Not a long post today.
Woke up to another sterling breakfast in Madrid. Packed our gear and caught a cab to the Chemartin Train Station. After a brief ticketing issue where they did not count Harry's student ID as valid in Spain and us paying an extra $8Euros, yes 8 for goodness sake, we boarded a really nice train for Leon.
We travelled economy class as our first class tickets will not kick in until after we walk the Camino. It was nice. The train was fitted out much like an aircraft only more spacious, larger seats more room etc. It was modern and quick and we whizzed past the Spanish countryside for a couple of hours to Leon. In Leon we caught a cab (2 actually as we did not fit in one) to our accommodation, the sublime Colegiata Isidoro in the Casa de Espiritualidad. Basically an old monastery or convent or something. Very old, very cool, right on the Camino, indeed one of the highlights of Leon as you walk through. It was right in the old part of town, just around the corner from the Catedral de Leon and right in amongst all the touristy hubbub. Brilliant.
In the midst of getting dinner and looking through the huge cathedral we procured two really important things. First of all we got our scallop shells with the cross of St James on them to attach to our backpacks, secondly we got our walking sticks. The kids and I have opted for the traditional wooden stick, about of chest high and with a little coloured thong through the top end. It has an interesting metal spike on the bottom end which is great in earthen areas but treacherous on cobbles. As all the 'touristy' sticks look exactly the same we have each decided to do a bit of whittling and artwork on ours to individualise them. I can only imagine that when other peregrinos see what we have done it will become all the rage. Monica is holding out until she finds a shop with the more contemporary aluminum poles and going for a matching set with built in shock absorbtion and fold down capabilities. We three think she is selling out, she reminds us that getting her's home through customs and carrying it around Europe for 5 or 6 weeks after we complete the Camino will be a doddle. We three think she is right but hey?
So anyhow we went back to our rooms, realised that nuns don't have airconditioners, or didn't when this joint was built, and sweated ourselves off to sleep on a caliente Julio noches in Espana.
Tomorrow the Camino!
Buen Camino Peregrinos.
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