06/06/2024 – Walking the walk 12

Day 22 – We have made it to León; Roman garrison town, home to both the 6th and 7th legions; cradle of parliaments (the first recorded one was held here in 1188); spearpoint of the Reconquista; seat of Ferdinand I, who, with his wife Isabella of Castile, were called “The Catholic Kings”. Now a city of 200k people, the old town still sits within the cyclopean Roman/Medieval walls, a warren of paved streets and surprisingly spacious squares.

We did find time to squeeze in a delightfully European beer under a parasol on the square of San Isidoro in the cool evening, but… Our key destination today was the “OceanBlue” laundromat.

It’s been 30 days since we last washed our clothes other than in the shower/sink/bath (May 3rd, Paris). It’s hard to express the simple excitement of automated cleansing. We washed everything that had been “soap-washed”: in my case (wash-wear-wash), 8 items; for Carey, his entire bag minus one pair of pants and a T-shirt (not even socks or underwear!).

Ever the gentleman, Carey eased gingerly, (sans socks), down the lane, rolling the bag behind him, while I navigated. We sat in humble admiration while the machines span, swooshed all on their own! I visited the nearby supermarket to acquire cold beer… We spent an enraptured 31-plus-15 minutes watching the robots wash. I even produced an entire Facebook photospread. It was that good. The Camino’s pleasures are very basic, perhaps “fundamental” is the word. Clothes that rinse and dry themselves? A blessing!

Day 23, at rest! We relished a leisurely, late breakfast, with multiple refills. Then, we strolled. We returned to San Isidoro, where I had a joyful pray and listened in on the Latin Mass proceeding in the oldest chapel. We headed toward the cathedral, only to be side-tracked by the Roman museum. Unassuming from outside, it was fabulous. We were the only visitors. We walked atop the Roman walls. We marveled at the reconstructions, dioramas, models. On the floor shared with the Municipal Archive, a local scholar stood and approached us. Instead of shooing us away, he grabbed his mobile and gave us a tour. We “chatted away” through Google Translate, smiles, gestures. We learned how they cut up agreements and gave pieces to each party, so that forgeries/alterations would be evident; how velum preserved so much better than paper; how fire shaped the city square… He was so enthusiastic (and we were so interested)!

We finally arrived at the cathedral. We usually refuse to “pay to pray”, as Carey puts it, but we volunteered the entrance fee. It is a beautiful complex site – not Saint Chapelle beautiful, (though the glass is equally luscious), but, definitely, York Minster beautiful (the same, soaring, Perpendicular Gothic). The organ alone is overwhelming. You can also access the vast, serene cloister, housing many of the original sculptures from the façade. Between both phones and the good camera, we are synching around 400 photos at the moment! Worth every one.