Well, the picture doesn´t do it justice, but imagine rounding a corner at night and seeing this brilliantly illuminated gothic cathedral...amazing! This is the kind of sight that the pilgrims look forward to. We see people arriving all day long with backpacks, walking sticks, and expressions of joy and relief.
We´re excited to be getting underway tomorrow morning. We went to the Post Office today and shipped all of our extra baggage ahead to Santiago de Compostela. Hopefully they won´t lose it like Iberia did on the way here (we got it within 24 hours, but man did I need a change of socks)!
We were also lucky to get a special tour of León when we arrived. A professor of mine from ASU was here visiting his parents and we met up the night we got here. We enjoyed a late night stroll (we met at 11:00 pm) and sat at a café full of locals. He and his family took us around and we saw the wall around the old city that dates from Roman times, a romanesque church on a cobblestone square, and a more contempoarary building designed by Gaudí.
The charm of this city is difficult to communicate in a short description like this. It is a very Spanish town, bereft of large-scale tourism apart from the humble pilgrims that pass through as they follow their path, marked by sea shells and arrows.
We went to the convent yesterday and got our pilgrim´s passports which are stamped along the way as proof of progress. The love and exuberance shown by the volunteer who helped us demonstrated the piety and passion that is found in the pilgrim community. Tonight we are going back to receive a blessing from the sisters that will inaugurate our journey. Our excitement is palpable.
We send everyone our love, please wish us ¡buena suerte!
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