Camino Frances Journal – Day 28

A glimpse into the journal I kept for all 38 days on the Camino Frances, including up to 10 photos (not necessarily the best pictures but more that they represent that day in some particular way). Today is day 28 – May 18^th. Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca

Didn’t sleep well – the person in the bunk above me tossed and turned all night…

Decided to walk with Johny, Derek, Claire, and Clare. One of the hospiteleros, Rick from Florida, said that the snow wasn’t expected until noon. The five of us left with that hope, despite the mist already forming. The day started with seeing a partial rainbow which looked extra beautiful because of the surrounding colours of the mountain (lots of purple heather and other plants). The mist got thicker the higher we got and soon enough, the wind picked up, it started to rain, and then it turned into snow.

Stopped at Foncebadón, a village that seemed to be mostly abandoned. It was so atmospheric with the snow and dim light, I immediately loved the place. We stopped at an albergue where we added two others to the group. The albergue had a hippy vibe but more importantly, it had a kitchen that seemed to be able to produce anything. I decided that I needed fortification for the upcoming mountain so I had a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, and bread.

After the breakfast break, which also included a Kit Kat, we headed out into the ever thickening snow. It became a veritable snowstorm. I was walking with my head down as not to continually be spat in the face by Mother Nature. All of a sudden, looming in the gloom was the Iron Cross/Cruz de Ferro. A small cross on top of a tall log. The pile of stones was high and the log had lots of stuff tied to it, including a champagne bottle. …

Saw a Japanese tour group quickly photographing the Cross and rushing back to the shelter of their bus. I was amused. …

We actually had a little church service in the shelter of the hermitage. Derek, who’s a priest, had me do a reading of Psalms while Claire and Clare did a non-Christian reading each as well (the idea was to represent the diversity of our group). Derek closed with a prayer where he had all of us stand in a circle and hold hands. Then he gave us all a personal blessing and then the group gave him a blessing in return. The mood was a bit somber but as we were leaving, Johny said, “Well, that was f*****g rough.” We all cracked up and on we went to conquer this mountain. …

Passed through Manjarín, a mostly abandoned 12^th century village. There is “Templar knight” named Tomas who has a simple albergue in which one could stay. I wished I could have remained for a while to explore the ruins but the weather was not conducive for photographic exploration.

The snow was still falling thick and furious. Got a bit dicey when we had to walk on the road and visibility was only a few feet. Thankfully, no cars ever passed us. And thankfully we didn’t get lost either. During the walk down into El Acebo, a mountain town, all of a sudden it was like a curtain was being pulled across the valleys. The clouds parted and we could finally see the gorgeous valley views.

As we continued the descent, past El Acebo, the snow and cold progressively got less. Downhill in the wet and fog was difficult, especially as the path was rocks and stones. …

It was a good thing that we had reservations at an albergue because it was 6pm by the time we arrived in Molinaseca! …

As we walked to dinner, we came across a bagpipe band playing a processional march for a wedding group. I just pretended it was for us, congratulations on a job well done after a long hard day.