First day of the Camino!

My first day! Easy day distance wise, just Leon to La Virgin de Camino.  According to my pebble it was about 5 miles total. Il start posting info from my fitness tracking at the bottom of posts for those interested. Made a mistake reserving a hotel. It's actually about half a mile outside of town. And compounding the issue doesn't open until 4. I did manage to convince them to keep my bag behind their desk.

I got there around 12 after leading Leon at 930 though I did stop at a bar for breakfast for like an hour. Spanish tortillas (egg potatoes omelette pie) are delicious. And absurdly cheap. I had a huge slice, 2 cups of cafe con leche and it was less than 5 euros.

The walk itself was fun, a little hilly, but I never got lost or anything. Tons of signs everywhere. After I stopped and fixed my pack a bit I felt fantastic. Boots are comfortable, pack distributes load well, once the straps were all buckled, and my coat was great. It was a bit cold as it was rainy today, but I had no problems. My ears were a bit exposed, but I have a hood that'll solve that. I feel like I could easily go triple the distance with ease. Luckily that's about the most I should ever have to walk in a day.

I had to walk into town for a few hours after I left my bag. Spent some time chilling under the awning outside the church, then went to a park for a bit before finding a bar. Warm and dry. :)

Update: at the hotel now, weather tomorrow looks rough. Some rain and very cold. Below freezing with the wind. I'm taking a bit of a scenic route to Masarife, rather than the typical route to viladangos. I've hear it's prettier and easier, if a bit longer overall. It also sets me up well for orbigo and the approach to Astorga which will be my first rest day. Tomorrow will also be my first day in an alberque, so I'm looking forward to that.  It should be about 15km total. 

Ps: I think I passed through the Shire on my way to la Virgin. And also take a look at the front of the church the Shepard that saw Mary built. 

Last day before I start the camino

Very excited for tomorrow. Easy day planed, seems I made a good decision starting off short. Just 5 ish km to my destination, la virgin de Camino. Supposedly the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream of a local merchant and told him to throw and stone, and build a church where it landed. That's the church in this town, where many miracles have been said to take place. Il be staying in a hotel, and choose to stay in this town as the distance to the next hotel or alberques(hostel) is significant, especially when adding the 5 from Leon. It's also supposed to rain a bit tomorrow, so shorter day it is.

My last day in Leon was fun, went to the cathedral which was fabulous. Stunning stained glass, the architecture was fascinating and the audio tour was surprisingly well-done. And had an English version. Not speaking any Spanish has made this trip far more difficult.

The Basilica of San Isidoro is a must see. The tour of the Royal Pantheon was incredible. Sadly the tour guide oy spoke Spanish, but I got the gist of it. The location is where kings and queens of Leon from the 10th century and earlier were buddies, and beautiful frescoes cover the ceiling in I retesting religious doctrine and scenes. Including some that I think we're meant to tie in the local pagon religions with Christ. IE Angels with the heads of beasts. Also present was a number of religious artifacts and spoils from the crusade.


Most pictured on my Flickr, but I'll post a few here too.

Day 3: Madrid to Leon

Today was a more laid back day from the previous two, for which I am certainly glad.
My train from Madrid to Leon was at 2:40, so I spent the morning lounging around in a plaza reading a book, and breifings toured the Naval Museum.  Much cooler than I expected, it was worth a trip.  Highlights include: old models of steam engines, a flag captured during the Spanish American war, old sextants and clocks and their masterpiece the first map ever made with the new world on it. Pretty neat.

Train to Leon was nice and easy, arrived around 6 and was checked in by 630ish.

Very weird hotel, it was labeled as a hotel/art gallery so I knew it would be kinda strange, but I'm still not sure what I think of it.  For one my safe is broken, the bed is iffy (I'll be sleeping on top of the sheets with my sleeping bag tonight if you catch my drift) and the bathroom is rusty and peeling.

The hotel seems proud of being "environmentally forward" which is what they call motion sensors in the halls that turn off the hall lights whenever no one is in them, (sensors which don't extend to you room so I have to use my phone for light to lock the door) and sheets that are only cleaned a few times a week to save water.  Other amenities include a bedet, legit key locking doors complete with large keychain, bathroom doors that don't close and an included breakfast that we are charged for, but that doesn't actually run on weekends, which is when I am here.  On the bright side the resteraunt here is supposedly good.  Of course tonight is some weird Spanish Marti gras where people, especially children, dress up as cats, witches and knights and run around, and places across the city are closed.

After trying valiently and failing to find a decent non crowded place, I stopped by a supermarket and picked up a delicious feast of wine, cheese and Iberian chorizo.  I write this as I finish off a bottle of delicious local wine, which is online at over 30 bucks in the States, that cost me 2 euros, as I sing to Jack Johnson's Banana pancakes off Amazon.  Damn it I really love Spain.

