Stage 25: Rabanal Del Camino to Molinaseca, 27 kms, 8-24C, 7 hrs

Crosses in the Mist:

Perhaps not the most original title, but very appropriate. We are sitting in our hotel waiting to Skype home as its the Thanksgiving weekend. We just arrived back when the clouds opened and the rain is just pounding down...hope this isn't a hint about what's to come as Annemarie walked today pain free in her sandals...first time in days, so important to keep the weather favourable. 

Back to today...a long stage up and over and a long decent as per yesterday's post. Headed off to start the climb in the dark with head lights blazing, and climb we did...

Cold start again today with wind so we were bundled up and a good thing too as it was very cold at the top. Caitlin, I say nice things to myself bout you every morning with those nice gloves keeping my hands warm! Brilliant! We started out quite quickly and the first 6 kms of the climb went by in a hurry...came upon a small village and we had a short stop to rest Annemarie's foot then moved on without our usual bar stop. We were on a bit of a mission today at the start. Waved to Ken and continued onwards...ever up and westward. 

As we neared the last couple of kms to the peak of the climb we became shrouded in cloud, fortunately no rain, and so it was a bit of a surprise when we suddenly found ourselves at the foot of the Cruz de Ferro, The Iron Cross a place where peregrinos have prayed and left a stone from their place of origin for centuries. 

We too left our stones, one Caitlin had prepared for Annemarie and one I had selected on the Bowron Lakes last year, a place that has become special to me in my own life and that I was fortunate enough to visit again with son Bryan.

Needless to say it was a quiet, somber experience once again unique to this journey. The walk away from the cross was reflective and stunning in the mist...and other smaller crosses appeared as we passed by...

 

Then just when we needed a lift...there it was...a funky small place to say hello to others and warm ourselves by the fire...just what we needed.

Then as we walked on across the mountain top the cloud began to lift and so did our mood.

We reconnected with Ken, and off went the three amigos on a smart decent...3,200'

The sun came out and it warmed enough to allow the cloud to burn off and once the wind settled it became pretty warm and continued to warm as we descended. 

Four and a half hours after starting we wandered in to the mountain village of El Acebo where we had bocadillo, one of the best so far and sat in short sleeves with a cold drink, just enjoying the warmth of the sun. Many acquaintances arrived and again it's like finding old friends, such is the connection of the Camino. 

Guess who showed up for lunch?

A very nice alpine like mountain village...

Long story short...we continued on down the mountain...I was again feeling about 5 years old...can't explain it, so I took off ahead just enjoying the day. Met up with a lovely young lady from the Dolimite area of Italy and she was pretty funny. By the time Annemarie and Ken joined us at our destination she had charmed an elderly lady into letting her have access to her fig trees and we all enjoyed the sweet flavour of the fruit! A special moment trying to connect with the lady in the window! She kindly let me take her photo.

We have arrived and are waiting to Skype and will then hope the weather clears so we can go out for a meal...

As the three of us were having a few very cold beers on the main street in this small town we welcomed other peregrinos as they walked by. Some would stop and chat, others would simply eye our beer! Several were sort of suffering as they stopped, and as we didn't know them we introduced ourselves...the usual thing. We've noticed a lot of new folks on the trail since Leon, and many left the Camino there as well. Three days later the newbies are suffering the usual knee, ankle and blister problems. So today we found ourselves handing out sage advice, and when asked how long we'd been walking, the three of us looked at each other and said, "a month". ..600 kms. That's when it dawned on us that we are veterans. I don't think it had dawned on us before...we, as many others do, just walk...day in and day out...just trying to survive to walk the next day. A particularly good way to live for a time...in the moment. We know we are very fortunate to have this experience...

Addendum: we did manage to wait out the rain and found shelter in a small restaurant that turned out to be another Michelin Red Book winner last year. I think I was the real winner tonight with a lovely soup followed by a cod dish, veggies and...real potatoes!!

Buen Camino! Happy Thanksgiving Holiday Canada! Will certainly miss the turkey, pumpkin pie and the family...probably in that order;)