I was very excited to get out on the Camino. Dragged myself out of bed at about 6:30 when most of the other guys in the room were getting up. The hostel offered a breakfast via donation. It consisted of bread, butter and jam. Not quite what I was hoping for - but I took it and we strapped on all of our gear and headed out on the path. It was cool to finally be walking the Camino. A number of the townspeople would notice you with your pack and offer a "Buen Camino" to you.
The start of the walk was through the city of Leon, up and own hills, over bridges and following paths by the roadways. We started on the trail about 7:30 AM and we passed through the industrial portion of Leon and then into the next village. The sun popped out at about this time and we came across an outdoor (patio) restaurant serving breakfast - so we stopped at we all had a plate of eggs, bacon, French fries and a tick slice of tomato. A few others who had left Leon shortly after us wandered up and they ordered the same thing as we did. I think we should have got a sales commission on those oders! Before my food came out I noted a store that had walking stick for a very reasonable cost. I walked back and bought two collapsible poles for 15 Euro. Back home these things are $90.00 or more. Now if Mr. Truman is reading this, he's probably wondering why I bought poles when he sent me some as loaners. The truth is - I didn't think I needed them. Boy was I wrong! Those things became very helpful later in the day.
Once we were done, we started down the path once again - stopping at a fruit store and picking up a couple of pieces of fruit for a snack along the way. The path wanders through urban and then rural settings so many times it's hard to keep track. The difficult thing about today was that it rained and then stopped about 5 times during this leg of the journey. It seemed that a large cloud was following us, luring behind just waiting to strike. What makes this a bother is that you have to stop and put out your rain gear, put it on and then put your pack back on. Then when it stops, and the sun comes out, it gets warm and humid - so you stop and take your rain gear off. Once again, this cycle repeated itself about 5 times during the day.
The latter half of the walk I started to notice that my left calf muscle was getting sore. I was also noticing some pressure points with my pack on my lower back. My pack is just way too heavy. I may start getting rid of some things because I'm not sure that I can keep pushing this weight all the way along. The Ed of this first leg is "Villar de Mazarife" which would have been a 21.8 Km day. We noted that the next day looked like a 30 Km day and a few of the other Pilgrims we talked to as we walked mentioned that they were going to go further to San Martin - another 4.7 KM's. We decided to do this as well.
The last 10 Kids were much harder than I had anticipated. My legs are sore, my back is a little sore and my shoulders are sore (they shouldn't be - but I was fooling around with my pack and on some occasions probably had too much weight on my shoulders - trying to give the hips a bit of a break. we got rained on just 15 minutes before we reached San Martin (of course). Once in the town we opted for a slightly nicer hostel (Santa Anna) with semi-private rooms. Brenda, Jim and I are sharing one (for three people) and including the Pilgrim dinner it cost us 19 Euro each. I think tonight I will get a better sleep.
A hot shower (in a small common bathroom) was just what I needed. Out of the walking clothes and into something clean. I will have to assess the weight situation and see what I may leave behind. Sat down to write this and noticed how stiff I am getting. Tomorrow is going to be and interesting day. Time for dinner!
Dinner was an amazing full meal - I could not finish it all. Ready for bed after re-adjusting my pack and maybe deciding on getting rid of some stuff. I hope I can actually move tomorrow because I'm already getting stiff.
Curt
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