Rabanal del Camino → Molinaseca
Distance: 15.3 miles / 24.7km
Elevation: +1637ft, -3500ft
I woke up at around 6:15am and got ready for the day - I was one of the later people to wake up today, but I didn’t really mind. By around 6:50am, I went downstairs for the donativo breakfast. I had some toast with butter and jam, and then ended up leaving a bit earlier than a lot of other people staying there, which resulting in me walking alone for the first part of my day. Eventually, some people caught up to me and passed me. It was such a gorgeous walk up the mountain today, and watching the sunrise over the town, forest, and mountains was beautiful.
By the roughly 6 mile mark, I had made it to Cruz de Ferro, which is quite a significant point on the Camino Francés. Many people bring a stone from home or leave something there as a symbolic way of leaving their sins, troubles, or baggage behind. I dropped off the rock I had brought from my home in Libertyville, but it was quite cold and windy at Cruz de Ferro, so I didn’t stay for too long. Overall, I thought the iron cross was a bit underwhelming, as it was smaller than I had imagined, and wasn’t at a super significant high altitude, but rather it was kinda just along the route we had been walking.
After Cruz de Ferro, I took my first stop for the day at a café near Manjarín. At the café, there was a fireplace which felt super nice, being that it was very cold and windy today - it has been a lot colder than any other day so far, other than maybe tomorrow, and it was nice to have a fireplace to cozy up next to. I had a ham and cheese tortilla at the fireplace, and ran into a few familiar faces before leaving on my own after my snack.
After the stop, there was a bit more uphill and some more very beautiful views. I took so many photos today, just blown away by it being such a beautiful walk. It was just a lovely time to walk alone and reflect. After I reached the peak and started the downhill stretch of the day, it got a bit tougher. After a bit of a downhill length, I got to El Acebo de San Miguel, which was the first major stopping point. Most people stopped for lunch here since we were getting in around noon, but I was feeling strong and wasn’t very hungry, so I just took a quick bathroom break, sat and stretched my feet for about 10 minutes, and then kept moving.
Before long, I got to Riego de Ambrós - there wasn’t much here, but there was a lady with a donativo fruit stand set up, so I had a cup of bananas in orange juice. It may sound weird, but don’t judge it til you try it because it was honestly very good. Some lady that was there also had an ankle injury, and I guess the lady running the fruit stand also had an osteopathic side gig, because she was able to heal the lady’s twisted ankle after about 5 minutes. It was quite impressive to just sit and watch.
I kept walking after the fruit stand. I had been passing/passed by Jennifer and Sunday a number of times today - They weren't walking together, but I guess I was the perfect walking pace between the two of them, because I was with one of them almost all day - Jennifer in the morning, and Sunday in the afternoon.
The last 2 miles or so down in the Molinaseca was a very steep and rocky downhill section, and I was worrying a bit for my knees, ankles, and hip since I was feeling some pain. Thankfully, once I got to the albergue and did some stretching, it was all fine. It was scary for a bit though, as it was quite a bit of pain and I was worried that stretching wouldn’t solve it. I had originally booked an albergue closer to the city center, but I switched at the last minute after reading some recent Google reviews, and finding out it had bed bugs very recently (within the last week). I had booked a non-refundable booking, but decided to just book another place because €15 lost is worth not having bed bugs.
I ended up at an albergue about a 5-10 minute walk out of town. I was one of the first people there for the day, and I was a bit worried when I first arrived, since I didn’t recognize anyone. Many people have started in León/Astorga the past few days. I was so tired from the day and wanting to rest, and felt a bit wary about meeting and getting to know new people.
It’s funny, the further along I’ve gotten in the Camino, the more I've been slightly looking down on people that started in Burgos/León/Astorga as compared to the people who started in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. If you started from Saint Jean, you’ve been walking for at least three weeks at this point, and you’ve had the optimism and the spirit and the excitement kind of beat out of you. You understand the day to day of the Camino now, and it’s not as novel and exciting and unique as it was in the beginning. People who started within the past week have a special twinkle in their eye, and an optimism that hasn’t been ruined by some absolutely obnoxious snorer yet.
After I did my laundry, I sat down and talked to Tovin on the phone for about half an hour. Afterwards, many more of my friends and familiar faces started to show up. Liz, Mark, Maggie, and Santiago - I saw many people who I knew, and it made the place feel a little more intimate. After I finished my laundry and spent some time chatting, Mark and I did the half mile walk back into town and got a drink. We first ended up at this local bar where there was a football match going on, in addition to a barking dog and many locals, who were just standing around yelling at each other.
It made for quite the loud environment, and we only stuck around for a drink each before leaving. We stopped at a grocery store real quick, but then kept going and found another bar next to the river in town, where sat and chatted about Tovin and I potentially living in D.C., the predictability of life, and how to best live when you don’t know what’s coming next. Soon, we were joined by Maggie, and then Liz, and finally Santiago also came along.
At around this point, I went back to the albergue, as they had dinner starting at 7:30pm. During dinner, I met a guy from the UK named Tom, who used to work in sales, a guy from Connecticut, someone from Hamburg Germany, and a couple from Seattle. It was nice to chat with them during dinner, even though I slightly wished I was able to go to dinner with the rest of my friends. But I still had a blast at dinner, and I was glad to have eaten there by the end of the meal. After dinner, I went to the bathroom, brought my thing upstairs, and then spent some time in bed. Eventually, Mark, Liz, and Maggie got back, and I visited with them a bit more before getting ready for bed.
I was in bed with the lights off by 10pm, and after the long day of walking, I fell asleep not too long afterwards.
