Day 25 - Rabanal to Molinaseca - 30km

The albergue gave us breakfast in the morning which was a good way to start what was going to be a long strenuous day as I intended to try to reach Molinaseca, 30km away, and in between it meant climbing to the highest point on the Camino, up and over another mountain and a steep long descent. I was concerned about the ascent but in the event did not find it too taxing, the track was good and I stopped for a nice ''donativo'' coffee in the albergue in Foncebadon then followed the road up to the Cruz de Ferro, the first high point.

The Cruz de Ferro, a famous landmark, is a tall pole with a cross on top originally meant to help the pilgrims find their way across the mountains. Pilgrims traditionally leave a stone brought from home at the foot of the cross and there is now a large mound of them. I had brought my mother's favourite crystal rock with me which I found amongst her things when she died a couple of years ago and scrambled up the mound to leave it by the pole. The day was overcast with rain threatening and it was very cold and windy in such a high exposed place. I didn't linger but set of following the track which became rough and rocky as it dropped down then rose to the highest point, even higher (at 1,515m) than the crossing of the Pyrenees at the beginning of the Camino from France into Spain.

On the way I visited the simple refuge in the abandoned hamlet of Manjarín out of curiosity but did not stop for long. It is a strange place where the owner devotes himself to offering shelter to pilgrims all year round in this desolate spot with a few bunks, no heating, an outdoor kitchen and no showers. I knew I still had a long way to go so I kept moving, which also helped me to keep warm. The track was getting rougher and more treacherous with loose rock while the descent became steeper and I was worried about falling or twisting an ankle, so despite knowing I had far to go I was walking more and more slowly. Just before reaching the village of El Acebo I was overtaken by three French walkers going too fast in my opinion. Shortly after I came round a bend in the path and saw two of them bent over the third who had fallen and knocked herself unconscious. Because of communication problems (I don't speak French and they didn't speak English or Spanish) I wasn't much use, but I stayed with them until she started recovering consciousness and I saw help arriving from the village just below where the Brazilian pilgrims had gone to sound the alarm.

After a coffee in the village I carried on down the awful track which seemed to go on for ever. I kept passing and being passed by familiar faces including John from Australia, the Brazilian couple and an American couple Mark and Shana who were very friendly. I kept taking short breaks but eventually reached Molinaseca, where I found the albergue I had chosen was right the other side of town. This albergue was most unusual, in a converted medieval church with the dorm in the attic over a sort of sunken sitting area below where there was an open fire. The heat from the fire drifted up and it was nice and warm. Later chatting to the Japanese hospitaleiro I was told that the pope, before becoming pope, had stayed in this albergue although no-one knew which bunk he had slept in. I wonder if it was mine?

There were no shops or restaurants so far from town and I felt too tired to walk all the way back, so I opted for the pilgrim menu in a private albergue back a short way up the road. This was an excellent choice as I spent the evening with quite a few friends, drinking wine and chatting and having a nice dinner before a cosy night in my warm dormitory.