Chapter 25

León – Villar de Mazarife

Kari, Ali, Jean

‘The mountains were now looming large all around us and the open meadows of the Paramo were full of wild flowers – deep purple hyacinths, pink thistles, scarlet-centred daisies and countless others I could not name. We saw fat lizards, a shepherd driving his massive herd of musical sheep, green spiders, tiny yellow butterflies and enormous birds of prey. The path was flat and deserted and we heard our cuckoo, the frogs, crickets and a million bees as we passed through the bean fields. We stopped for lunch in the shade of a cork tree, spreading out Jean’s poncho as a makeshift picnic blanket. Cheese, bread and chorizo in the sunshine.’