Leon - Day 2

The photo was taken from my Cafe table as I enjoyed lunch, not a bad
outlook!

Have hit all the museums again and just enjoyed a half day of sight-
seeing. Even managed to find an English language newspaper to enjoy
with lunch.

Stocktake: Logrono 634.2km to Santiago. Leon 326.1km to Santiago. So
I've walked 308.1km, plus another 40km for San Millan which adds up to
348.1km done and just the 326.1km to go.

Please note that all distances are rubbery, no two guide books appear
the same and signposts are just unreliable. At one point, two other
pilgrims and I covered 40km in 15 minutes - rather remarkable on foot
- if we believe the signposts.

So, more than half done and an estimated 14 days minimum to get to
Santiago.

Physial condition: two very sore feet. Which just proves that one
pays a high price for rushing, although I am very glad to get off the
meseta. The legs can go all day but the feet wear out sooner.
Solution - don't do 37km days and take more breaks.

The second physical problem is that I have completely lost my
appetite. This happened on the previous trips due to falling off my
gluten-free diet. The real problem is that if I don't eat I just
don't have the energy to walk. So I'm forcing myself to eat three
times a day but it is hard to finish any meal.

Trying to stay on a gluten-free diet is just not possible for me here,
the choice of foods is too limited and I just don't have the language
skills anyway, but I'm trying as hard as possible.

The hotel in Leon has free wifi which is marvellous. I have several
audiobooks on iPod which I love but they aren't much use when dinning
alone. So I've put several ebooks onto my phone. I can sit and read
these on screen anywhere, which helps avoid the discomfort of just
staring around the room while sitting in public. Just like paperbacks
really without the weight.

The iPhone is working out superbly for travel, nearly as good as a
computer while very small and light. If only the battery would last a
bit longer it would be ideal.

On a side issue, the fleas didn't make it to Leon with me. Before
leaving Australia, I treated my sleeping bag, sheet and backpack with
permethrin. The pesticide has worked wonderfully in keeping nasties
out of my gear. So now I can confirm it was the accommodations not me.

Still many peregrinos in Leon. Quite a few look to have worse feet
than mine but hopefully we will all recover quickly. Villages and
places to stay will be more frequent from now on, making it much
easier to manage reasonable days.

Cheers
John