Leon Cathedral

Today we visited the city of Leon in northwest Spain. The city is along the Camino de Santiago (The way of St James), a medieval pilgrimage route across northern Spain which is walked by millions of pilgrims even today. We saw many pilgrims making the trek today towards Leon and in the city itself visiting Leon Cathedral before they set off for Santiago. We to have followed this way of St James, however, we got to do it in the luxury of the bus. When you meet pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago you say to them "Buen Camino" which means 'have a good way or walk'. What a challenge it would be to actually walk this pilgrimage!

The Cathedral in Leon (Catedral de Santa María de Regla de León) is a French style Gothic Cathedral built in the 13th century. In a side chapel of the cathedral there is a statue called 'Virgen de la Esperanza'. It is a statue of the Virgin Mary (dating back to the 13th/14th century) depicting when she was pregnant with Jesus. I thought she was one of the most beautiful statues I have ever seen. The guide with us today was telling us of her challenge in explaining the idea of a pregnant virgin to non Christians! Another glorious aspect of this cathedral are the amazing stained glass windows. With the sunlight beaming through it is easy to see why this cathedral has the nickname 'House of Light'. While today was cold enough for us to wear jackets the sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful blue. Yesterday, however, the temperature in Leon was 3 degrees and raining! We have been extraordinarily lucky with the weather!