) stages and ultimately decide to take the hint and pick up where I can start to find beds again. I’m struggling a bit with the fact that this isn’t the original plan and that my footprints won’t completely connect. I ultimately decide that I need to give myself the same grace that I would extend to others – to let go of my preconceived notions of what this trip would be and embrace what it is.
My path is now set. Barring injury or disaster, I’ll be in Santiago in a little more than two weeks. I have a lot of emotions about this. It’s incredible and daunting and somehow too soon and not soon enough. Mostly though, I’m relieved. I think having finalized all the plans will help me be more in the moment each day instead of constantly doing the math on where I need/want to be a few days out.
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