Media (20)
León: recovery, crêpes party, and a memorable evening.
July 2, full stop in León.
After the long push of the previous day, July 2 was a true recovery day: no aggressive alarm, body to reset, mind to realign. When you do 37 km the day before, rest is not a luxury: it is maintenance.
In the early afternoon Catherine also arrived in León. We updated each other on accommodation and timing: she was at Unamuno, I was at Albergue Muralla. The idea was to meet for a beer and then understand how to fit the evening together.
Meanwhile Laura wanted to make crêpes: for the occasion I bought a jar of Nutella, while they handled the rest. We then met in the evening at the Airbnb they had booked.
It was me, Juan, Laura, Ocean, Francesco, and Rossana. A little later Anita joined us too, one of the girls Francesco had met during the day on the road.
Francesco was hilarious the entire evening: truly laugh-out-loud funny. He really liked Anita and staged a burst of sketches, constantly involving her. She was very in tune and laughed wholeheartedly. At one point Francesco even did a joking “marriage proposal,” and she was super entertained. Watching that evening was a total blast.
Too bad Catherine did not come: in my opinion she would have had fun too. I had invited her several times (beer, crêpes party, meetup near the cathedral), but she was undecided about socializing that night.
In parallel I was also hearing from Andrius, who was nearby and wanted to understand whether we would walk together the next day or not. I told him that for me July 3 was still a rest day, with city walk and cathedral, and that I would decide departure afterwards.
In the Pamplona Party People group, logistical updates kept coming on where everyone was: some in municipal albergues, some in private ones, some already ready to leave, others planning to stop two days. It was the usual Camino mosaic: same thread, different timing.
Slow urban rhythm, long showers, squares full of pilgrims, and then a house full of laughter, jokes, and lightness.
City stops work when you truly live them: you recover physically, but above all you recharge the human side of the Camino.
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Day notes