Day 27 Fonceboden to El Acebo

It didn't take long to reach the Cruz de Ferro (Cross of Iron). A famous stop where pilgrims leave a rock or other itoken of love and blessing commemorating their journey. I spent about 20 minutes looking for the stones we left last year but they were apparently buried under the thousands left since then. I had a special heart to leave that Randy and I had engraved with our names, the date and our city. I ended up wedging it into a crack of the pole holding the cross. Not far after that I passed through the village of Manjarin, population 1, the resident who operates the bare bones, uniquely adorned Mountain Albergue. The hike today was a steep up and down through the forest and high cattle pastures. Last night I had considered pushing through to Ponferrada today as I realized El Acebo wasn't as far as I thought and that weather was likely to prevent the spectacular views of last year. But then I woke up hearing the wind and rain and I thought better of it. I am so glad I did because it rained the majority of the hike and the wind was so strong it was blowing me off trail. The "luxury" of a hot shower and a private room were never so welcome!!!Read more