Bilbao -- Leon -- Astorga

The train from Bilbao to Leon climbed stony mist-shrouded peaks, then dropped down to a plain with alternating fields of green and yellow grain and red poppies. I was going to spend the night in Leon, as the books said it was worth a few days and the doorway to the cathedral was a highlight of the Camino. I walked from the train station to the cathedral to find its facade obscured by scaffolding and netting. I walked around the building, my pack feeling heavier than it should, and duly noted that the place was indeed very large and elaborate. I think I´m done with monuments. I just want to walk.

Took narrow back streets to a hostal run by Benedictine nuns. I arrived with a gaggle of other pilgrims and we all stood in line, most to have their credencial stamped and to get a bed for the night, a few (like me) to get the credencial itself.

"Empiezo aqui" (I start here), I told the old man seated at a card table (most people who work with pilgrims are volunteers), and he noted all my particulars in my brand-new credencial, which looks like an innoculations record but which at the end of my walk will have different sellos (stamps or seals) from each alberque I stay in.

But I wasn´t really starting there--I hurried back to the train station and caught another train to Astorga, 30 minutes down the road, and it´s here where I´ll start from, tomorrow morning. Oddly, my legs already hurt.

My first night in an albergue. Bunk beds packed into three floors of an old house with beamed ceilings. Rows of toilets and showers, fairly clean. A kitchen and two computers. Lots of people tending to their feet, trying to find a common language (usually it´s English), or talking on their cell phones. Yes, many pilgrims have cell phones. Most are Europeans. Most are friendly, though some seem to resent other pilgrims and studiously ignore them (hard to do when you´re surrounded by them).
Astorga is amazing, was a Roman stronghold. A big swath of the Roman wall still stands, right near the gothic cathedral and the fantastical Archbishop´s Palace by Antoni Guadi. The latter especially is truly stunning--makes me want to go back to school to be an archbishop.

Fellow pilgrim of the day
Miguel, from Madrid, 55ish, was un militar, now runs an electronics shop specializing in espionage equipment. He and his pal (who reminded me of Brian--hale and hearty and giving off sparks) started the Camino in Roncevalles -- three years ago! They walk the camino only on weekends. They didn´t speak English but I taught them the term "weekend warriors".

So much more to say but there are people waiting to use this machine. I miss you all and really appreciate when you post comments. I´ll try to respond individually when I have more time.