Best Day Yet! | Day 19

Today started off in the dark. I walked out of the hotel, and immediately started climbing up very narrow roads into the mountains. I knew that we were going to be climbing most of the day to get over the top of the Galatians.

While looking down with my headlamp, I noticed that I was walking on very old Roman built roads. There is a lot of reference to these in various books, and other documentation about the Camino.

I spent a lot of time, walking up the mountain in the dark, but was then greeted with one of the most amazing sunrises I have ever seen. There are no words to describe how it looked, just absolutely beautiful. I stopped at a little café towards the top, and everyone was just in awe with the beauty of it.

As we continued to walk upward, I crested a little hill and saw what I had read about in many of the books, the Iron Cross. This is a place that pilgrims go to leave things behind like guilt, shame and blame, and ask for forgiveness of sins. The emotions walking towards this place is overwhelming. There are a lot of people in tears. There were a lot of people weeping, but also crying with laughter and freedom. I had my own little item to leave behind and the things that it represented. Very emotional!

Moving past this place, the scenery became quite magical. Beautiful forest and the morning light upon the trees was captivating.

There were several little vendors along the way, and some really funky little places that you could stop and buy trinkets. All of that fun and comfort came to an end, when the descent started and the path was covered with more of the dragon teeth that we had faced early in our trip. These rocks are extremely precarious, and can be very slippery.

It’s all part of it, Camino, and a rite of passage.

I remember coming around one of the corners, cresting a little hill and being able to see Ponferrada on the valley below - beautiful! Screams of joy from pilgrims behind me.

This day was certainly one of the most difficult physically. The extreme uphill, and then the extreme downhill, but I have to say it has been one of the best days as far as how I feel, and the sights along the way.

Coming to Molinaseca, the little town where we are staying the night, you cross a very old Roman bridge into the very quaint narrow streets.