Reset search
Spain
Satellite

Spain
León

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • TravelerCamino
      11
      Day 33

      Leon to Hospital de Orbigo

      October 6, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      Today was one of the most tedious hot never ending walks we have had! Now we are a team of 10 ( feet) as Bill has joined us for a few days walking.
      We had a lovely start to the day with Fiona Conor Vanessa and Tim walking the first 9 km with us. We all set off in good spirits and another beautiful morning thinking we would find a cafe and all have a farewell breakfast together. Not to be.
      We walked through 2 small villages and nothing was open . It's Saturday and Spain seems to take relaxing in the weekend to a whole new level.
      Finally after no cafes to be seen we all sat under a tree and shared a bag of pineapple lumps that Bill had kindly brought over, a bag of lollies and some sugared almonds.
      Sadly we bid farewell to our Irish family and we trudged.
      along dusty endless tracks beside rolling fields of maize and ploughed dirt.
      We did finally come to a sleepy town where it seemed not a soul stirred but there was a cafe with 2 things in the cabinet and a girl serving us who must have come top of the class at the school of no charm, but she made coffees and that was what we wanted!
      Due to a slightly later start we did not get into Hospital de Orbigo until 4pm. After 30 km it was sight for tired eyes. A beautiful bridge built by the Romans and a quaint historic town.
      The best thing is the Hotel here right by the old bridge and a lovely man running it. I had roast lamb tonight. Delicious.
      The town is famous here for jousting! An ancient sport but the competition continues.
      All having early nights and listening to the Irish game.
      We had a great night out in Leon last night having street food from the markets and ending up in a "snug"with our Irish family and a French man watching France play Italy .Bill had arrived so we were pleased to see him
      A much shorter walk tomorrow thankfully.
      Buenes noches      Read more

    • TravelerCamino de Santiago
      11
      Day 23

      León Rest Day

      April 24 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

      308 miles done. 192 to go. 62%!

      Day in Leon. I had a slow morning after sleeping till 9:00 am, then spent an hour at a cafe eating breakfast and deciding what to do with my day.

      Went to the Museo Casa Botines Gaudi and learned all about Gaudi’s architectural style and influences. Then dropped by the meat and fish market and once I saw you can buy a whole head of a cow, I was out. Eww.

      Then, just like every other town along the way, it was 1:30 pm and every business closes up shop for siesta. And then… it rained. Fiercely for the rest of the afternoon, and the forecast is for off and on rain the next 10 days. Ugh. I’ll have to time my walking to the forecast of the lightest rain. Tomorrow is a 20 mile day, so I’m sure I’ll need to find cover at some point to escape the weather.

      Met up with some fellow pilgrims for drinks and tapas for dinner and then caught up on the news (and what the heck is going on with the stock market?! 😬).

      Check out the view from my hotel room! Couldn’t be closer to the Cathedral! Gotta get up early-ish to walk and beat the rain. Night!      Read more

    • TravelerCamino Francés 2022
      Day 20

      A few known faces

      August 11, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Here we bumped into a few people we met before: Maren (German), Dari (French), Joanna (German), Claudio (Argentinian).
      Maren had arrived before us and was checked into an albergue she said was very good, so we checked in there too. We are meeting her later for dinner.

      Here's a photo with Maren taken at dinner time. She reminds me of my niece Sarah (a blonde version).      Read more

    • TravelerCamino Francés
      Day 22

      Day 22 - León

      October 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

      We always say that a sailor’s plans are written in sand at low tide, and it seems that holds true even when we’re on land walking El Camino.

      I had a rough night, and we decided to book two more nights here in León to allow for more recovery time—at a different hotel because space was not available where we were staying.

      Our first hotel was just a few steps away from the cathedral, in a very lively section of the old city. Our new hotel, a 10 minute walk away is in a quieter residential area.      Read more

    • Camino
      131
      Day 34

      Leon (21.7km / 461.3km)

      May 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      The most challenging day mentally. Dusty, dry land alongside busy roads and industrial areas didn’t provide much to occupy the mind and divert attention from the walk. But, that is a key part of the Camino at times.
      There were more impressive examples of irrigation systems and we had breakfast in the lovely town of Mansilla de las Mullas where we had hoped to stay but could not book accommodation. As we left the town we could look back to parts of the ancient town wall.
      Arriving in Leon was a major milestone for us. It was the end of 9 consecutive days of walking from Burgos covering 178km. In hindsight it was too much and probably an overreaction to the accommodation issue but it proved what we could do. It wasn’t just the mental side of consecutive walking days but the physical impact.
      I say probably too much because walking the last week I’ve witnessed silent acceptance of pain and discomfort from Jane who’s feet have had blister after blister despite all the preventative care. She’s become an expert at blister surgery at the end of each day! Hopefully a day’s rest and a calmer schedule will put an end to that.
      Tomorrow we will be playing “Tourist” in Leon and from here we are planning shorter legs and more stops so we can enjoy more of what will be around us.
      This evening one of the Franciscan brothers gave us a tour of the church and cloisters of Saint Francis church which is linked to our Albergue. Also a reminder to focus on the spiritual part of the Camino.
      This was followed by mass and Pilgrim blessing and then we went for local tapas with Rob (Canadian). The Tapas bar was 100% local and Spanish. Ordering beer was easy - we had a really nice 18/70! Food was a different story. They have the food behind glass and you point at it. They say whatever it is, you look a bit confused so they show you. The first choice he shows me his ribs. Perfecto I thought. Anyway it’s just as well the we like livers! The other dish was “Cayo”. ??? It was lovely and spicy. We googled it when we got home and it turns out idly was “callo” which is tripe stew but it was really good! A really authentic evening! …,      Read more

    • TravelerDiane’s Camino Frances
      2
      Day 28

      Leon

      May 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      A quiet day in Leon resting my foot.

