One more picture of Rebekah before we said our goodbyes. The church bell rung twice as we headed off on the Road again.
Not many other walkers were seen on the path, but there were lots of cyclists who rode by in groups.
"Onward" written in yellow flower petals
A marker designated the border of Palencia as we entered the province of Leon.
More cycling peregrinos
By the Roman bridge near Sahagun is Ermita Virgen del Puente (Our Lady of the Bridge) from the 12th c. I used an image of this small chapel for the blog's 'cover' photo. Trees are hiding the bell tower from this end of the bridge, but the main structure (below) can be seen peeking through the leaves.
The half way markers of Camino Frances are near the Ermita.
Agricultural related buildings were by Sahagun's train station -- Dad recognized this kind of tractor with discs used for cultivation.
We arrived to the station with only minutes to spare before our train to Leon arrived.
A lion fountain provided refreshment in the lovely city of Leon. The city takes its name not from lions but from association with the Roman Legion, which had an encampment in this area.
Dad holds up a Spanish size cup of cafe -- not the 'grande' size typical of the U.S.
In the heart of the city is Santa Maria de Leon Cathedral. Built over the ruins of a Roman bath, the present Gothic structure was begun in the 13th c. and is known as "The House of Light" because of its 125 stained glass windows.
Architectural details on the Cathedral's west end
A dachshund sits patiently in a plaza.
It's the festival of St. John in Leon this week, and the "Gigantes" ("Giants") figures are part of the parades. The Gigantes have wood or aluminum frames with paper mache and plaster heads & arms. They represent figures associated with the history of the region.
Dancers await the music at one of the festival stages.
In the evening local ladies gather to play cards at a park.
At our albergue, S. Maria de Carbajal, we met medical/biology students Joe & Marcus from UNC, Chapel Hill and Aaron from UC Berkeley. The three of them are walking the Camino and also working on a medieval medicine research project for the Hendricks Charitable Foundation. They're meeting with Spanish university researchers in this field in various cities as they traverse the Road. Their work will be part of the "Curiosity Project" and will later be broadcast via Curiosity Stream, a new web based educational channel. It was interesting hearing about their project, especially because I had studied the intersection of medieval medicine & ex-voto oblation.
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