After a good night’s sleep following a day of travel, you could feel the buzz of active energy among the pelegrinos (Spanish for pilgrims) this morning as we took in breakfast and got ready for the day’s long haul.
Before going to bed we learned that today’s trek would be a “little” longer than originally anticipated. We were informed that what was supposed to be a just over 15 miles would instead be 18 miles. It was only once we were out on the trail that we discovered that, in fact, we’d be doing 22-23 miles (tricky conversion rates!!)
Still it seemed nothing could dampen our young pelegrinos’ spirits! Beginning with stretches in front of the Convento de San Marcos in Leon, our group set out in a two-by-two line (think kindergarteners or ducklings) to navigate the city sidewalks with a group of nearly 30 without causing too much disruption to the good people of Leon.
After clearing the city limits, the terrain offered some hills and then open fields. The majority of the Camino today took us beside Route 120, so the girls reveled in motorists who cheered us through the heat with honking horns and cheers of “buen Camino!”
As time wore on, the group began to organically differentiate itself by pace, which offered smaller groups to walk and chat with. My own companions shared about their love of the Mount (their school) and why they had decided to make this trip, and asked about how I had gotten here – both to Spain and to be a Sister. Lots of miles means lots of time to share and to grow together, so in that way we were blessed.
Trying to empower the girls, I did at one point drift to the back of my group to let them navigate for us. Clearly the stories were more interesting than keeping an eye out for the yellow arrows that mark the trail and so we may have added an extra mile with a detour through a town of no more than 70 people (at least we met a dog on that detour). Soon enough we rejoined others on the main trail – navigating Spanish lunch times, large and small hamlets along the way, and finding a few spots of welcome shade on a very sunny and hot day. On those we learned the sweet reward of popsicles and soda pop.
Coming upon our final destination for the day, my group crossed the Puente del Passo Honroso, a beautiful medieval bridge, in Hospital de Órbigo around 4:30pm, marking the end of a day full of hiking and also full of spirit as our group pushed their limits and made the best of their first walking day. I’ll keep you posted about the aftermath on our sweet legs tomorrow!
