Approx 25km
Via PUENTE DE VILLARENTE - ARCHAHUEJA - VALDELADUENTE - LEON
Weeeelll. An interesting day today. I headed off on my own again, but found it very hard to get going with the ol' energy levels at an all time low. It wasn't unitl I had walked the 10km to Archahueja that I had a chance to refuel with some coffee and finally felt human enough to get into the 'groove' of my walk. It was still a bit of a struggle though, and I must have stopped every 5 steps to eat something. I think I was eating for Australia for most of this walk!
I made it into Leon (one of the major cities on the walk) by about midday, after another uninteresting morning of walking along a motorway. Once I got into Leon, I couldn't get out fast enough! I had spent so much time in tiny little villages over the past few weeks that I had forgotten what big, busy cities are like! In the smaller villages, everyone you pass stops to talk to you and are so pleased that you are undertaking the pilgrimage. In big cities people don't look at you and push you out of their way, regardless of the fact that you are wearing a huge backpack and have no centre of gravity, not to mention the fact that you can't move very quickly! It was horrible!
I made the HUGE mistake of going to a supermarket while I was in Leon. Stupid girl, never again! Again, I had the pack was on, again, people didn't care! I almost fell over at one point when a person shoved their trolley past me - get me out of here!!!!
I had intended on having a nice, relaxed lunch, but the hecticness that is Leon just got too much for me, so I had a very quick bocadilla and headed out of town. On my way, I stopped at the Chapel of Santiago, and seeing as the sun was out, I spent about half an hour there before heading on my way.
The 7km from Leon to Virgin Del Camino were pretty horrible! I'd go so far to say the worse so far - 7 long km of housing estates and industrial estates. For the first time on the Camino, I was honestly concerned for my safety while I walking through this area. But, I lived to tell the tale!
The entrance to Virgin was right on a motorway and looked horrible. Thankfully a few km in it became a nice, busy little town. I was horrified when I arrived at the Albergue though - it was incredibly ugly from the outside, like a huge school demoundable. Inside was a different story though - the best I've been in so far, with a complete kitchen, lounge with new couches, TV, the whole works! Don't judge a book by it's cover Jessica!
When I unpacked, I was incredibly annoyed to discover that my adaptor for my phone and MP3 had been left behind at the last town. A guy who was staying in my room had unplugged my phone to plug his own phone in, and left my adaptor there. I managed to buy a new one after a particulary halarious game of charades with the shop keeper. The only problem was that the edges were too high for my plug to fit, so I spent the better part of the evening on a basketball court trying to file it down. Finally I had success......after about 4 hours hard work! Ahhh, the things we do!
A while later I was sitting in the lounge area when a man came over to me. I was hoping that he wouldn't because it was very important to me that I spend time alone, but in the end, I was glad he came over. His name was Alf, and he was German. Today had been his first day and he was incredibly nervous about the journey he had embarked on. I guess he needed someone to talk to and some reassurance. I told him some of my stories and have him advice, which I think he appreciated.
Alf also taught me a very important lesson.
He had been telling me that he was worried about how far to walk each day, and did I think 10km was a lot? I was very dismissive of him in my head, thinking to myself,
'This is a fit, young bloke. 10km? I've been averaging 25km!'
Then he was speaking to me about the weight of my backpack, as his was about 6kg, which he was having trouble with. Again, I was confused,
'6kg? That's nothing. He's bigger than me, if I can carry 10kg, he certainly could'.
Then Alf says to me that he had spent the past year in a rehab clinic after a horrible accident. And it was a miracle that he could walk. Let alone walk 10km per day. Carrying a 6km backpack. And how proud of himself he was. To say I felt like a bitch is an understatement. This man is remarkable.
My lesson. Do not judge others, you don't know their stories...
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