This webpage is actually an amalgamation of three days of our trip : May 22 (the day we took the train from Logroño to León), May 23 (a full day spent
exploring León), and May 24 (another half day in León, then the train ride to Sarria). This plan allowed us to skip 21 stages of the Camino Frances, yet still see the most scenic parts. We still
ended up walking 170 of the 500 total miles.
The train from Logroño to León left a bit before 1 PM. We changed trains in Miranda de Ebro; there was just a 35 minute layover at the station. Our train pulled
into León at 5 PM. I had booked the closest hotel (Crisol Riosol) to the train station that I could find so that we wouldn't have to carry our bags too far - no luggage transfer today!
While checking into the hotel, we met a Canadian couple that had taken the same train ride from Logroño to León. Like us, they had started the Camino in St. Jean Pied
de Port. Unlike us, they hiked to Logroño in just five days! (It took us seven). Her feet were badly swollen, but their plan was to resume walking the Camino from León the next morning.
After checking in, we tried to find a place to eat dinner, but despite León being a large city, no restaurant serves food before 7 or 8 PM. After inquiring at several restaurants, we finally ended up buying ready-made
takeaway salads from a supermarket and eating those for dinner. After eating, I took all of our dirty clothes to a self-serve laundromat and washed everything up. We now had clean clothes for the
second half of our Camino pilgrimage.
Next day was our rest day. We spent the day (with no packs!) visiting León's most famous sites: the convent at San Marcos, the Basilica de San Isidoro,
Gaudi's Casa de Botines, Plaza Mayor (which was deserted in the midafternoon), and León's impressive French Gothic cathedral. I really liked the stained glass in the cathedral. I took lots of pictures (see below!).
The following morning we resumed our exploration of León. We went to the Museo de León and saw some old artifacts, including items carried by medieval pilgrims.
Then we walked back to the convent at San Marcos (the core of León has some pedestrian-only streets, so walking in the city was nice). There was a museum/church on the east side of the convent that we
had not seen on the previous day, so we checked that out. We also walked through the shady park that is built along the banks of Bernesga River. Our train from León to Sarria was not scheduled to depart until 5 PM. However, it was more than an hour late. This concerned me, because we were supposed to
change trains in Monforte Lemos, and there was only a 35 minute layover at that station - meaning we would be arriving half an hour after our connecting train departed. Much to my surprise, when
we got to Monforte Lemos, a bus was waiting for us and the roughly 20 other passengers who had tickets to Sarria. We boarded the bus and promptly were shuttled to Sarria.
More good luck: Pensión Sarria had a self check-in process - we typed in the code for the door lock, and entered without disturbing anyone. Even though we arrived
after 10 PM, our room was waiting for us.
Panorama Photos
Still Photographs
