Staying at Keko's was wonderful! I'm sure he's a great host to everyone, but since we're pilgrims he's especially good to us! He himself has walked the camino so he knows what we need.
We slept in and then after enjoying our own private bathroom and as much hot water as we wanted, we found all this food waiting for us in the kitchen!
We made omelets with ham and cheese! We also prepared sandwiches for our drive up into the mountains for the day.
Did I mention his fridge was stocked with diet coke? How did he know?!
Here's where Keko brought us. The name is Covadonga and it's a town built around a shrine.
Here's the basilica. I don't know all the history but I'll tell you the little I learned. Apparently Spain was being conquered by the Muslims and most of Spain was taken. A man name Pelayo and his troops were holding off the Muslims in this area, in the mountains. It was looking very grim because of the numbers and the amount of Spain the Muslims had already taken. Then Pelayo prayed to Our Lady, asking for her intercession, and that's when the tides turned. Pelayo and his small army were able to push back the Muslims. Thus the title of Our Lady of Covadonga was given and a shrine was built.
Saint John Paul II came here and said if it weren't for the defeat at Covadonga all of Europe may have fallen to the Muslims and lost it's Christianity (or something like that). It would really be a good idea to research it!
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covadonga%2C_Spain
Here's the shrine built in the cave where Pelayo's armies were victorious.
Here's a unrelated superstition. Keko told us it is believed that if you drink from all seven founts of this fountain you will get married in one year. I asked if he had drunken from all seven and he laughed and said, "a million times!" So, since he's still single I'm not holding my breath ;).
We went to Mass in the basilica and it was packed with people! Keko said he didn't know why it was so busy. You tell it's a local pilgrimage site where families go for Mass and to spend the afternoon.
After Mass and visiting the cave, Keko took us to a lookout where you can see both the mountains and the sea. It was gorgeous!
We took the bus to Leon, checked in at the albergue, and went to see the cathedral. Unfortunately, the cathedral was closed, which is highly unusual to be closed at 7:30pm when most churches have a Mass at 7:30 or 8:00 on Sunday nights, oh well. The outside was pretty :)
After we visited the cathedral we stopped for frozen yogurt. You can see how excited I was about frozen yogurt.
We stayed in an albergue that was part of a Benedictine convent. They had separate sleeping areas and bathrooms for the men and women, which was really nice. Also, they invited the pilgrims to join the sisters in prayer. Like with the other sisters, I enjoyed night prayer in common even though it was in Spanish. It's easy to see the universality of the church when you know you're praying the same thing as millions of others around the world.
Today I'm thankful for Keko and his generosity! I'm thankful for getting to see so many beautiful sights!
I learned how wonderful a day of rest can be!