May 1 - My god it is cold in these mountains!!!
Rain and cold has made me re-think driving 2.5 hours to Compostela, and 2.5 hours back. So I needed another plan.
I reserved an room at the Parador in Leon, and checked out of Vilalba. While I'm on the subject of hotels, I'm bugged by something about European hotels. The toilet paper is 600 grit, and there is not facial tissue to blow your nose. But, there is a telephone next to the bidet. What's up with that? So you can call your friends and say, "Hey, guess what I'm doing right now!!". If you get such a call, just hang up.
Anyway, I drove to Lugo to se and photograph the Roman walls, then east toward Leon, jewel of the central plains. What a great drive. The mountains remind me of the Smokies, and my route crossed and paralleled the Camino for much of the way. The mountains tops still have snow and are postcard beautiful.
When you reach eastern end of the mountains, the plains unfold in front of you. Rich, red soil perfect for farming.
Spain is like a mini-United States when it comes to geography. One hour drive to the mountains, 2 hours to the desert, and hour to the plains, half hour to the beach, 2 hours to the swamp.
Beth and I were in Leon 14 years ago, and much has changed. Leon has become a sophisticated city, but has kept much of its oasis-like beauty. There is a river though town with tree lined parks, walks and recreation areas for miles on both banks. Maybe I could send them our local Tampa government and the people of Leon could learn how to ruin that nice area.
The Parador is also a jewel. Parador San Marcos shares the building with a centuries old church and monastery. An attached modern building houses the bulk of the room, and this is one of the biggest and most popular of the Parador. I count over 90 Paradores across Spain, including 2 in Africa and several on the Balearic Islands. So far I've been to 8. Long way to go.
Signing off now. More later.