Today was 25 % fun & 75 % work. The fun part was when we met up with John & Jan McCann in Ruitlan . A small remote pueblo situated at the base of the mountain we climbed today (the work part). They drove from Lyon to meet us.

We met John & Jan around 10:30 am at a local bar. Here we all are enjoying great conversation. John & I are having a “power breakfast ”

***WARNING ADVISORY***

CHILDREN: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

John, fortified by his power breakfast,  proceeded to “run with the cows” Pamplona style.

After John regained his composure, he & Jan took to the poles for their 5 meter walk back to their Mercedes.

We had such a great time together.  They then left for Santiago de Compostella for a few days.

Now, the work began. We had a 2100 foot climb over 6 miles. According to our map guide, this was the toughest climb to date and pretty much the last tough climb that we will encounter. Here is what it looked like when we reached the top after over 6 hours of climbing.

Here are some photos we took on the way up

This Pueblo is at the very top of the mountain ….It’s quaint and very remote. It is also steeped in history. Here is the oldest church directly associated with the Pilgrim way. Dated early 9th century Iglesia de Santa Maria Real.

This whole village has the same stone type architecture that was part of the monastic settlement here in the 11th century. Queen Isabella stayed here in 1486 on her pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella!

Ah….tomorrow a nice and level 12 mile walk to Tricastella. A wonderful walk in the neighborhood… will you be my neighbor? See you then.

The trek to Villafranka was over hill & dale. mostly through  vineyards. The last 3 miles of the 14 mile journey was in pouring rain…..our pastel ponchos proved their worth!

Villafranka is a small pueblo with a population of 5000. Many pre 1800s homes are still being used.

This photo was taken as we left Villafranka on Monday headed for La Portella de Valcarce

This was a short trip of a little less than 9 miles. We had planned one rest day per 7 days. We took a rest day in Villafranka. We decided to forgo our last rest day in favor of reducing some of our future mileage.

Here is an old Pueblo (Trabadello ) that we stopped at to take a short rest break.

This is a 9th century church that is still in use by the local congregation. It is now under the care of the Jesuits. (You will have to ask Father O’ Mahoney  if this was a good or bad move!)

Here are some photos of the original building in Trabadello.

This is a small hospital for pilgrims. We have passed many old Pilgrim’s hospitals over the past month dating from the 11th century.

Angie says “who needs a pilgrim’s hospital when you can self medicate!

Tomorrow is a big day that we are really looking forward to. John & Jan McCann are driving up from Lyon to a remote hilltop pueblo named Ruitelan to join us for lunch! Can’t wait although we will probably get more homesick than we already are.

We received a voice mail from Debbie Salcedo. Alex & Debbie  reached Santiago de Compostella on the 17th. They walked over 60 miles to get there!  BRAVO!

Around the middle of April we were just approaching  Pamplona when a slender elderly fellow approached us.”Hello, my name is Miguel “, he said. He then started walking along side us.  He started to show us  points of interest in his town. “This is our government building, beautiful no?” And then “this is our university” I thought “what a nice guy” and I was thinking that here is a lonely retired guy who feels useful by greeting visitors. I took a photo of Miguel & Angie in front of the university –  see photo above!

The traffic light turned red, we stopped and Miguel was ardently looking across the street. It was at that point I received a tap on my shoulder. Thinking it was Angie,  I turned around. To my surprise it was a well dressed business man in his forties. He looked directly at me. With his left index finger, he pulled down the corner of his left eye. Then with his right index finger, he forcefully pointed at my pants pocket ! All this was done behind Miguel’s back. We knew immediately what this international sign language meant. I abruptly told Miguel we have friends to meet and must say goodbye.  It was at this point when some woman in her sixties comes running up to us from across the street and tries to make idle conversation. She knew Miguel. That is why he was looking so intently across the street. We said a forceful  goodbye and we took off in the opposite direction.

Miguel: tour guide or pickpocket?  – You decide.

We woke up at 7:30am at our Acebo chalet type room….very toasty warm. I took one look outside and saw the snow on the mountains and wanted to just go back to bed and spend the day here and skip the walking for today. Angie didn’t buy it!

We got dressed and went into the kitchen.  Poured a cup of hot coffee,  took one sip….then threw it out. Terrible.  We then went to the bar next door and had some REAL coffee and some toast and then we were on the trail at 9am. Here are some departing shots of Acebo.

I don’t know where I got the idea that today’s descent was going to be easy….same problem:  Very steep and rocky. Angie took it slowly and handled it Like a pro. What prepared her for this?…She’s an artist for goodness sakes.

Now for some of God’s wonders we witnessed during our 11 mile walk to Ponferrada.

By the way, as a personal note, Ponferrada has an interesting city anthem.  It’s sung to the tune of Desperato by the Eagles.. try it….it’s catchy:

Pon—fer—rata…..Why don’t you come to your senses….

