It’s been one year since Lee and I returned home from Leon. As planned, we have come back so that I can complete the last 312 km of the Camino de Santiago. 

My first foray, two years ago, lasted just about a week. I had come to Spain alone hoping to do the 779 km French Way in one fell swoop.   A routine doctor’s visit by Lee back in Washington, DC had, with further tests, resulted in an unexpected recommendation for her to have cardiac bypass surgery, and sooner rather than later. I came home immediately, having walked just seven days.  She had the surgery and a very successful outcome.

Last summer, I came to pick up where I left off.  This time, Lee came with me, a non-walking companion from town to town. This proved a good plan.  It allowed me to share the Camino experience with her, who with a recent knee replacement as well was unable to join me in the walking.  I had gotten as far as Leon on that trip, but we had family commitments back home and left after I had walked 14 more days.

This time, we flew non-stop from Philadelphia to Madrid, rented a car, and found ourselves back in Leon.  We got in too late for the almuerzo but too early for the cena.  No problem.  We knew that Ezechiel’s, in the old city, had their kitchen always open.  It was the sight of our last meal a year ago so it was fitting it would be our first this year.

We had planned two nights in the hotel in Leon. the second day to get over jet lag.  At breakfast the next morning, after a 10-hour sleep, I felt well recovered from the flight.  I was anxious about this first day’s walk to Hospital del Orbigo which I had planned more than six months previous.  It was going to be more than 25 km, an ambitious undertaking for my first day.

The Third Leg to Santiago — Ready to Go

The idea came to me at breakfast to walk half of that during the supposed jet-lag day, to Mazarife, and the other on my planned first day of walking.  It would be easy enough for Lee to pick me up and return me to the Leon hotel, thus not requiring any change in our lodging reservations.

And so that’s what we did.  When I first walked two years ago, I had trained for two to three weeks ahead of time.  On my second time, I felt more confident and did just two training walks in the week before. This time, nothing, nada.  Breaking up the first day allowed me a nice re-introduction to the Camino.  Over the first three days, all the way to Astorga, I would have walks of 13 to 17 km each day.  These walks were largely on flat ground as well. It worked out great.

Incredible sculptures on the exterior of the Sanctuary at Virgen del Camino

Through a tour company, we had arranged lodging in Hospital del Orbigo, a rural hotel.   Lee made fast friends with the woman proprietress, who made us an ensalada mixta for our midday meal.  In the evening, we walked up to the famous 13^th century bridge there and bought some provisions in the supermercardo, bread, ham, and cheese, for an evening meal in our room.

On the famous medieval bridge at Hospital D’Orbigo

The walk to Astorga, a larger city, was similarly uneventful.  The town was big enough to have a more upscale hotel and we indulged ourselves.   After a midday meal in the plaza there, we visited the cathedral in town, and as it then rained, went back to nap.

The rain was welcome.  The forecast, for the next 10 days, showed little chance of rain on my walk, and the temperatures were near ideal, rarely getting higher than the low 80s. The afternoon rain cooled things off.

It was good three-day reintroduction to the Camino.  After it, we both had gotten our bodies and minds back into “Camino mode.”