Day 26 - Leon - Rest and Recouperate and prepare for the arrival of the new recruits.

"Well if everyone is on time, Jean should be in the air from Frankfurt to Madrid enjoying a nice breakfast courtesy of Lufthansa and the Schuberts should be just off the southern tip of Ireland beginning their descent into Schipol Airport, Amsterdam"

While Dad awaits the arrival of Jean, Dick & Sue, he has a little time to catch up and recall some of the events of his trip - these will follow as separate story posts as they arrive from him. The first is on Leon itself.

“Mon, Apr 28, 2008 at 1:35 PM EST 6:10 AM

The city of Leon is over 1000 years old. It was founded by the Romans as a military base from which to subdue and pacify the Celts of Asturias and Galicia. The Celts have been here since the Bronze Age and apparently did not fully appreciate the opportunities and benefits of Roman civilization.

The centre of the City is called the Gothic area and is filled with narrow streets , shops, restaurants, bars and cafes. The description Gothic apparently has nothing to do with the Goths who ruled Spain for about 500 years. The Romans ruled the province of Hispania from about 200 BC to about 400 AD when the empire collapsed. Hispania was the most important Roman province outside of the Ialian peninsula. At least two Roman Emperors, Trajan and Hadrian were born in Hispania (Spain itself as a concept or a country did not yet exist). The infamous Pontius Pilote was also born in Hispania.

After the Romans left in about 400 AD several German tribes came in, most prominently the Visigoths (western Goths) and the Suecvi (Swabians).This was about the same time, I think that the Angle, Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain.

The Visigoths ruled most of Spain (again except for the pesky Celts and the Basques) until 711 when the Moors invaded from Africa, and they ruled initially all of Iberia and then progressively less and less until they were finally expelled on January 1, 1492 with the completion of La Reconquista.

My priorities here are much more modest. Aside from meeting Jean and the Schuberts tomorrow morning, my priority is not to tour magnificent gothic cathedrals and museums rich in history (which undoubtedly we will do). My priority is to get my clothes clean. The Camino has a way of reducing wants, needs and priorities to the most simple and most basic. Even though I have been doing some hand washing most days, eventually my clothes need a real wash. I could tell because my clothes and I were beginning to exude a very unsociable odour which even I could smell.

So when I checked into the Hostal Albany yesterday I asked about el servicio lavanderia. Some hotels provide this and some do not. The very nice lady at the desk said no but she pulled out a map, marked a circle where the hotel was, and an x where there was a lavanderia close by and another x where there was an internet cafe (where I am right now). Of course yesterday was Sunday so nothing was open. But I found both places. And at 09:15 this morning when the lavenderia opened, I walked in carrying in a black plastic garbage bag, carefully organized and with the proverbial launder every piece of clothing I have except the ones I was wearing (it was too cool this morning not to wear any clothes) So the very nice lady at the lavenderia took my clothes, gave me a receipt and said my clothes would be ready at 18:30 tonight. First priority accomplished.

Then I wanted to get some more foot bandages. We will have 8 feet to look after for the remainder of the Camino. While feet usually come in pairs, on the Camino, each foot is very much an individual and needs to be treated as such. Jean will bring 40 of the large format Band-Aids that I like to use and we will supplement those with the ones I can get here. Second mission accomplished.

This afternoon I will move from the Hostal Albany to the Hostal san martin where we have reservations for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. And on Thursday we will take a train to Astorga about 52 km west of León and we will start the remaining 260 km of the Camino.

From Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees the City of León is 440 km so I am more than half way.

Len”