<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Lucida Sans Unicode" LANG="0">Hello Gaby and all,<BR>
The albergue in Leon seems less friendly than others, but it is more centrally located than other big-city albergues. In fact, it is only a few blocks from the Cathedral. In the street going to the Cathedral (which is absolutely gorgeous) from the albergue there is an Internet center. Although it is not a cafe, and therefore free from loud music and so on, it is frequented by young people who play games and smoke a lot. The burning of your eyes because of the smoke will run you out of the place quickly enough.<BR>
-As an occasional smoker (still) I've never objected to people smoking, but of late second hand smoke does cause me a lot of physical discomfort, particularly in my eyes and throat. Could it be that out NYC bitty mayor Bloomberg, with his draconian edicts of No Smoking Anywhere at No Time, has really done us a big favor and cleaned up our air and our organs and organisms?-<BR>
The (very nice) albergue in Portomarin does not have computers, but close by, under the portals, there is a coffe shop ("Cafe Espana", I think) that does have coin-fed computers which are quite fast and efficient.<BR>
By the way, Portomarin has a new granite Santiago pilgrim statue in the square in front of the church. The statue is roughly life-size and it is different from most in that his left arm and hand hold the staff while his right arm is extended towards Santiago.<BR>
When I go back homeI'll ask someone to put some pictures here for those of you who may want to see them. <BR>
Warm regards,<BR>
Rosina</FONT></HTML>