I slept in and didn’t get away til nearly 10:00 am – but I’m not too concerned as I am only planning to walk to Manjarin, about 10 km up the trail. There I will stay at a primitive albergue run by a man well-known as Tomas the Hospitallero. Got a 2 or 3 km out of Rabanal when I realized that I had forgotten to get a ‘sello’ or stamp for my credential. Walked back and got it and retraced my route out of town – so much for 10 km.
I walked through Foncebadon, a virtually abandoned village. I say virtually because there is a bar there with a sad-looking bartender and a woman in the road who looked to be a few years older than God. As I walked along the Camino towards her, she began to shriek and scream at me. I had absolutely no idea what her problem was! Maybe she thought I was after the sheep she was shepherding down the road. At any rate, believe it or not she began to approach me slashing the air with her staff and spitting at me! I couldn’t believe my eyes! I ended up taking a baseball batter's stance with good old Aymery and she turned away. Maybe I’d behave that way if I lived there too – who knows.
As the Camino wound its way upwards, the temperature got cooler and cooler and the rain became more steady. The wind definitely picked up. It was shrieking by the time I reached Cruz de Ferro. Cruz de Ferro is, as the name says, a large iron cross set atop a 50 to 75 foot pole. At its base, rises a very large cairn made up entirely of small stones and pebbles. Although a Christian monument now, its roots go back to the mists of time. Celts, when crossing mountain passes or other very high places, would leave an offering of a few stones or pebbles to calm the mountain gods. When the Romans conquered the region, they simply adapted that religious custom, calling them ‘murias’ in honour of Mercury, their god of travellers and messengers. I had to smile when I looked at the cairn, thinking of the cap badge of our cadet corps (Signals) and our sponsoring regiment (Communications) with its depiction of Mercury. As the Camino developed, a cross was erected to Christianize the site.
I was alone so I thought, with some disappointment, that I would not be able to get a picture. Just at that moment, out of the rain walked a French pilgrim named Jean-Michel. We exchanged greetings and we each have our picture record of
making our offering at the cross. A pilgrimage custom is to pick up a pebble from near your front door as you leave to begin your pilgrimage. You deposit it at the foot of Cruz de Ferro, symbolically leaving your burdens there. I also picked up a pebble from the ground near the Cross – a cadet asked me if I would do that for him and so, I guess symbolically, I have just replaced one burden with another – lol. Overall, the day was cold and rainy – a suitable mood for a pre-christian, pagan site and ritual.
Reached Manjarin mid-afternoon. It is primitive – low stone buildings, 1 small lightbulb, wood stove for warmth. But the welcome was warm and genuine. I was given a spot on the floor upstairs to sleep. I chose a spot next to the chimney a
s I expect this will be a cold night. Even in mid-afternoon is was dark outside as well as cold, windy and rainy. I just laid down until dinner. There really was little else to do as the place was cramped and dark too. Dinner was about 9:00 PM. There is a beautiful tapestry hanging on one
wall of the eating area. It shows several Templar knights preparing for battle with the dim skyline of
I had slipped on the pathway earlier and fell on my left shoulder so it was a bit sore. It began to hurt a lot at dinnertime so I went upstairs to bed.
