Updating is getting a little weird. When we left off we were at the Templar Castle. After the castle we stopped for hamburguesas and then went to the Iglesia de la Virgen de lA Encina. What follows are pictures of the statues at the entry including an amazing Pieta.
We returned to the Albergue, checked in, did laundry and read. The went to a bar for vino tinto y queso y wifi and then went to bed.
Had nice breakfast ahead of short walk with sightseeing.
A few sights on the way into Ponferrada.
We first stopped at the Albergue de San Nicolás de Flüe and stashed our packs.
We then went into Ponferrada and immediately came to the Templar Castle.
Some disagreement with Lerner and Lowe, today the rain in Spain was mainly in the mountains. We are completely drenched and recovering. We walked 6.5 miles and went from1145 to 600 meters above sea level. We are staying at a hostal called Casa Pichon and just finished dinner. The day started innocently enough with the rains having just ended. We saw an interesting bicycle sculpture as we left El Acebo
We then proceeded down to Riego de Ambrós where we stopped at a bar for the usual café con leche. Since we hadn’t needed our gaiters yet, we cleverly took them off and headed out, past numerous chestnut trees.
All was fine at this point, although there was a light mist. Just after we saw some horses,
We read in the guide book that the Camino at thes point had a dangerous rocky downhill especially when wet, so we continued down the road. It was treacherous also and the heavens let loose. On the way, Susan snapped this picture of what appears to be a dead spotted salamander. We made it to the edge of Molinaseca, called a taxi and went to the place we are now.
We just finished a nice dinner and observed this nifty garlic person.
We are now waiting for a lovely lady from Meson El Acebo who is bringing down something we forgot in our room. People on the Camino are wonderful!
Had a nice breakfast müesli and yogurt Nd said “¡Buen Camino!” to our new friends and began our hike to the Cruz de Ferro.
We got to the “Iron Cross” or Cruz de Ferro an hour or so later. It is over 1500 meters above sea level. Susan and I placed rocks on the pile, hers from Nova Scotia, mine from Casa de lid Dioses, on the pile and said the following 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 in favor of my good deeds when the deeds of my life are judged. Let it be so.” (If this prayer is copyrighted by Emilio Estévez, my apologies).
We then proceeded up and down across the top of the mountain and passed the highest point on the Camino, 1513 m.
Here are some stunning shots as we went over.
Now came the fun of going down the mountain on rocky roads.
We got into El Acebo after about 7 miles too exhausted to continue and checked into Mesón El Acebo. We had a lovely dinner and are now relaxing. On to Molinaseca and Pontferrada tomorrow.
We got off to an ok start and proceeded out of El Ganso and started up. We could see the mountains ahead.
As we walked up, we encountered a cute rock Perigrino and lots if autumn crocuses.
as we entered Rabanal del Camino we passed the Ernita de San José.
We had lunch in Rabanal and decided that another 300 meters vertical was too much for us. We called a taxi. As we waited, I took a few pictures in the late 12 century church of Santa María de la Asunción.
That brought us to Foncebadón where we checked in to the Albergue Monte Irago. Before dinner, Susan napped and I took a walk. The town was completely abandoned in the 1990’s but is being reborn with the recent interest in the Camino.
Now the dinner. We had a beautiful paella with fellow pilgrims from New York, Germany, Brazil, France and Spain.
Another awesome albergue experience. We only walked about 6 km and taxied up to 1400 meters above sea level.