My breakfast companions during Dennis’ quarantine
Dennis started feeling a bit low energy on our first ride out of Santiago but pushed along through the next day until he got all the signs of a cold. He immediately guessed it was COVID, even though we were so careful with masks the entire time we were in transit. I was convinced he was being paranoid, but the test he took on the street outside a pharmacy was immediately positive. Time to adapt! Hotel cancellations, hotel extensions in places that had a place to quarantine, taxis while he was contagious and busses thereafter, cooking 3 meals a day in kitchens smaller than closets with dull knives and tiny dishes made for dolls…it wasn’t the trip we had planned, but it all worked out. Trying to avoid catching COVID from Dennis required some creative dancing and lots of breath holding around each other, but so far so good.
After 7 days we started sleeping in the same room, but we built barriers, used a fan to push his cooties out the door and kept the beds apart.
León is supposed to have the best food in Spain, but we never got to eat at a restaurant while we were there. Next time!
While Dennis was recuperating, I explored Leon and Burgos for 3 days each. It was actually nice having more time to fully explore these cities. Both are vibrant places with lovely old towns and excellent bike lanes and trails around their rivers.
León is one of my favorite cities. It has an amazing Gothic cathedral and an active outdoor scene. They give you free tapas with each drink you buy, so if you can hold your liquor you’ll never need to buy a meal! Maybe it works with non-alcoholic beverages as well, but I never found out.
The view in León from our apartment
Both Leon and Burgos have stunning Gothic cathedrals built in the 13th century.
The León cathedral has more stained glass (180,000 meters) than any other cathedral in the world. All original. The cathedral was built when the town had only 5,000 residents and was built in just 50 years. That’s like Poway High School building a cathedral!
Parades with “Gigantes” are a big thing in Spain. This one just came walking up the street while I was having a coffee. The funny thing was how few people even took notice of them, just kept walking along to their next destination.
We happened to arrive in Spain during many of the cities’ annual fiestas. Every day and late into the night there were concerts and parades and street shows. And fireworks. The Spanish love fireworks, the louder and more dangerous the better.
The streets were packed with revelers. Once Dennis’ quarantine ended we were able to go out and enjoy it for short bits at a time. Although his symptoms ended quickly, the fatigue was longer lasting.
A local school opens its doors so the kids can watch the activities in the plaza below.
Our apartment in Burgos next to their Gothic cathedral
Each time we took a bus, I had to go to the grocery store and buy rolls of plastic wrap to completely wrap our bikes. This was to keep the grease away from the other suitcases in luggage. We got pretty good at it…One bus driver even told us it was the best he’d seen! If we can’t compete biking at least we can compete with our bike wrapping.
All the cities have fantastic bike paths along their rivers.
After 10 days of life under COVID we took our final taxi to Logroño, another beautiful city. This would have been the longest ride of this first trip phase, so I didn’t mind skipping it. I’m fact I had been dreading it, so COVID wasn’t all bad fortune (for me).
The next day, we were finally back on the road, descending into San Sebastián on the Atlantic coast next to the French border. Thus ended our Camino, which turned out to be a much different path than we were expecting.
Both of us are negative and hoping to stay that way! Now, on to the Pyrenees…
Sorry about the covid but Wow!! what gorgeous cathedrals!! I really need to go, I like your biking idea much better than hiking the entire length.
ReplyDeleteSilver linings. Love the pics.
ReplyDelete