THREE HUNDRED MILES!

GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS ARE NOT THE RESULT OF TIMID ATTEMPTS

I hit the 300 mile mark today in the small village of El Acebo.  El Acebo is on the downhill side after crossing the high point of the Camino at just over 5,000 feet.  After 12 days, the Meseta is behind me and the two day gradual climb to Curz de Ferro (Iron Cross) began after leaving Astorga.  The cross is just shy of the highest point which comes a kilometer or two further on.  It is at the cross where pilgrims leave a stone that they have brought from home.  It is a tradition that the stone represents a burden that one has carried with them in their life and at the cross they leave the burden behind.  The meaning of the stone can be different for each person.  Some leave a stone in remembrance of a love one who has passed or it as a payer for someone.  In 2015 I left a stone for a friend who was going through a difficult time in her life.  I also left a religious metal in remembrance of a friend who had recently died.  In answer to your question, yes I left a stone.

At the cross was one of the places that I wanted to fly my drone.  I’ve been taking some aerial video along the way.  When I arrived the police were parked across the road, so I figured I’d wait them out.  But they weren’t leaving.  So finally I went and asked, and they seemed not to care.  So much for worrying about what the police would say.  After getting permission, they left.

GOING DOWN

RABINAL DEL CAMINO

The downhill side of the mountain is a lot steeper than going up.  With loose stones underfoot it is slowing going.  Tonight I am in a small bed and breakfast in the little mountain side village of El Acebo.  Just one narrow street lined with stone buildings in various states of repair.

At least for the time being the cold weather is behind me, with cool mornings, sunny skies and comfortable temperatures later in the day.  Great walking weather.  Mostly dirt roads and trails as of late, which my joints are thankful for.  Still walking my slow pace of around 20 kilometers (12 miles) a day.  There are a few that walk the same pace, but we just acknowledge each other on the path.  There is this one German guy, older than me I think, that I keep running into.  I don’t know his name, nor have I told him mine.  Each time we see each other, we feign displeasure and running into each other once again.  I happens almost daily, like the other night when I went into an upstairs restaurant in the city of Astorga, and ran into him again.  We just shake our heads that once again we have run into each other.  We have spoken to one another occasionally and it has been agreed that we will tell each other our names when we reach Santiago.

The Camino remains busy and the smaller towns fill up each night.  Pilgrims who arrive later in the day find themselves searching for a place to stay.  Sometimes that means a taxi ride to another nearby town.  Me being anal retentive have now booked all the way to Santiago.  It was my desire to walk from Santiago to Muxia, a sea coast town, but now seems that I will have run out of time to walk the additional days.  My plan noe will be to take the bus there and spend a night or two before returning to Santiago and begin the journey home.

The man on the left is Dick and that’s his son Ben on the right.  I don’t know who the guy in the middle is, he sat down and bummed a cigarette from Ben.  Anyway I last saw them on the way into Burgos and then a day ago I ran into them in Astorga.  At least for the time being we are walking the same pace, but today they will continue on after I stop.  From Idaho they started in Saint Jean and will go the distance to Santiago.