Walking Day 9 Leon to Virgen Del Camino – 7 km – 4.5 miles

Today is (mostly) a rest day.  We decided to make the short trek to the western urban edge today, rather than tomorrow, to make tomorrow’s walk easier.

We left the hotel at sunrise, walking a short distance to the cathedral, and picked up the trail of yellow arrows.

I am fascinated with watching a city wake up and go to work. Trucks make deliveries, people take their dogs out for their morning business, children in uniforms walk to school, businesswomen in suits and heels walk with a sense of mission and purpose toward the office.  Buses exchange passengers at every stop.

I love rising early to witness this quickening rhythm. My friend Melissa calls this ‘the translucent grace of the ordinary’ – and I realize how easy it is to take for granted, or even to scorn, the daily patterns of our lives, rather than appreciate them for the stable ground they provide. 

As we walked up a hill at the city’s edge, while waiting at a stoplight, I turned to see the spires of the cathedral rising up in the early morning mist. 

Jorge picked us up in the van and brought us back.  I stopped to pick up ‘the Trib’ at the newsstand, and I will find a quiet shady place to read the paper cover to cover today.

A day of rest is a good thing.