Puente Villarente - León, 23. september 2023 (1 day), distance: 12.9km (336.4km).
My adventure back on the Camino Francés is a very short one, consisting of only walking to León. León is a huge milestone on the French Way, but the stage from Mansilla de las Mulas to the city is one of the least memorable ones. It feels strange, though, coming from a walk with no other person in view, to the line of pilgrims moving towards the horizon on the Francés.
At Puente Villarente.
The Way to León.
I do not mind it, however, as it is expected. The less interesting scenery is countered by my mind getting back to all those memories from 2011 on my first Camino.
Playing and dancing in a square in León.
The cathedral in León with its glass paintings.
León is another story altogether. It is rewarding to either take an extra day here or to arrive early, so you have enough time to experience what the city has to offer. For a pilgrim, the gothic styled cathedral is the centrepiece of the city, its most noteworthy feature being the about 1800 square meters of stained glass windows with most of them dating back to the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. It is a wonderful city, and in the evening, I go on a tapas round with two other pilgrims on the Francés and a friend of them who has come down to meet them.
From the cloister garden of the Catedral de León.
Plaza Mayor de León.
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