Trekking the Camino 2019

What a day! How do you adequately describe an 18 mile hike, that included an initial ascent of 1,600 feet followed by a subsequent descent of 3,000 plus feet over truly difficult and rocky terrain? This section of the Camino has been classified by many as the single most difficult day of the entire pilgrimage. While none of us would argue too much with that assessment, it was our collective opinion that it was also one of the most scenic and spiritual days we have had to date.

Four of us decided on a 5:30am departure from Rabanal del Camino – which meant about an hour of hiking in the dark, with headlamps. We climbed continuously for 4.5 miles until we reached the village of Foncebadón. A once totally abandoned and run down mountain hamlet has been going through an impressive transformation over the past few years as the popularity of the Camino has driven significant new development and infrastructure. We stopped for breakfast about 7:30 am at small restaurant in town and declared it the “best-to-date” on the Camino. Following this stop we climbed another 1.2 miles before stopping at the highlight of our journey thus far – the ‘Cruz de Fierro’ (Iron Cross). Anyone who has ever watched any movie or documentary about the Camino de Santiago knows this monument well. It is said to be at the highest point in the entire Camino – although we climbed higher after leaving it – but it is the place where pilgrims have prayed and ‘released their worldly burdens’ for over a thousand years. Symbolically, they do so by placing a stone they have carried for the entire Camino at the base of cross. All of us had carefully selected our stones in the U.S. and carried them with us for almost 350 miles in anticipation of this special day. All I can say is that it did not disappoint!

The next ten miles had a little bit of everything ; incredible vistas with purple hues, hillsides with white flowering bushes, ancient ruins, steep, rocky trails – and oh yes – a little rain.

When we descended the last 1,000 feet into Molinaseca, our legs were a little wobbly, but we knew we just had experienced one of the most incredible walks of our lives! Buen Camino

The “march to the mountains” ! From Astorga to Rabanal del Camino is about 12.5 miles, and wouldn’t have been too difficult were it not for the hottest day we have had since we began the Camino. We had to stop at all three towns along the way just to cool down.

It got a little tricky on accommodations today as we discovered a couple days ago that 2 of the 3 rooms we thought we reserved at a hotel in Rabanal were not confirmed. After scrambling for an alternative we found another option “in the area”. Problem was that “in the area” meant ONE MILE short of Rabanal!

Kathie and Alecia marched on towards town as the rest of us checked into our rural apartment hotel. We then discovered that in order to eat (anything) we had to walk towards town. After eating lunch with the girls, whose hotel was 1/2 mile short of the town, we decided that it would be too far to re-walk it for dinner. Walked another 1/2 mile to town and bought a few limited groceries in a very small mercado and walked the mile back to our apartment. Tomorrow our 15.8 mile steep uphill/downhill hike will be one mile longer🤪. Such is the life in the Camino.

Hard to believe, but after today we have only 160 miles left to Santiago! Today was a very long day that reintroduced topography to our trekking experience. We left Villadanga del Parma at 6:30 am. Three towns and seven hours later we reached our destination. Ciudad Astorga. There, Kathie and Alecia were able to tour the 15th century Cathedral. The rest of us snacked on wine and cheese!

While climbing a modest total of 750 vertical feet, when combined with a 33 km distance (20 miles)and a warm and sunny day, it was a tiring experience. No one will have to be rocked to sleep tonight! Buen Camino.

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Hard to believe, but after today we have only 160 miles left to Santiago! Today was a very long day that reintroduced topography to our trekking experience. We left Villadanga del Parma at 6:30 am. Three towns and seven hours later we reached our destination. Ciudad Astorga. There, Kathie and Alecia were able to tour the 15th century Cathedral. The rest of us snacked on wine and cheese!

While climbing a modest total of 750 vertical feet, when combined with a 33 km distance (20 miles)and a warm and sunny day, it was a tiring experience. No one will have to be rocked to sleep tonight! Buen Camino.

Had such a memorable evening meal at the restaurant adjacent to our hotel that I had to add to today’s post. By now we are quite accustomed to our evening ‘Pilgrims Meal’ – which typically consists of three courses, includes wine, and is priced around 12 – 14 euros. After awhile they began all tasting the same. Tonight was different, however. Not only were many of the choices unique and delicious, the service was extraordinary – capped off by a ceremonial clothing of Steve ‘Estaben’, in what appeared to be some sort of traditional middle ages Santiago attire, probably signifying wealth and power – or perhaps just a bath robe and fancy shower hat – who knows. To top off the evening, they served a table top brew, with mucho alcohol and some sort of beans, that we later learned sold for 40 euros – if ordered, but for us was given and performed gratis. Wonderful and unexpected ending to our day!

Retraced our steps from the hotel to the Camino and headed back through the old part of the city on the way out of Leon. It took us an hour to get out of the city limits, but two and half hours to exit the satellite towns. Way too many miles of sidewalks! The last five miles of our 12 mile day were basically on dirt paths with rolling hills to get us back into the swing of changing terrain – after several days on the flat Meseta. We checked into our hotel before the day heated up too badly. Only 13 days remain on our incredible journey. Buen Camino