We started today thinking about the climb to the Cruz de Fiero and how rough it was going to be from Foncebadon. It turned out the worse parts, for sure, were from Rabanal del Camino and the vicious climb, and from the Cruz de Fiero downhill... I mean downhill. We left just after 6am, and for the next hour and a half, we climbed, and I mean climbed! It was brutal. When we reached Foncebadon, there was no discussion of whether wed stop to take a break or not. We stopped in the first cafe/bar in town, and had coffees. Steeled for the next part, which was supposed to be so much worse, we started the climb. It turned out to be much less steep than the parts wed already done that day. We were wondering when the real climb started, when we turned the corner, there was the Cruz de Fiero. Relieved, we placed our memory rocks Manoli brought from the U.S., and started down.
We went down and down, some of the way so steep and rocky, that I used my zigzag way of walking. I remembered Manjarin from 2017, but Id heard that the guy there, the
last of the Templar Knights, had died, and I had no idea if anything was left of the place. First we saw a rest area, but it didnt look right, with a truck and a couple of buildings, so I asked the lady there about the guy. She told me it was around the corner, so we continued around the corner and sure enough, there it was. The Camino App said Manjarin was the smallest town in Spain, with a population of 1, the Templar Knight. I think he was still there, but he was rather old and sort of out of it, but he had a helper that was much younger and into it. We talked a bit, I got my stamp and a somewhat cold Coke, and away we went.
About two hours of very nasty downhill, we entered El Acebo. In 2017 I had left my pilgrims credentials in Manjarin and didnt realize it until we were in El Acebo, sitting at the hotel at the end of town, taking a break. Someone asked me if I had my credentials, I realized I didnt, and started to panic. The lady said shed heard of someone losing
their credentials and that someone else had brought them from Manjarin and was looking for me. Well, to make a long story short, I started back, asking everyone I met if they had my credentials and sure enough, a guy said yes. I took them, thanked him very much, and returned to the Hotel and Radeesh. This time, nothing unusual happened. We stopped at the first cafe, La Rosa del Aqua bar/cafe/albergue, and ate lunch.
Just after 1pm, we reached Reigo de Ambros, and by 2:30pm we reached our stop for today, Molinaseca. We had reservations at the municipal albergue, so we checked in, Manoli washed cloths, and then we went out for dinner. Again, Manoli wasnt that hungry, so I found a place with an interesting pasta carbonara, La Taberna del Senor Pepe. After dinner, we returned to the albergue, took our showers, and then passed the evening as usual, lounging in the bed or sitting at a table doing the blog.
Tomorrow we walk 31 kilometers to Villafrance del Bierzo. It shouldnt be too bad, since its mostly flat...ish.
