Day 19: Hiking My Camino de Santiago

August 7, 2018

I have some bad news to share with you. You may recall the father and son from Rochester and that Gary was going to León to the hospital. Well, we ran into them today. The doctor is sending Gary home due to the condition of his feet and infected blisters. Scott will stay and continue his walk.

In talking with Gary I learned his original plan was to walk to Santiago and then go to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and walk from there to Burgos. I enjoyed getting to meet Gary and am sorry he won’t be able to finish his 2018 Camino de Santiago.

Gary is not alone in fighting blisters. I have seen some feet that feel like they hurt. And I can feel the pain when I see Pilgrims walking in pain on the Camino.

And that is the reason I am sharing this photo of a pilgrim statue in the San Marcos Plaza in León. His eyes are closed; his head is back; his sandals are beside him; I can feel his pain and fatigue, and my pose may not be to dissimilar. Clearly, he has walked a great distance and he most likely has issues with his feet. Blisters and foot pain are things a pilgrim would like to avoid.

As you know, Day 19 became a rest day for me after I walked the Day 18 and Day 19 mileage in Day 18. Therefore, I slept in, walked around the city, and toured the Cathedral.

And since I don’t have much to report I thought I would share the Six Rules of the Camino that Stuart from Ireland and Kate from Hungary created. They are:

1. No vino, no Camino. If you don’t have wine, it won’t be a good Camino.

2. No blisters, no Camino. You are definitely going to get blisters if you walk the full Camino.

3. Be nice to other pilgrims. If you are nice, hopefully, other pilgrims will be nice to you.

4. Enjoy the little things. That is the whole point of the Camino.

5. Always take the shortest route within reason. (Note: I violated this rule two days ago and will most likely violate it tomorrow by taking an alternate route.)

6. Expect the unexpected on the Camino. (Note: To me these are the gifts of the Camino and a Pilgrim can only accept the good and the bad and be grateful.)

Thanks for reading!

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P.S. While in León I recorded the second episode of "ASK GORDON" after Day 19 (August 7, 2018) on the Camino de Santiago. This was originally shared in my Facebook Journal. I asked my Facebook friends to post any questions in the comment section of my original Facebook post. I copied the comments to the "Description section" in YouTube.

To Advance to the next post, click here.

See additional photos from August 7th below:

1) A marker in León

2) The Parador de San Marcos

3) The Parador de San Marcos

4) A sculpture in León

5) Inside the León cathedral

6) Inside the León cathedral

7) Inside the León cathedral

8) Inside the León cathedral

9) Inside the León cathedral

10) Inside the León cathedral

11) Inside the León cathedral

12) Inside the León cathedral

13) Inside the León cathedral

14) Inside the León cathedral

15) Inside the León cathedral

16) Inside the León cathedral

17) The old part of León

18) the old part of León

19) The old part of León.

20) Pilgrim statue in León

21) Pilgrim statue in León

Brief descriptions of the photos:

1. Here is a marker in León indicating I am 306 kilometers from Santiago.

2. This is the Parador de San Marcos--a 15th century pilgrim hospital now restored as a hotel. It is also the hotel where Martin Sheen's character in "The Way" treated his friends to a night of luxury.

3. This is an old church that is part of the Parador de San Marcos.

4. This is a sculpture in the city a few blocks from the Cathedral in León.

5. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

6. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

7. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

8. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

9. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

10. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

11. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

12. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

13. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

14. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

15. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

16. This is a view from inside the cathedral in León.

17. This is a view of the historic walls that surrounded the old part of León.

18. This is a view of the historic walls that surrounded the old part of León.

19. This is a view of the historic walls that surrounded the old part of León.

20. This is a pilgrim statue outside of the Parador de San Marcos. I love the details of the face and feet and how the pilgrim is positioned. I would say it captured what all of us pilgrims felt after a day of walking.

21. This is a pilgrim statue outside of the Parador de San Marcos. I love the details of the face and feet and how the pilgrim is positioned. I would say it captured what all of us pilgrims felt after a day of walking.