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Calzadilla de los Hermanillos → León 40.4 km (25.1 mi) |
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¡Ay ay ay, todos!
Can you imagine five hours of this?
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Or how about this?
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Now, add a bone-chilling headwind and a complete absence of company (not even the hoopoes or great bustards promised by Andrew’s guidebook), and you have this morning’s walk along the Calzada Romana to Mansilla de las Mulas! That being said, I prepared myself for it last night! I was on the road at dawn, all set to power through this stretch as early as possible and enjoy the rest of the way to Arcahueja, my newly decided destination. Ready, set, Camino!
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The Calzada Romana is also known as the Vía Trajana, or Trajan’s Way. Ever used the Trajan Pro font? It’s named for the column containing the ashes of Emperor Trajan, who was born in Spain, commanded the Seventh Legion in León, and included Spain in his vast road-building program, one of the enduring legacies of Roman rule! Beyond Spain, this road network stretched north to Scotland, east to Iran, and south to Sudan! People have traveled this particular stretch of road for almost 2,000 years!
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I can’t really detail every step of this large portion of my day, because you would be bored silly. Let it suffice to say that I was delighted to pass under the arch of Santa María into Mansilla de las Mulas! I took a shoe break with some pastries and fresh fruit from the local market, which was, joy of joys, open on a Sunday! Wait, it’s Sunday? I remember my group talking about meeting up in León for Mass on Sunday, way back in Castrojeríz! The thought was silly, but I wondered if it were possible to get to León from here.
Oh, how my feet rebelled when I put them back on the ground! How they shouted and protested! It took several minutes to tame them again before resuming my journey. Along this way, several hail stones struck my hat! That scared me! Rain is no trouble, but hail? Hail hurts! I started to hurry, hoping that it wouldn’t progress into a heavier storm. Luckily, I managed to avoid the hail by staying between the lines of clouds, which were chugging out of the west in lines, as if on conveyor belts from a Galician factory! I hope that’s not an omen of things to come in Galicia!
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I crossed the 20-arched Puente de Villarente without seeing the hands of the legendary 14th century lovers! Don’t know the story? Well, a peregrino named Pedro, passing through Puente de Villarente, became ill and fell in love with his healer, Isabel. They sat under this bridge and traced their hands on the stone, hers inside his with a cross at the center. She told him that, if he returned on March 14th, placed his hand over this tracing, and said “Isabel, ven,” she would marry him. So he finished his pilgrimage and returned to find the river had flooded! The two hands were so far underwater that he couldn’t reach them!
Distraught, Pedro spent the night praying to St. James for a miracle, and sure enough, the next morning, the bridge had been damaged by the flood. Some parts had moved. In fact, now there was a stone walkway leading to the traced hands, which were now above water! Pedro put his hand on the stone and said “Isabel, ven,” and, wouldn’t you know it, there was Isabel, running toward him! I think they lived happily ever after, but if Pedro made Isabel walk back with him, who knows?
I didn’t stop in Arcahueja after all. I ran into a group of folks with backpacks as big as mine (let’s compare body sizes), and the thought occurred to me that these might be the sort of peregrinos who ship their backpacks between cities. I thought that was a great injustice and swore to stay ahead of them, no easy task! That pushed me past Arcahueja and all the way into León, a 40K day! Being Sunday, the streets of this big city were almost deserted! It was so eerie, as was the heavily secured albergue with its high fences and surveillance cameras!
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Although I had vowed never to do another 40K day after Villasirga, by putting in the extra distance today, I now have tomorrow morning to wander León and see the sights! Since the albergue is open 24 hours, I also had time to go to the Peregrino Mass in the Basilica de San Isidoro, which my guide listed as a “compulsory halt” for peregrinos! I think that’s because it houses the relics of San Isidoro of Sevilla, who was a great historian, in fact, the definitive Spanish medieval historian! I guess the founders of the Camino really appreciated history! Hooray for them!
Since the albergue was on the far end of town, I snuck aboard a bus to get to San Isidoro. Let me tell you, staring out the window at all those big city lights, I felt as though I’d been spirited away from the Camino. I felt so lost, even after I got off the bus and sat through another express Mass, which did not have a special benediction for peregrinos at all! Well, at least I can say I went! In any case, I was ready to get back to the bus for the return trip to the albergue. It was a long ride. It was a very long ride. It was such a long ride that I began to wonder when we would get back to Plaza de Toros. That’s when the now empty bus pulled over and stopped, and the driver asked me if I knew where I was going. We weren’t in León anymore!
I tried to explain the situation, since I had misinterpreted the bus numbers, and, in a huff, she drove me as close as she could to Plaza de Toros, dropping me off near the statue of Guzmán El Bueno, about a kilometer from the albergue. Well, at least she tried! So, I took off down Avenida de la Facultad, so glad that the albergue was open 24 hours, and made it back in one piece, utterly spent! By now, I’ve lost both Jean and Andrew, so I guess León is where I will have a second beginning on the Camino. That’s exciting! The adventure must go on!
Buen Camino!
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Total Distance Walked: 459.8 km (279.4 mi) |
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