No surprise, leaving Leon this morning was painful on many levels.

My boutique hotel room was so comfortable after weeks of bunks, shared shower and bath facilities, 10-30 people in a dorm room, etc.

The privacy alone was worth the price. To have my own washing machine and heater, was beyond my expectations.

Then to step out into the Leon streets in the morning darkness, in sub-40-degrees … oy, that was cold comfort.

I wore long pants and gloves for the first time and wondered if I have enough layers to make it through the mountain climbs ahead.

The day itself was glorious. Blue sky all day.

The route, not so glorious. Probably the worst day yet. Mostly we trudged beside a busy highway and through uninteresting towns.

Not mostly. All of the day.

There was an alternative route that many of my friends chose. Apparently deeper into the country. We merge paths tomorrow. I’ll be curious to hear their experiences.

This is the map of the alternative route and the one I took. I picture their day looking like the photo on the left:

I pulled into Auberge Santa Ana around 2 pm and was still an hour early for check in. The owner (Ana, of course) had warm slices of pizza waiting for her guests.

A nice finish to a blah day.

Well, be careful what I wish for. We’re in hill country and a couple of mountains loom ahead.

We passed the 500 kilometer mark today. There are only 290 kilometers to go. It seems like the clock is winding down.

Not sure how I feel about that.

One last photo for my Camino veterans. How many of you took this exact same photograph?