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September 17, 2006
León
Onward to León
Yesterday I went to the Revela Photo Exhibition in one of the park in Santiago. It was one of the most harrowing experience for me. Recommended by others who have been there, it was a photo exhibition mainly about human conflict in the developed worlds. The main focus is Iraq. The photos are very hard to watch, this reminds me how lucky I am to be able to do what I'm doing right now. It is a stark reminder about the suffering in many parts of the world. It is amazing how we whinge about a lot of stuff that don't really matter while many in this world live in constant fear of being blown up, killed, or worse died of starvation. I was not exagerating, it was pretty damn hard to see those photos.
Last night was uneventful after most of the crew from the past two nights checked-out. Plan to have a rest night was thwarthed by heavy snoring of everyone in the room and my super early bus to León (hey ... getting good at the accent!).
The bus trip from Santiago to León is probably the best bus trip so far. It goes through the sierra between Galicia and Castilla y León showing endless of stunning scenery. I think the best bit is that the route goes through small villages in the sierra. An old guy sitting in front of his bus even waved to us ... I think he actually waved to the bus driver, anyway that's not going to stop me thinking that he waved to us.
The Pilgrims & The Good Samaritans
I think I'm the only non-pilgrim in this hostel. Heck I think I'm the only non-pilgrim tourist in León. This city is certainly bustling with pilgrim tourism. As the last major city before Santiago, this is where most pilgrim had a rest day before tackling the next sierra to Santiago. I think because of my gears a lot of people asked me if I was a pilgrim. Well ... if you consider taking a bus is a pilgrimage then I suppose I am :) I've done the Camino Portuguese to Santiago and now on the way home.
Speaking of the hostel. Uncharted in Lonely Planet, this hostel could be a nightmare to find. I rang both the hostel and the tourist office for direction, none was good enough. From the bus station the most sensible way was to go to the tourist office, get a good map and the exact location of the hostel.
The hospitality of the Spanish are shown in the fullest in León. Without their help I had no hope of locating this hostel. One old lady even went out of her way to lead me to the street of the hostel.
An Old Acquaintance
Since this is pilgrim hostel, it has rather a sober atmosphere. I decided to have a quick look of the historic centre while there's still light. I found myself in the Cathedral square when I fantastically bumped into an old acquaintance from my NUIX days. This is so bizzare, I haven't met him since he left NUIX back in 2001 (or maybe 2002) and now I bumped into him here ... in León of all places. He is doing the Camino de Santiago.
Is this a sign for me to do the Camino?
Posted by vhadiant at September 17, 2006 10:59 PM
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