From the Camino an open letter. June 9, 2026.
Dear followers, friends, and family.
Again I share an open letter to my wife Christine. Please look over my shoulder and be within the closeness. Buen Camino!
Dear Christine.
We arrived in the village of Mansilla de Los Mulas on June 7. The combination of arid breeze, relentless sun and adobe looking ruins were such that I felt I had wandered into an old Clint Eastwood movie. Perhaps “A Fistful of Euros”!
As I entered town I vividly remembered that this was the place where I last saw our dear 2013 Camino friends Henk from the Netherlands, and Germans Gabi and Christine.
Such fond memories. I feel so fortunate that we are still in touch with them and so many others from that time.
The garden cafe/restaurant had changed much in 13 years.
Charlie and I ate dinner there with friends Maggie and her daughter Alethia from Virginia.
Alethia is a recent university graduate in mathematics and mom is a professor of biology. There was a lot of mental horsepower between those two women.
Charlie and I assumed that the continued meetings with familiar faces was at an end. Nothing could be further from the truth! The following morning as we proceeded to the bus station, Ana from Belgium jumped out of the doorway of a café hollering for us to wait. We were planning to ride the bus into Leon and thus avoid the slog through industry and suburbs. Ana joined us.
In Leon it was an amazing series of meetings with friends from the last week. A real gift from the Camino!
Our room was less than two hundred meters from the Leon Cathedral. I’m torn between whether the Burgos or Leon Cathedrals are my favorite. Both are magnificent but so different. I will share pictures of the interior of the Leon Cathedral in a separate post.
I understand that you and the grandchildren are touring another magnificent cathedral right now: Notre Dame in Paris, followed by the Eiffel Tower. Wonderful!
Enjoy, and I love you. Me.
Peace to all and Buen Camino. Pete.
Laura Gust says:
Sounds like everything is going well over there. Everybody looks so happy. I’m imagining how Christine and the kids are enjoying Paris. I have a picture of Notre Dame when I was there. Especially the long waiting line to get in. I spent Some of my time waiting trying to decide who are the pickpockets🤨, as I was suspicious, having lost some cash somewhere. But once I got in the cathedral that didn’t matter anymore.😊.
Pete Schloss says:
Christine forward me a picture from the top the Eiffel Tower. It’s remarkable because she hates heights so much!
Joseph R Tomelleri says:
What is that for breakfast Pete?
Pete Schloss says:
Hi Joe. This happens to be scrambled eggs with toasted hard bread. The Spanish like to drizzle olive oil on top of the toasted bread and then spread crushed tomatoes on top of that. It’s really tasty and good for you!