Day 2 - Rabanal de Camino to El Acebo

After having a comfortable dinner and drinks in the beautiful courtyard of the hostel yesterday (there were fried eggs and pork steaks as the 'sides'), I went to bed at around 8pm and read. It eventually got quite chilly outside and I was tired. I fell asleep at around 9:30pm. As it turned out in the morning, it wasn't a bad idea, because the silence in the dormitory was over by 5 o'clock. One after another rushed to the toilet and then rustled their backpacks. Even the earplugs didn't help anymore, which normally give me a peaceful sleep. I stayed in bed until 6 and then started getting ready. Breakfast was simple, but okay: it consisted of café con leche and two toasted slices of bread with butter and jam.

I set off at 7. My feet were actually fine as long as the path wasn't uphill. But there was a lot of uphill! I already had a blister on my left foot, and one was forming on my right foot. The 'path' led for 5km and about 400 meters in elevation to the highest point of the Camino: Cruz de Ferro. The landscape was beautiful, with a marvelous view along the precipice, going over rocks and stones.

Just before Cruz de Ferro, in Foncebadon, I replenished my water and banana supplies before climbing almost 2km up to 1,517 meters above sea level. The cross stands on a growing pile of stones, as many pilgrims bring a stone from their homeland to symbolically leave their worries behind there. Unfortunately, I didn't have one with me, and my backpack is already heavy enough ;-)

From Cruz de Ferro, I finally went downhill. It was good for my now considerable blisters, but bad for my muscles and knees. But I still prefer it to the blisters! To call it a 'path' would be an exaggeration, I would rather call it a rocky trail. The view, however, was incredibly beautiful again. I had already learned from my Canadian acquaintance yesterday that the last 100km were harsh in terms of landscape. But she is being rewarded now! After about 3.5km downhill over rocks and stones, I reached my destination for today, El Acebo, in the early afternoon! It is a small town consisting almost entirely of little houses along the narrow road. Just in time, I arrived at my hostel as the sky above me was getting darker and didn't promise anything good. After being allowed to choose and prepare my bed in the dormitory as the first one, and after taking a shower, I started doing laundry. Unfortunately, it started raining, so I could only hang the laundry to dry on my bed instead of outside. After a short nap, the sun was already shining again, and I walked through the town. In the local bar/supermarket, I treated myself to another San Miguel and got a bowl of olives with it. An older couple sat at the next table, and from their dialect, I recognized that they must be from the Heidelberg area. They ordered a Martini, and the woman went to the restroom. When the Martini arrived, the man drank it down in one gulp and immediately ordered another one without his wife noticing anything about it! Apparently, he had a tough day...

Back at the hostel, the 67-year-old S., born in Berlin but now from Lower Saxony, sat down at my table and we talked. Afterwards, we had the pilgrim menu together (a green, undefinable 'Bierzo soup' as a starter, chicken with fries as the main course, and red wine as a side) and S. told me about half of his life. About his two ex-wives, his sons, and his work. He had already started the Camino once before but had to stop in Burgos due to an injury and is now trying to finish it. Since S., like most others, wanted to leave early the next day, we said goodbye after dinner and went to bed. I booked a simple hotel for tomorrow in Ponferrada because I want to see what the Spanish cuisine and bar have to offer. And besides...I don't really warm up to the kind of 'race' that many pilgrims have for the sought-after hostel spots. After all, it's my vacation and I have a different idea of it than starting to walk at 5 in the morning and then 'boring' myself in the hostel from 1 in the afternoon...