Camino de San Salvador - part 1.

How good it is to be back on the road again!  I decided to avoid pounding on asphalt and catch a bus out of Leon, but after trying, usuccessfully, for about 2 hours I changed my mind about starting and headed off to a hotel for another night, followed by the tourist office to find out EXACTLY where I was to wait for the bus, what it was called, and what time it went.  Mind you, it wasn't hard to spend another day in my favorite Spanish city.

The next day I successfully caught the bus 8 kms to the edge of the suburbs and gingerly began walking.  Gingerly, because this was my first day wearing a pack on for the whole day and I wasn't sure how my back would cope, or my feet, which had developed tendonitis.

The sun shone, the air was filled with perfume from wildflowers, the birds were singing, and the views were stunning.  It was a real joy to be walking again!  Even seeing a snake slithering off into the grass couldn't dampen my spirits.

Leon Cathedral in the late afternoon sunshine.

Though I caught the bus, I still started from San Marcos (the Parador Hotel), before heading on the path to the stop.

This was the view, and the start of the serious walking on the Camino de San Salvador.  The mountains in the distance (on the right) are where I'm headed.

The broom and gauze along this stretch were spectacularly in bloom.

Though the path began as a fairly wide bush track it narrowed to a footpath only within a few kilometers - though I met three cyclists just after taking this photo.

Wildflowers and views were the order of the day.

Sadly this adobe building has seen better days!

 Adobe buildings in the village of Cabanillas

 The day was quite hot and I was very glad to fill my water bottle at this fountain in Cabanillas.

The first night I was headed for the village of La Robla, where I planned to stay at the pilgrim albergue.  The problem was that there was no hospitalero on site thus necessitating a phone call, difficult when I don't own a phone and even more difficult when I don't speak the language.  Because I was walking slowly I was too late to ask for assistance at the tourist office, and so took the next best option of heading for the pharmacy!  Usually someone in a pharmacy has a some English. Sure enough a staff member spoke a little, and so she translated to the boss who made a number of phone calls to find the hospitalero for me.

 The La Robla albergue.

Leaving La Robla it was drizzly enough to have to wear a rain coat, but an hour down the road the sun started to shine.

 Ermita del Buen Suceso.

Nocedo de Gordón nestled at the foot of the hills.

 A conveniently placed rock to have a rest on.

The blackberries seem to me to have particularly vicious thorns!

I spent the second night in La Pola de Gordón.  This was the last day of steady walking with minimal ascent.  A day to savour the easy walking!  These first few days the path basically followed the Rio Bernesga, the river that flows through Leon.  It has been a delight seeing, and listening to, the river gurgle its way towards the city I'd left.

 Walking into La Pola de Gordon I passed this poor old building.

Just park the tractor at the front door!

 The square in La Pola de Gordón

Rio Bernesga bubbling through La Pola de Gordon.

This is just a touch of what I have seen on this extraordinary Camino.  There's a lot more to come, but it will have to wait for the next post.  From now on the path heads up into the mountains.