Our final rest day in the city of Leon (about the same population as Saskatoon) was spent doing some banking and phone-fixing, checking out some more interesting sights, escaping the heat of the mid-day, and soaking up the general ambience.
We sat with a sculpture of the architect A. Gaudi in front of a building he had designed (but not one of his fanciful ones, in this case) and then toured the Royal Pantheon in the Basilica of San Isidoro de León. This is an ancient funeral chapel of the kings of Leon. We walked right beside the stone coffins of the long-ago royals, while craning our necks to admire the curved ceilings and columns not far above us, which are painted with 12th century murals depicting New Testament subjects and scenes of rural life. The colours are amazingly vivid. In the museum, we also were awed by thousand year old textiles, exquisite gold and ivory boxes, and other items. In the library, we viewed some of the oldest Bibles and choir books in existence -- they are huge, some weighing about 80 lbs!
We stopped by the Parador for a cold drink on their shady patio, beside the river and a Roman stone bridge. The Paradors are elegant hotels in converted monasteries, castles, convents, etc. and this one was featured in the movie "The Way."
We shall be back on the trail first thing in the morning (wonder how our feet will feel about that?)
