A Long Way Down

I got an early start from Rabanal, since today was a 30km day. No walk in the park even when the trail was flat, today I had to first ascend to the highest point on the Camino, and then face a long, steep decent.

My knee was feeling okay, though I could certainly still tell it wasn't at 100%, as I made my way up the mountain. There was a town near the top where I planned to have breakfast, and I spent the time as I climbed up thinking. The highest point on the Camino is marked by the Cruz de Ferro, an iron cross set up high on a pole, and there is a tradition to leave a rock at the cross symbolizing your sins, or something that you wish to leave behind. Considering what this would mean for me occupied a good chunk of my time on the hike up.

Eventually I reached the top of the mountain, and the Cruz do Ferro. I spent a few moments there in reflection, then dropped my stone into the pile of others. It bounced a few times, then disappeared from view. I pressed on, ready to begin the descent.

That was premature, as it turned out there were still a few kilometers to go before the descent began. So I kept walking, waiting for the ground to drop away, and none too pleased by the unstable and muddy footing of the path even when it was flat. Eventually, the slope began to drop, and the descent began.

Steep slopes, large slabs of rock, tracts of mud, loose stones... This decent had it all. And it was 10km long. I leaned on my trekking poles so hard that I wore completely through the rubber tip on one of them. And even with the poles, there were several areas where I felt unsteady, and I had a few unpleasant moments where my footing slipped. I took a break partway down the mountain to get a proper lunch, and got to eat the best toast I've had yet in Spain, and one of the best meals I've had. Then it was more slope, more rocks, more mud.

Eventually, however, I made it to the bottom. The last third or so of the descent evened out a little bit, and I was able to walk with a nice lady from Australia until we reached the town at the bottom where she was stopping for the night. Amazingly, my knee had held up, though it did inform me that I needed not to push it any further.

I pressed on, wanting to make it to Ponferrada in order to stay in a bigger town, and to get to see the Templar castle there. I was exhausted by the time I arrived, but the views on this side of the mountain were absolutely stunning, and I made it to my albergue and got checked in.

After showering and chatting with one of my roommates a bit about the extended Camino in France, I headed out to see the Templar castle. It was built to protect pilgrims along the Camino, and it was fun that it was still serving a purpose for pilgrims almost 1,000 years later, even after the order that built it had been disbanded. The views from the top were gorgeous, but I soon found I was getting terribly hungry, and headed out to find somewhere that was open during siesta.

In some cities, it can be a nearly impossible task to find anywhere to eat before 7:00. Thankfully, Ponferrada was big enough this was not the case. I found a burger bar themed after the US 1960's whose kitchen was open, and ordered their biggest burger and some fries. The server was incredibly nice, and was excited to meet someone from NYC, and he helped me practice my Spanish too. After eating I felt much better, so I stopped by the supermarket to grab a few things, then went back to the albergue.

One of the things I bought was a protein drink, as I figured I'd need it after the tough elevation, so I sat and drank that and had a bit of dessert while reading, in the hope that the extra protein would keep my legs and arms from being sore tomorrow. Then I headed to bed early to give my body extra time to recover. (Update from future Gabe: This mostly worked for my legs, but not my arms.)

One interesting thing to note about today: This was the first day I didn't run into anyone I knew already. I still had a number of nice conversations, but the Camino does feel more lonely the further "ahead" I get from the cohort I started with. I'm sure if I slow down I'll get to know the folks around me now, and there's always the chance that injury or exhaustion require a rest day and folks catch up to me. But the friends who biked the meseta are only two days ahead of me now, and if I can catch up with them I might be able to go to Finisterre... Only time will tell, I suppose!