You have been out ridin’ fences for so long now.

Wow I can just hear you all singing this in 5 part harmony…fantastic!

On a serious note, we will be doing 14 miles tomorrow to the pueblo of Villafranca Del Bierzo. We will also take a rest day there. That will be our last rest day and then the march continues onto Santiago de Compostella!

Thank you all so much for your comments and emails…They keep our hearts warm at night when we read them.

Mike

We left for Cruz De Ferro (iron cross) at 8:45 this morning. Temperature was in the high 30s with light snow flurries. It stayed that way all day. We were bundled up including our Fruit of the Loom ponchos!

The walk was uphill but was distributed over 6 miles. It was not as difficult as we thought it would be. The trail & surrounding mountains were bursting with purple  heather in full bloom.

When we reached the cross, after 2 1/2 hours, we were overtaken by emotion. We placed our stones and prayed the Pilgrim’s Prayer for our family, our special friends that are very ill and all of you following our blog.

THE PILGRIM’S PRAYER

Lord, May this stone, a symbol of my efforts on the pilgrimage, that I lay at the foot of the cross of the Saviour, one day weigh the balance of my good deeds, when all the deeds of my life are judged.  Let it be so. Amen

While the uphill leg today presented no problems,  the last 2 miles of the descent was extremely steep, narrow & treacherous. See the photo below. Rocks made passage slow and difficult. Much concentration. If you step on one of these bad boys at the wrong angle you will turn your boots into roller skates for about 2 seconds and then it is “backs” over elbows!

Finally we arrived in Acebo at 5pm. Acebo is a beautiful quaint pueblo situated on the side of the same mountain we came down.  All of the houses are constructed from local stone. Believe me when I say there is enough of this stone around here to build homes for many centuries to come!

The first photo is of the beginning of the Pueblo, then our room, bathroom and an outside photo taken from the bedroom window.

Tomorrow,  Thursday,  we climb to 4,934 feet to Cruz De Ferro (Iron Cross). The simple cross has been a monument for all pilgrims through the ages. This is where we leave our stones brought from Santa Barbara on a great pile , beneath the iron cross, as a witness to our journey. We then say the Pilgrim’s prayer that has been recited  for centuries.

We stayed in the beautiful city of Astorga for an extra day for a little rest.  Today was a 13 mile walk to Rabanal Del Camino. A nice quaint Pueblo with ancient ties to the Camino. Mostly level walk except for last mile which turned into a very narrow trail with many rocks. Temperature was in the mid 50s with billowing white clouds covering 90 percent of the sky. Here are a couple of photos I took on the way.  Also see next post regarding tomorrow. 

Our typical day starts out early. Up at 7am and breakfast by 8am. Usually we start our walk between 8:30 and 9. Soon as we leave the Pueblo we were in and enter the wide open spaces, we devote the first half hour to 45 minutes to prayer for our friends that are especially in need . Walking the Camino is so personal and quiet, you have the absolute space to focus your prayers & visualize your intentions. We can honestly say that we have never been in this state of mind for such long periods. It was difficult for about the first week. It was sort of too quiet….the mind wanders…..then through prayer at the same time each morning well it kind of organizes our walk. It is something so special because it is total prayer focus that is so comfortable because of the complete quiet and tranquility and the sounds of nature with no distractions.

Occasionally, the silence is broken by a passing Peregrino saying “buen Camino”

After two hours we stop and take a snack break. If we are at a Pueblo, we buy snacks from a local bar. We check our maps the night before so that if there are no pueblos after 2 hours, we pack some snacks in our backpacks. After 3 to 4 hours we stop for lunch for a half hour. Same thing as with snacks – if at a Pueblo we buy lunch at a bar, or we eat our packed lunches. It is at these brief stops, conversations happen because there is hardly any talking on the walk. We also meet other Peregrinos at these lunch or snack stops. Friends we have not seen for maybe 2 or 3 days may end up at a lunch break. Fantastic when this happens.

For the next 3 to 4 hours of walking we are in some kind of a “zoned out” mode. Angie & I do not speak more than maybe 10 minutes each hour. Sometimes less when the trail is difficult or hazardous.  Kind of seeing everything and thinking of nothing. An unusual state of mind for someone like me with a type A personality. We both discussed how we have changed and wonder how we will be when we return. We have come to love the tranquility.

We left Leon on Saturday. We really wanted to spend a month there! Did a 14 mile walk to Villar Mazarife.  This was monumental as at this point we have walked 306.5 miles with 183.5 to go!!

On Sunday we did 9 miles to Hospital de Orbigo. Monday was 10.5 miles  to the big city of Astoria. We now have approximately 164 miles to go.

Next two days will be very tough & challenging mountain climbing. Here are some photos of the last few days.