Ten Weeks on the Camino: Nick Starks takes a weekend to savor this wonderful Spanish town…and wishes he could stay longer
Of all the wonderful places we stopped during our Camino, it would be hard to find anywhere to top Leon.
The city is the capital of the Leon region and has a rich history dating back to Roman times. The Goths and the Moors both occupied it during medieval times, but the place really flowered in the 13th century and beyond into the golden age of Spain and the age of exploration. Today its rich history is reflected in its varied architectural styles but past mingles perfectly with present in the buzzing, frenetic sidestreets adjacent to its magnificent cathedral. During our two-day stop here each winding calle was groaning with locals every evening during their paseo, the Spanish tradition of a leisurely stroll through their town, as they stopped for a drink here, or a bite there, a chat with friends or to swap gossip with their neighbors.
As is often the case in Spain, each tiny bar here seems to boast its own special incarnation of a classic tapa, and if you are on a budget this is possibly the best stop on the Camino since the drinks are cheap and the food essentially free. There’s no need to order from a menu, simply order a glass of wine for two euros and wait for them to offer you a tapa, usually from a handful of choices. Whereas the standard Camino tapa is most often a bowl of potato chips or olives, Leon takes it to another level, with small bowls of chicken caldo (broth), a slice or two of morcilla (blood sausage), a saucer of chorizo or cecina (dry cured beef) or the local favorite, callos (chickpea and tripe stew). You get a tapa for each drink, usually enjoyed standing at the bar, which is the perfect excuse to strike up conversation with locals or fellow peregrinos.
As is always the case on the Camino, all the action is in the Casco Antiguo (Old Town), and in Leon two areas in particular cannot be missed: the Barrio Húmedo and the Barrio Romántico. One of our favorite stops was Restaurante Ezequiel, something of an institution in the city and loved by locals for their large, inexpensive wine list and their superb charcuterie, artisanally produced by their own farmers in the nearby mountain town of Villamanin. Each time was passed the place it was heaving with locals and when we finally ventured in, it became obvious why.
Another winner was the Cervantes 10 Gastrobar, best known for their unique homemade vermouths (saffron, anybody?), which we enjoyed one night after a bout of bar hopping. We were astounded by the proferred tapa: a petite cone filled with foie gras and topped with ground cecina. Smooth, creamy, lush goodness neatly nestled into a small crispy holder. Yowza.
Another place of note was Tasca La Rinconada (the Corner Tavern), located right next to Leon’s central market. Run by a warm and hospitable husband and wife team, this petite bar has just four tables, all of which were always filled with locals, and a wonderful stand-up bar where one memorable night we enjoyed a bowl of steaming Coracoles (snails) and two glasses of Mencia for about 8 euros.
But fabulous though the food scene is here, what really knocked our socks off was the double whammy of Leon’s famed 13th century cathedral, and Casa Botines, a dreamy masterpiece from Spain’s most celebrated architect, Antonio Gaudi. We spent all day at these two astounding places and would gladly return. The Santa María de León (to use its official name) is one of the three most important cathedrals along the Camino de Santiago. French Gothic in style, it boasts huge vaulted ceilings and the most wonderful stained glass rose window in the style of Notre Dame, which suffuses the interior of the place – even on a gloomy day – with soft pinks, blues, greens and reds. As for the vaulted ceilings, which are typical of Gothic church architecture of the time, they cast both myself and my partner into reverential silence. The way these arches subtly overlap and interlace with each other, all conceived, designed and built without CAD, computers or anything but the most rudimentary machinery, is unspeakably impressive.
A five-minute walk from the Cathedral lies one of Gaudi’s masterpieces, Casa Botines. Built in little more than year in the early 1890s, it is a modernist building originally built for a fabrics company, with residential units on the upper floors. But despite its up-to-the-minute design (for that era), from the outside it looks like something from a fairy tale. Gaudí wanted to pay tribute to León’s emblematic buildings, so he designed the place with a medieval air and numerous neo-Gothic characteristics. And because of his playful nature and fondness to incorporate fantasy, he added touches to suggest a dragon, including a row of slate tiles placed vertically on the roof in the style of scales, and an entrance with features to eerily reminiscent of both a mouth and eyes as you approach.
Even if you don’t normally appreciate architecture these twin buildings will impress and captivate you. And in a nice whimsical touch, in front of Casa Botines there is a bronze cast of Gaudi himself, seated on a park bench, allowing you to imagine the great man taking a moment to enjoy his work.
We had two days here but would gladly have spent a week. But soon enough it was time to get on the road because the final third of the Camino Frances awaited us. Ahead lay the picture book towns of Hospital de Orbigo, Castojeriz, O Cebreiro and Molinaseca as we transitioned from El Bierzo to Galicia, requiring a steep climb through the O Courel and Os Ancares mountain ranges before coming down into Sarria, where we would have just 100km to go.
But that’s next week.
