This morning we retraced our steps back to the bus station in Leon. We followed the recommendation of our guidebook to bus from the center of Leon to Virgen del Camino, about a 5 mile trip.
We got the bus schedule for La Virgen from the bus company’s website. When we got on the bus, the driver told us that the bus no longer stopped in La Virgen. He thought for a moment, and then said that he would drop us off there anyway.
We got off the bus down the street from the church of San Froilan, which has a statute of La Virgen del Camino, Mary, floating about the Twelve Apostles. We arrived just in time for Mass.
Leaving La Virgen, the Camino splits into two different routes. The main route follows a highway to Villadangos del Paramo. The option we followed—which was a little longer but more remote–goes through Fresno del Camino and Oncino.
First we followed a little-used road to Oncino.
Here’s Anne at the end of the road in Oncino:
From Oncino, we followed a dirt track.
We both have trekking poles that we picked up in Leon. We will be in the mountains in a few days. We hope that the poles will reduce wear and tear on our hips, knees, and feet.
A couple of miles outside of Villar de Mazarife we heard what we thought were gunshots. There were woods nearby, and we thought that perhaps there were hunters.
As we got closer to Villar, the blasts became louder, and we could hear the bell in the village church ringing. About a quarter mile outside the village, we saw a puff of smoke in the sky each time there were blasts, which now were very loud.
There was a festival in the village. The blasts were sky rockets, fired off by a pair of villagers who were combining pyrotechnics and heavy drinking. We made sure that we were on the opposite side of the square from them.
There was a procession that included a statute of the Virgin Mary on a pedestal, a priest under a canopy held up by villagers, and the village band. We never figured out what the festival was celebrating.
Here is the church in Villar after the procession broke up.
After leaving Villar, we were back on the road.
It was a long day, about 15 miles, and it was around 5 p.m. when we finally reached Villavante, which was our destination. Tomorrow is another long day. Fortunately, we are both feeling pretty good, but a little tired. (And Anne has hiker’s rash and my shin is a little swollen.)
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