Serendipity en Leon

Serendipity. I still can't believe that what I'm about to write about actually happened today, but it did. True story. And the only word that comes to mind is serendipity.

This was not planned in advance; we just ran into each by pure serendipity and it's been the best day of my journey so far.

OK, here's what happened today. I left Salamanca at 11:15 a.m. after giving some serious thought to spending one more day there since I liked the city so much. But something kept telling me to come to Leon, that little voice that we all have that helps us make decisions each day. When I called my hostel in Leon yesterday to make reservations for today, the senora told me they only had a double room available Saturday night but that I could have the single room on Sunday. Again, I almost decided to stay in Salamanca one more night since the hostel was going to cost more. But something kept telling me to come to Leon Saturday, that little voice again.

Let me back up for just a second. For those of you who don't know, one of my good friends and colleagues, Senora Bills, is also in Spain this summer, trekking across the northern part of the country on the Camino de Santiago (the Way of Saint James). From where she started her journey, it's about 478 miles to Santiago de Compostela, located on the northwest corner of Spain. Our plan all along has been to meet up in Barcelona to spend the last few days before returning to Indiana Aug. 3. We've been in touch a couple of times since we both arrived but not recently. We know we're going to meet in Barcelona on the 28th and we had just planned to see each other there.

Leon is about the half-way point between where she started and Santiago de Compostela. When I realized this a few days ago, I dropped her an e-mail to tell her I was going to be in Leon today and Sunday and was curious if she might be near here so we could meet up. But, she hadn't received my e-mail.

So I came to Leon today as planned, arriving a little after 2 p.m. I kept thinking to myself how neat it would be if I would actually run into Sra. Bills in Leon but the chances of something like that happening would be so slim.
She is on a 478-mile trip across northern Spain. Leon is home to 135,000 people, not including the hundreds of pilgrims who pass through here each day en route to the tomb of James the Greater since the trail to Santiago de Compostela goes through Leon. There are hundreds of small, narrow streets here. And even if she were here today, I would have to be at the exact spot at the right time to see her.

Guess what? It happened!

I dropped my bag off and checking into the hostel before deciding to explore the city on foot and see if I saw Sra. around. I made a short stop at the tourism office to check on getting some city maps but I discovered it was closed. I started walking down the same road again when all of a sudden I looked up and couldn't believe who I saw coming toward me with a green backpack and walking stick ... Sra. Bills! It took both of us a second to recognize each other and we were both left speechless. The chances of us bumping into one another in Leon, Spain, were next to none but we did! There is a saying in Spanish that goes, "El mundo es un panuelo." Essentially, it means, the world the world is so small. Literally it means the world is a handkerchief. I really understood the meaning of that phrase today!

So, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Leon on foot, catching up and talking about our travels. Afterward we went out to dinner before calling it a night. We're both going to be in Leon tomorrow to see more of the city and rest up before heading our separate ways until meeting up in Barcelona in a few weeks.

What a crazy day in Leon.

Hasta pronto,
--Justin