The Final Countdown

We are down to the last 100km of our trek.  After we left Astorga and the Meseta, the scenery got better (mountains) but the walking got harder (also mountains).  Our trek out of Astorga took us to the town of Foncebadon, which up until a couple of years ago was an all-but-abandoned village just shy of the Cruz de Ferro.  The last six kilometers or so are a big climb, and it was slightly warm, so by the end, I was glad to see the town and our albergue.

We did not stay in Foncebadon two years; we had stayed further down the mountain in Rabanal del Camino, but the Cruz de Ferro is the highest point on the Camino, where we leave our rocks, and based on how difficult it was to coordinate that in 2014, I decided we'd better stay a bit closer.  Great decision;  Foncebadon has experienced a Camino revival and we stayed in a nice albergue with a really kind and genuine hostel owner.

The next morning we headed out early to the Cruz de Ferro.  It's been tradition to bring a rock from home that represents something you want to leave behind on the Camino and place it at the foot of the Cruz de Ferro.  We made it to the cross pretty early and there were some other pilgrims around, but we were able to have a few moments to leave our rocks and then pray as a group, mostly for an end to violence in the world and for our continued safe travels.

The descent from the Cruz de Ferro is NOT fun, but you are rewarded with the town of Molinaseca, which features the prerequisite Roman bridge and, more importantly for us, a section of the river which was turned into a swimming pool sometime in the middle ages by paving the river bottom.  We stopped for a few minutes to soak our tired feet in the cold water; I checked on the students who were having an impromptu pool party and we continued on to Ponferrada.

Ponferrada is an old Templar stronghold and features yet another giant castle.  Ty and I were not particularly looking forward to a night in an albergue, mostly because Ty has been having some trouble with shinsplints, and I had some Marriott points, so we treated ourselves to a nice hotel, then went into town to tour the castle and hang out.

We've met lots of wonderful people; a lot of American teachers, a group of students from Sewanee who are frankly firmly in the "Turegrino" category, and I met a group of Spaniards who were walking from Leon, and seemed impressed at my Spanish.  I'll take the compliment.

After Ponferrada we had another up and down day to the town of Villafranca de Bierzo, walking through vineyards and pastures.  Villafranca is the last big down in Leon before crossing the mountains to Galicia.  Again, I had some points to burn so Ty and I stayed in a Parador and the kids roughed it in an albergue.  Ty put the pools and sauna in the hotel to good use for his leg.

The climb out of Villafranca is rough, but we took it slow and easy.  It ended up being glorious, because this is the first time I've climbed to O Cebreiro and been able to actually see the landscape.  Every other time has been cold and raining.  In fact, I think we've been quite lucky in that we've not had any rain at all, which amazes me.  Galicia, when it's not raining, is fantastic.

We've spent the last two days in Triacastela for our final rest day.  A lot of the kids have expressed an interest in visiting Finisterre, but with only one rest day in Santiago, that's a bit tricky, so we've met as a group and elected to accelerate our walking to carve out an extra day in Santiago.  The Parador in Santiago was amenable to this change, so we will walk approximately 27km from here on out to get to Santiago on Friday.

Both the students and I experiencing this bittersweet section of the trail.  I think we are looking forward to being done with walking, but at the same time lament the end of this experience.  I'm reminded of the analogy that the Camino mirrors our life, and this seems apt.  I've known many elderly friends who, as they approached the end of their lives, were sad to be leave-taking, but anxious to finally lay down their burdens and move on to the next thing.  This seems an apt description for where we are at with the Camino today.