Stage 25 - Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca

Where We Are Tonight:  Molinaseca               Miles Hiked Today:  15.5 (25.0 km)

Miles Hiked Overall: 350.1 (563.4 km)            Miles to Santiago: 134.9 (217.1 km)

Steps Taken Today: 50,321           Blister Count: Pam has even new ones today!

Spanish Word of the Day:  pies que duelen (feet that hurt)

What We Learned Today: After about 23K, our feet revolt.

Today we went to one of the highlights of the Camino....el Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross.)   This simple iron cross stands on a wooden pole and it has become one of the abiding symbols of the pilgrim way of St. James.  It is the tradition now that peregrinos put their own rock atop this huge pile - a rock many times brought from home.  The rocks can symbolize past hurts, problems, wrong doings,  etc. and by placing them on this pile, you can physically let go of these pains.  Sometimes the following prayer is said:

Lord, may this stone, a symbol of my efforts on the pilgrimage that I lay at the foot of the cross, weigh the balance in favour of my good deeds some day when the deeds of my life are judged.  Let it be so.

Peregrinos as a whole are really obsessed with rocks.   Granted, there are MILLIONS of them to choose from on the roads, paths and fields, but peregrinos are really taken with rocks in general.   They make piles of them on every Camino sign, they make them into rock people, and do just about anything else you can imagine with rocks.   Who knows why...nothing else to do while hiking? Each rock represents something to people as they place them on structures?  They feel artistic?   Who knows...but it does make for some interesting things to look for wherever you go.

We are starting to get back into the mountains.  It's nice to see some mountains in the distance as we walk and not just flat foreverness.  Here we are at the highest point that we will reach on the Camino  (1,515 m, 4970 feet).

This was a really long day...and tough.  As we went over the mountain, we ended up walking most of the day in a (usually,  mostly) dry river bed.   It was very rocky and difficult to walk in and maneuver through.   The rocks were slippery and loose.

We were so tired at the end of the day that this was the second time we just showered and went to bed...no dinner!

“When you're tired, exhausted and broken. When you feel you're getting nowhere and you've got nothing left to give......... look out at that view that surrounds you. Take it all in, and know that you've earned that! It’s yours! And wherever you go in life you will take that view with you and it will keep your moving.”

―Anonymous