      But it was great to catch up with Sandra for an Italian meal opposite the Cathedral this evening.

      And also bumped into lots of others that we started with weeks ago - it’s a small world on the Camino.

      Hotel via Leon
      5kms      Read more

    • TravelerCamino Francés 2022
      Day 20

      Dinner in León

      August 11, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

      Jan, Maren and I were waiting for our dinner when Murdock, who had met Maren before, walked by and joined us.
      He has the most extraordinary life I have heard of so far on the Camino: he's Scottish, and has been living in Oman for 5 years. Who wants to guess what his job is? I bet no one will come even close! 🤣Read more

    • TravelerCamino de Santiago
      1
      12
      Day 27

      Rest day in León

      October 9, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

      Resting up and getting ready to hit the trail again tomorrow. Visited the Gaudi Museum in the Casa Botines, and the Museo de León, which was a 3D illustration of a lot of the McCullough text for third year of EfM- A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. A light lunch of crepes, nice long nap, contemplating dinner options.Read more

    • TravelerVon Eyendorf nach Afrika
      Day 73

      Leon...die Löwin :-)

      April 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

      Natürlich muss ich hier halten und mir die Löwenstadt anschauen. Ein bisschen wie die kleine Schwester von Salmanaca.
      Eine Kathedrale, ein italienischer Platz, schöne Athmospäre und weniger Touristen.
      Heute bin ich in einem wunderbaren Hostel in der Altstadt. Der Herbergsvater hat beim einchecken an meinen Bewegungen gesehen, dass ich Rückenschmerzen habe.
      Er hat mir gleich einen Termin beim Masseur im Haus gemacht. Dort war ich gerade, er war auch ein Osteopath. Mein unterer Rücken ist jetzt getapt. Ohne das ich fragte, sagte er morgen kein Auto fahren, only relax! Ich wollte morgen eigentlich zur Küste weiter fahren. Naja, bleibe ich noch ein Tag hier, da morgen nur ein letztes Bett frei ist, ziehe ich in das gemischte sechser Zimmer. Lustig! Der Masseur hat eben gesagt, obwohl ich fast nichts gesagt habe, dass ich spanisches Temperament habe :-).
      Der Herbergsvater sagte, dass ich eine Hippieseele und ein ganz junges Herz habe :-). Schöööön!
      Und ich hatte wirklich schöne Gespräche mit den Pilgern :-).      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerOne More Camino in Spain 2023
      Day 44

      Very peaceful day in León

      May 10, 2023 in Spain

      A cold day today…max was 18° and single figures in the morning…but cloudless, sunny and sparkling! We got up leisurely, had breakfast and made our way to the cathedral at 9.30 when it opens….an excellent move, as by the time we had finished, groups and many people arriving, and we had a beautiful visit with only a handful of people wandering round. This cathedral is almost perfect - gothic, tall, stained glass windows covering almost every space. Simple and straightforward…we got an audio description from a QR code. Should not be compared with Burgos, such different styles - Burgos is a large complicated area, with added chapels over the centuries, and much more ornate…both wonderful in their own way, but at the moment I am in love with León! And amazingly there was no scaffolding so it looked magnificent.

      After that we walked along the camino route to leave León, as far as the monasterio San Marcos…we have always walked past it at the beginning of our walking day, and never stopped to look. It is a wonderful building, the church and small museum remains, and the main building is now a parador…very fancy 5 star hotel. But the church and museum were lovely, and we sat in the square afterwards in the sun…

      Walked back round the walls again and went to a bar and had coffees..my first since I first went to hospital and actually found it nice thank goodness! Just hadn’t felt like it before.

      At 1.30 we went and sat in front of the cathedral as an Oz doctor walker who had kindly examined me originally in San Juan at the beginning of everything was walking into León today, and he and Amr had kept in touch and we met for lunch! He needed sustenance as he had a further 7 kms to walk, and we met in much better circumstances and chatted and found he was from Warwick, Queensland, where Pip Wolstenholme (my great niece) is and he was sure his wife would know her, as small community and the horsey people all know each other…small world…very nice guy, and then he set off again and we might meet up in Santiago (he will be with his wife by then) as our days seem to coincide after he has walked to Finisterre.

      Kindle time and downtime…Amr went for a visit to the Gaudi building…we went last time and I decided to duck that one, and then we also were booked in (free, but number limit) to visit the equivalent of the León county council building (their translation)…a gorgeous old palatial building, a 45 minute tour. Well, it was beautiful, but the tour consisted of standing in the courtyard while a very animated and knowledgeable woman described it and the history but all in Spanish, Amr was fine, but I gave up about half way through…standing, and not understanding is very tiring!! I saw a couple of others slipping out too…so now quiet time before dinner.

      Back from dinner..very nice but nothing to report and sleep time!!      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    León, Leon, ليون, Ciudá de Llión, Lleó, Leono, LEN, レオン, 24001, Леон

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

    • 2024© FindPenguins
    • Home
    • About us
    • Blog
    • Group Tracking
    • Press
    • Terms
    • Privacy Policy & Cookies
    • Support
    • Legal notice
    • English