Over the mountain

The climb to the Cruz de Ferro was challenging, but the morning weather and sweeping vistas looking back were lovely. I got to the summit well before noon, left a rock by the cross-- as is tradition-- and spent some time taking in the ambience.

The hike *down* the steep and rocky trails was much tougher, and I found myself missing Honey Badger. A bike would have turned 2 hours of stumbling into a 10 minute glide.

I stopped at the first town over the top, El Acebo, putting off the rest of my descent until the following day. Good decision. The place I stayed was great, and the rocky canyon below was hard enough on *fresh* legs.

My day ended in Ponferrada, an ancient town once run by the Knights Templar. I was happy to be over one mountain range, and already thinking about the famously difficult climb I'd face a few days later-- O Cebreiro, gateway to the province of Galicia.Read more