Day 22: Mansilla a Leon

Today I wake up happy. I feel strong and capable. I slept relatively well in my hostel and have a communal breakfast. I find I have to explain why I speak Spanish so well, which at the start made me feel a bit embarrassed. Now I feel grateful that I can communicate with so many! The hospitalero says I speak better Spanish than most in his town! I chuckle.

Today I take a bus to Leon. I have decided to do this alongside some other weary pilgrims, not because I couldn’t do the walk but because I would love to get some more time to explore Leon. I have noticed over the last few days that I feel much stronger, I have less pain and I am feeling much more joy. I can’t explain what has shifted, perhaps knowing that I am halfway through the experience. At this rate I will arrive in Santiago on the third, and that makes me realise how much fun I have actually had, and how strange it will be when this comes to an end.

I have now reserved up until the end almost, but a part of me does want to cancel and just go with my flow. There’s still time to decide and after all, this really is a special time.

I arrive in Leon and it the day is warm, I meet Kolja, Alex, Pien and Jim for a coffee before we all part our separate ways. Jim and I go to explore the town and go to the cathedral together. What a beautiful building. Incredible moment walking around the cathedral with my pilgrim backpack on, wearing the shell! I feel a huge sense of achievement and pride. A feeling I do not often have. It is emotional to know that thousands have felt the same way as me.

Jim and I finish the tour of the cathedral and I feel weary from being around so many people today. I need some time for rest, but I also feel for Jim. He will be taking the bus to Sarria to complete the last 100km and get his compostela. He is struggling with his feet, but also I think he is struggling in general. He has mentioned a few times how grateful he is for his wife, and I think that feeling is something that has come up from having to experience truly relying on himself. I always felt as if he didn’t really quite know how to be on his own. I think he’s ready to go home. I will miss him truly, as he was a wonderful person. I decide to draw him a poppy as a reminder of his experience and a keepsake, it is unlikely we will see each other again.

After lunch I take some time for myself, before heading in to experience Leon. I notice almost immediately that almost every pilgrim I have met along the way is here. There is a sense of coming together, I feel grateful for having connected with anyone at all!

The day ends with dinner and tapas with Nico, Hodges and Jim. I end the night after a few beers and say goodbye. I move on tomorrow, and I will be ahead of everyone here.

Onwards we go!Read more