PS: the "art gallery" is really just the staircase, and all the "famous art" I'm pretty sure are just prints. : ]. And the picture of the zip ties are of the ones my dad used to fasten the walking poles to the bag. All 20 of them.

  

Day 2: Madrid

A long day of art and culture

Wound up crashing early last night and sleeping until almost 8 this morning! Nearly 11 hours.  Given that I had basically been up almost 2 days I'm sure I needed it.  Jet lag hasn't hit me too hard so I'm functioning pretty well.  Today was my last day in Madrid before heading off to Leon and the start of my Camino so I tried to make it jam packed. 

The palace was closed today and will be until March apparently so I will just have to return to Madrid one day.  I had prepurchased tickets to the Prado and the Reina Sofia for today and I was incredibly excited about both.  To anyone who has ever been to an art museum with me you know very well that two in one day would be an impossibility, there's simply too much to see and too little time.  That's why as hard as it was I had to make decisions about what I wanted to see and stick to my schedule, or at least close to it. 

I took my camera and headed down to the Prado, stopping at a cute little cafe called de moreto for cafe con leche and a lovely crossant de montequillla.  Delicious.  On my father's trip he has told stories about trying and failing to get a crossant, ordering one only to receive an odd toast with tomato paste on it instead.  Well while my Spanish speaking traveler extraordinaire (who allways has the best trips) failed,, I succeeded despite not speaking any Spanish whatsoever.  So HA!  

A block over I came to the Prado and was very much taken with the architecture.  Surrounding the building are lovely statues of the roman virtue's and carved into the very foundations of the Prado are the names of Spain's beloved artists.  El Greco, Goya, Roelas, Velazquez and others.  Notably absent are any modernist artists, which are not represented among the Prado's collection.  I rushed in when the museum opened and spent more than 4 hours pursuing it's magnificent collection.  The classical tradition is represented well, with religious and mythological scenes dominating the walls.  Greats like Titain, el Greco, Goya and Rubens hang from the walls and capture you attention effortlessly.  Goya's infamous Saturn stands out.  

Painted during his dark period, it's a chilling depiction of the Titain Saturn devouring one of his children, fearful that they would overthrow him, which of course they would go on to do.  The madness and fear stand out in the face of the Titain, humanizing him despite the horror and disgust that the subject imparts in the viewer. 

Rubens the Judgement of Paris and Titain's Salome also stand out.  The Prado is World Class and demands to be mentioned alongside the MET and the Louve as the representatives of the Canon of art.  It's a museum which is fiercely proud of it's Spanish heritage and it's Spanish painters, with many of its works receiving around the Spanish art world, either commissioned by Spanish patrons or made by Spanish painters.  Which is why the absence of any Modernist art is so striking.  Like a complete rejection of their form of art as unworthy to be hung in the halls.  It clearly marks modern art (for which even the much beloved impressionism is included), as other.  Not "our kind of art".  As a fan of modern and postmodern art, this othering is fascinating.  

After a quick lunch of Roast Lamb in some kind of wine reduction for lunch in a Spanish Street Cafe, I walked over to the Reina Sofia, a much more modern art museum famous worldwide for housing the masterpiece of the greatest Spanish artist, one Pablo Picaso's Guernica.  Once again this is a museum fiercely proud of it's Spanish roots, with their collection walking it's patrons through the 20th century Spanish art of resistance, war and exile.  

Picaso and Dalhi are well represented as well as Miro.  Guernica clearly dominates the museum however.  I spent about an hour and a half looking through and throughout enjoying their main collection, which is very well displayed and collected.  Guenica though has its own room in the museum.  With not one but two guards permanently stationed next to it.  On the wall across to the piece is a wonderful story over its commissioning and Picaso's thoughts on it, as well as documentation of his creation.  The painting itself stands alone on bare white walls.  I stood there nearly a half hour gazing at it in contemplation and left the hall in tears which lasted nearly half an hour more.  If you have never seen it, you cannot possibly understand, and if you have then I need not try and put it into words.  If there is one thing in all of Spain that you have to do, it is go to the Reina Sofia, go to the second floor, gallery 6.  

I'm writing this back at the hotel, doing some quick laundry and getting ready for my train tomorrow at 2 to Leon.  I might try to get something done here in Madrid before the train, we shall see.  Until tomorrow loyal readers.  Please excuse spelling and grammar, I am writing on a cell phone.  Most of my pictures are found on flicker, see link on the side, but here are a few favorites.  I did not take any in the museums as I find that rude and interfering with viewing the art.