Travel to Leon

Showered the night before in the beautiful Guest house that we stayed in at Porto.  The room was amazing and the people even nicer.  Breakfast was at 8:30 Am and we were given a menu with a list of items that we could choose from.  I had cereal, yogurt, toast, OJ, and some cheese and meet were also added to my items.  Rui (name of the husband/owner of the guest house) was the one who made the arrangement for the taxi trip from Porto to Leon. The driver arrived promptly at 9:00 AM and we grabbed our stuff and dropped it in the vehicle.  It was a Ford of some kind (to be honest I didn't look at it that closely) and had plenty of room for the three of us and our gear.

The driver spoke excellent English, so we talked with him about a number of subjects along the way.  He was also taking a lot of phone calls as he seemed very busy with his taxi business.  We also found out that he was just about to purchase a second taxi expanding his business.  Portugal is somewhat depressed.  He said that the average salary for someone was 1100 Euro per month.  The average apartment costs about 600 Euro.  It seems as though families have to stick together here to make things work.  He described he he has to help his parents (who are in their 60's) with finances.  We stopped at a few places along the way just to stretch and take a bio-break.  I was about 4 hours to get to Leon.  Our alternative was a set of train rides that were actually more costly and would have taken 16 hours (with layovers).  So having Peter take us was fantastic.  When we arrived in Leon you could tell that it was a little strange as everyone was staring at this taxi from Porto - dropping people off in Leon.  He dropped us close to the main cathedral in Leon and we had a short walk to find the Alberge.

We registered at the hostel and got our Camino Passports stamped.  My room for the night cost me 5 Euro.  It was a room shared with about 36 other guys.  Brenda and Jim stayed in another section that was for couples (but essentially was the same setup as what I was in). We dropped our stuff off at our bunks and went out to explore the city.  We walked around and looked at a number of the older architecture in the area.  They certainly have a lot of history compared to Canada.  We stopped at a place for a lunch/snack and sat outside enjoying the sunshine and the square full of people.  We also walked through an old museum with ornate stone and wood carvings.  We just don't have stuff like that back home.

Dinner was, again, more of a snack at a local place.  I ordered a hot chocolate and they also brought some baked treats that you could dip in the cup.  It was the thickest hot chocolate that I have ever had.  The spoon that was delivered with it, was not for stirring, but for eating it.  I was very tastey.

We wandered  around to a few more places after that and then we headed back to the hostel.  When we had arrived, the lady who registered us noted that there would be a special blessing for any Pilgrims that wanted to attend.  Brenda went, but Jim and I decided to go get ready for bed.  I think the jet lag was catching up to me.  Sleep was only to be had for a boat 3 to 4 hours as there was continuous snoring from a whole bunch of the guys in there. I was surprised at how many older folks are doing the Camino. I've spoken with about 4 or 5 that are all in their 60's. It is also surprising at how many different pitches and cadences of snoring their are.  Even with ear plugs and using the pillow to cover my head, the serenade was hearable.  Oh well - maybe tomorrow will be better.

Curt