Day 26. Leon

This is the day that Cathy and I reconnect. After a 7:30 am breakfast, I set out with Francesco, who I had arranged to meet at 8:00 am and his friend, Luis Miguel. Francesco, the agronomist from Chile who I met on and off for the past week, linked up with Luis Miguel, from Palentia, a province in Spain. Francesco, who speaks very good English, translated Spanish to English for me, while Luis Miguel only spoke Spanish. We set off from Mansilla de Las Mulas together headed for Leon. I had expected Leon to be a city of 1.2 million people, but Luis Miguel clarified that it was actually a city of 120 000 people, smaller than Burgos.
I’ve felt that while here in Spain a responsibility to act as an ambassador for Yellowknife. Even in Canada, when I mention that I’m from Yellowknife, many people immediately have visions of cold weather, but many are attracted to its openness and adventure. My sense was that Francesco and Luis Miguel were intrigued with Yellowknife, eager to know more about it, and when we met a couple of fellow Canadians from Kelowna and Prince George, raving about Yellowknife, they were intrigued even further. Francesco had even done some research on Yellowknife. However, all the pride I felt about Yellowknife was abruptly squashed when we met Eduardo. a Spanish engineer who had worked on the Deb Cho bridge in Fort Providence, 14 years ago. His memories of working in the North were not endearing. He was there in the hips of winter: -35 degrees with strong winds, they were working “on the ugliest bridge I’ve ever worked on,” the wind chills were unbearable. Everything I had done to praise and promote Yellowknife in the past 7 days, evaporated in 3 minutes. Then, when I mentioned it was nice during summer months, he rebutted with horrifying stories about mosquitoes, followed by encounters with largest, fiercest horseflies known to man. Whe Eduardo was finished talking about his northern Canada experience both Francesco and Luis Miguel admitted that their desire to visit Yellowknife had waned and would likely be limited to Google.
Today’s 22 km walk brought us into Leon mostly following a path that ran parallel to a busy highway. Cathy arrived at the bus station at 6:45 on and it feels great to be back together. Tonight, Francesco, Luis Miguel, Cathy and I went out for dinner together. Francesco and Luis Miguel continue on. As we came out of the restaurant at 10:15 the city was coming to life, streets filled with people during the middle of the week. Tomorrow, we will spend the day in Leon exploring the many treasures this city has to offer.Read more