A Captain’s Camino

Less than 100 kilometers to go!

Kind of a blah day, walked mostly under my poncho. Dreary and light rain. So not many photos either. I expected a lot of even terrain today, but it ended being up and up, followed by down, down, down, and down! Zowie!

My ankle/lower leg was OK the first 3 hours, but was on fire the last hour or so. Got done cream for it from the pharmacy and been icing it didn’t the rest of the day. Should be fine tomorrow.

Lunch and dinner here where both noteworthy in that the lunchtime paella and the dinner pasta carbonara were both the best I’ve had in Spain! Hit the spot and walked less than a block to get them.

Sorry, no flowers today…

Sarria is the closest point to Santiago from which you can walk and still get your Camino certificate. It’s just over 100 kilometers. And to make sure you walk the whole 100 km, pilgrims have to get two stamps in their pilgrim passport each day.

It should only take 5-6 days to reach Santiago now (assuming no infirmity knocks me down), and then 4 days or so to Finisterre – the end of the world (from historical times). Buen Camino!

Extra thought: Cheerful cowboys make jolly ranchers.

So while I’m not walking for distance today, I did do some walking around this beautiful little village in a valley. Here are some of the sights:

And a few flowers, of course!

Extra thought: Stop killing buffalo for their wings.

A short day to catch up on some rest and let the joints relax! My right ankle is sore for some reason so time for some ice. I may stay here an extra day since I haven’t taken a full rest day yet. This hotel/albergue is quite nice. Lots of stone and heavy beams.

Morning started off like last night, rainy, foggy, and chilly. I decided to wait until daylight to hit the trail since visibility was poor. Ended up being a decent walk through clouds, but OK.

Wasn’t much to see since most everything was socked in, but there were a couple breaks in the clouds.

And there were a few flowers along the way, as usual.

Extra thought: Do gun manuals have a troubleshooting section?

And this was why I was really happy to be inside! Cold and VERY wet!

I’ve decided that 35 kilometers up and down mountains is too much! 🙂 Wow, what a tiring day and I’m ready for a nap! I ended up walking a lot farther than planned since I started early, but after 7 1/2 hours my day was finally done

Still in the boondocks and high on another mountain, but definitely downhill tomorrow. I’m a day and a half ahead of the usual schedule so I might take a full day to rest as soon as I get to a decent sized town again. Hotel, hot bath, real restaurant…you get the idea (luxury for a pilgrim).

The early morning was clear and star-filled as I started out this morning, with just the sound of the river along the path. As the sun finally started to rise, the birds began to chime in, too.

Later as I reached to highest summit, clouds had returned along with some intermittent light rain. When I finally found an albergue, the rain let loose and I was very glad to be out of it!

So here are some photos from the day that show some of the weather progression, sights along the way, etc.

Extra thought: Turning vegan would be a big missed steak.

Always some beautiful colors along the route.

Extra thought: I have a chicken proof lawn…its impeccable.

This is such a hard life…walking, relaxing, enjoying good food and drink everyday, with few responsibilities, and in a beautiful country. Maybe I should become a professional pilgrim! The allure is undeniable and it is easy to understand those who do many Caminos. It is a peaceful way of life. Of course, only during the months when the weather is spectacular and the albergues are not full!

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it (on this most beautiful of days…).

Extra thought: I ate a frozen apple. Hard core.

Today I also saw my first tractor pulling a wagon load of grapes that had just been harvested. The harvest is beginning!

Extra thought: My resolution was to read more so I enabled the subtitles on my TV.

OK, the day before yesterday was incredible, maybe the best day on the Camino. BUT…late morning and afternoon today is even better! More to follow as we progress through the day in photos.

A cloudy and quiet Saturday morning start. About the only thing stirring in Ponferrada were street venders setting up stands for a morning market.

And because it was Saturday it was pretty quiet along much of the early morning route.

Always in the distance, the mountains loom again. Another serious climb in store for tomorrow or the next day. It’s a good thing beer and red wine cure all that ails you…

Extra thought: I just did a weeks worth of cardio after walking into a spider web.

I’ll post about today’s hike later, but I wanted to provide a “flower show” in the meantime. All from today’s walk through Spain…

Extra thought: What if soy milk is just regular milk introducing itself in Spanish?

Wow! Quite a day. The 27 kilometers started out before daylight with the short repeat climb to Cruz de Ferro. And I definitely avoided the crowds by going there yesterday afternoon. It was still dark, heavy overcast, chilly, and loaded with pilgrims.

Shortly after going past Cruz, the eastern sky started glowing with colors. Although overcast, the morning colors were the most vibrant and changing I had ever seen. I took so many photos and I hope the few I post here can do it justice. The glory of our Earth – He paints some amazing scenes!

Since we were very high in the mountains, the decline was inevitable and boy, was it a decline! This was the most technically challenging hike of the Camino! The trails were often seriously downhill and loads of solid and loose rock to contend with. Had to be careful on foot placement for every step, and though it didn’t slow me down much, it should have!

The scenery has DEFINITELY changed since going over the mountains. Colors, topography, vegetation, buildings, etc. Green is the new color. And houses are colorful, not just brown stone.

And some more colorful flowers:

And my first Spanish deer! Way down in a canyon staring back up at me.

Molinaseca – a pretty little village along the way.

And Ponferrada:

And a protest about climate change in one of the squares.

Lunch was at a Kabob place with Greek-style food – simply delicious!!!

Dinner was tapas and wine at a bar.

And another beautiful river scene.

Extra thought: I used to be indecisive; now I’m not so sure.

Some meters above the town and about 2 kilometers away is the famous “Cruz de Ferro”, the Cross of Iron. An icon on the Camino that is a must along the route.

Although I will be walking by the Cruz tomorrow, so will everyone else staying in this small village. So I made the short walk up this afternoon.

It is reportedly a small iron Roman cross mounted atop a wooden pole about the size of a telephone pole. The base of the pole is surrounded by rocks of all description. Most come from a pilgrim’s home country that they brought with them. Each one has a special meaning to the pilgrim or someone they know.

Many of the items are placed to lighten the pilgrim’s burdens, whatever they may be. Some are in remembrance, some for health and healing, many reasons.

Some people leave other small mementos, pictures, ribbons, charms, etc. Again, the items are left for many individual reasons, but Cross is a powerful symbol and meaningful to those on this journey.

I left two rocks today, one from South African friends I met on the Camino, and the other a small rock from my granddaughter, Alivia.

Marietta and Chris, my South African friends, sadly gave me their rock to place at Cruz de Ferro. The rock had been inscribed by Marietta’s father for her trip. Unfortunately, her father became ill while they were in an early stage of the walk. They left quickly to be home with him, and sadly he passed away when they were home. I placed their rock at Cruz in his memory.

Alivia painted her rock beautifully for my trip and I also placed it at the Cruz in her honor.

ON THE WAY BACK:

The tiny village where I’m staying is just a collection 15-20 buildings. It probably only exists because of the Camino and would disappear were it not for the pilgrim traffic.

And as I am writing this post, I’m having dinner in one of the small restaurants. And there is a stained glass in the rafters depicting pilgrims walking to the Cruz de Ferro.

Extra thought: In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

Not bad, and really cheap…

Extra thought: Psychic convention cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.