Cruz de Ferro And Glenn Begins To Bitch (Day 25)

Today’s hike began with the ascent to Cruz de Ferro. It’s a high point of the Camino Frances in that it is one of the most iconic sites on the pilgrimage and also that it’s actually the high point altitude-wise of the camino (I’ve read that the highest elevation is actually just a bit further on but it doesn’t have a super cool high cross and where’s the fun in that?). The morning started out frigging cold and it had been awhile since i had to break out the jacket.

I’ve seen the sun rise a majority of the days I’ve been on this hike. It’s easy to forget how beautiful it can be.

After a lot of hill climbing and no shortage of complaining I reached the Cruz de Ferro. The legend goes that you bring a rock from home and leave it at the cross as a way to leave your burden behind. I brought a rock and tossed it over my shoulder at the base of the cross.

The cross is unlike any site I’ve ever been to in that it is a landmark of a famous and historic pilgrimage but it’s also become a sort of memorial site for many, including some people I’ve walked with. The base of the cross is littered with small stones but also with many (and I do mean many) small memorials for people. Ashes have been spread there. Pictures and jewelry have been placed there and many small tributes in the form of written prayers, poems, goodbyes written on stones (one of which was to a child that was heart wrenching) and other items are scattered about. It’s quite beautiful actually and I placed a couple of small items of my own.

I left this Sasquatch patch with my friend Tim’s name on the back. He was a great lover of the Squatch just like me.

I also left this dog collar tag in memory of our pets (and Buster-my friends recently departed dog) who’ve passed on.

This is where the cross site gets weird. First, it’s right off of the road so the people visiting aren’t just walkers but also folks who just drive up to the hill (including tour buses I’m told) so there’s a fair number of people there. Second, because it now has this dual role you have a very strange mixture of people posing at the cross with huge smiles taking a selfie while you also have people crying while saying goodbye to their loved one. I ended up trapped at the top of the cross. I was blocked in by three groups taking photos while giving thumbs up and arms raised poses. I finally just started walking down the middle of the pile when one gentlemen told me I needed to wait while he took a photo. I informed him he would be moving from my path in about 30 seconds and how that happened was up to him. I guess his English was decent because he moved fairly quickly. It also helps that at this stage of the camino with the crazy beard and 1,000 yard stare I’m sure that the sight of me barging down the hill in the fog was somewhat unsettling. Not my most diplomatic moment but your motorcycle club can wait 30 seconds while I clear your shot.

I don’t think anyone at the cross was being intentionally inappropriate. I guess I would just ask that if you decide to do this walk and visit the cross, be aware of those around you. Take a minute and read the situation. You’re smart, you’ll be able to tell if someone nearby is having an emotional experience and I trust you’ll act accordingly. Throwing up the deuces and duck lips for a selfie while someone next to is saying goodbye to a loved one does in fact make you an inconsiderate asshole, and no one wants to be that. Okay, I’m done complaining about people now. In this post. But I’m now going to bitch about the trail. There’s also a chance I’ll start to gripe about the Twin Peaks reboot as well. And don’t get me started on the possibility of someone trying to remake The Princess Bride. Don’t. Just don’t.

After the visit to the cross the hike began in earnest. It was a very long one (the longest left on my itinerary) and VERY challenging. There was a ton of ascent and descent and the descent was on loose rock much of the way.

Big, loose rocks make me sad. They also make me fall. Which also makes me sad.

This descent was bullshit. Just sayin.

It also got hot. Over the last week or so I guess I’ve gotten soft because this hike absolutely killed me. It was pretty but really tough.

Ponferrada in the distance. That was the destination and seeing it that far away might have made me tear up a little.

i think hills are kind of like snow. Really pretty to look at but not so fun to deal with.

After a total of about ten hours I eventually made it to my hotel in town. You probably think I’m done bitching now but you’d be wrong. The town we are in is super cool. It was a town that the Knights Templar (you know the ones made famous in tons of fictional thrillers and also who were probably involved in the JFK assassination and helping to fake the moon landing) helped establish and it has a Templar castle right in the middle of town.

Yay the hikes done!!

How cool is that? Right in the middle of town.

What have I got to complain about you might ask? I’ve got a Templar castle right down the road. My issue is that MY LEGS DON’T WORK! They’ve abandoned me at this point. When I try to stand up the noise I make is no longer like a little moan but more like a mule braying. It’s an involuntary but highly audible cry for help. I also had to make three attempts at my last lift off from a chair. I had to get rocking back and forth on the third one to actually pull it off. I’m going to attempt to go out for dinner a little later and maybe see a little more of town. It’s truly stunning though and I hope to come back here one day. When I can walk. And not turn every head in the lobby when I stand.

Castle at night. That’s all your getting. Everything else is too far away and on a hill.