Day 22. Rabanal del Camino to Valle do Seo. 44 miles

After a simple but delicious breakfast at the inn, I was faced with a stiff climb up to the highest point on the whole journey, at over 1400 metres, higher than Ben Nevis. Fortunately it was a very cool morning, which helped. The vegetation became greener as the top of the hill approached. Oak is the main tree, with some pine higher up. Two kinds of heather (calluna and erica) and two kinds of broom (yellow flowered large broom and white flowered smaller broom) form most of the shrub layer. There are occasional wild roses, plenty of bracken and, several smaller flowering plants whose names I don't know. Should have brought a flower book.

Anyone know what this little yellow flower is?

Reaching the Cruz de Ferra proved to be a very emotional experience for me. As soon as I saw it looming over the horizon on the last stretch of the climb, tears came to my eyes.It's an iron cross atop a tall wooden pole supported by an enormous, cairn of stones. There are photos of people, and items such as ribbons, flags, and pieces of cloth pinned to the pole. There is a tradition that here pilgrims place a stone from their home country. For some this may symbolise the laying down of burdens, psychological or spiritual, as a part of the pilgrimage. To me, this place seemed to have a far greater sense of spirituality to it than all the churches I have visited so far. I was thinking of the words we use in our church to begin our worship: "Divinity is present everywhere. The whole world is filled with God. But in certain places and at certain times, we feel a specialty of presence..." This was certainly one of those places and times. I felt exhilarated to have reached this high place, but am conscious that another mountain range had to be crossed tomorrow, with an even longer climb. The stone I laid was taken from the river Liddel at my home town, Newcastleton, in the south of Scotland. Brendan too laid a stone from Scotland on the cairn. We spent a while quietly before messaging our families. B gave me a scallop shell to attach to my bike as a souvenir of the journey.

Downhills can be exhilarating. But this one was scary. Long and steep, with a rough surface and many bends. I hoped the brakes would work. Half way down is a tiny village called El Acebo. I had read that cyclists have died here due to slipping on the paved surface of the road. In fact, the concrete paving has rough stones set into it, so it's a bit uncomfortable to ride through. There was a smooth concrete shallow drain down the centre of the road, with water running in it. But I managed.

Our planned meet up in the next big town, Ponferrada, proved a challenge. The place turned out to be vast, a city of maybe 100,000 or more. But thanks to mobile phone technology we found each other. B unfortunately had a minor tussle with a door in a supermarket. He had been attended to kindly by one of the shop ladies and emerged with a plaster on his nose.

Second stop was in the charming town of Villafranca del Bierzo, in the foothills of the next mountain range. Exit from the town took me through a road tunnel by which the N-IV road traffic could avoid the town centre. That road has now been bypassed by a motorway which runs up the valley on a series of viaducts. Many hillsides have been scarred by construction of this road, and although there is some evidence of landscaping/tree planting, it will be many years before the vast scars turn green, if they ever will. The other hillsides of this valley are covered in lush woodland (oak, with pine higher up).

A gently rising, quite road led me to the camping site at Valle do Seo. A quiet meadow surrounded by trees and with the best soil of any camping site so far.

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Day 21. Part 2. Rabanal del Camino

Rabanal is an old stone village high up in the mountains, something like 1150 metres above the sea. The village looks like a collection of farms grouped together. But every building seems to be in good repair, and there are some that look new.
We booked into the Hosteria del Refugio, which is a village inn.

They do meals and there is a bar.
Here are a few photos of the village to give a flavour.

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Day 21. Leon to Rabanal del Camino.49 miles

Day 21. Leon to Rabanal del Camino. 49 miles.

The last day of flat terrain. I think. Leaving the campsite about 9am, I headed straight through the city of Leon, with a short detour to the cathedral where I got my Pilgrim a Record stamped (at the cathedral museum ticket office, actually). Crossed the river on an ancient stone bridge now pedestrianised. Coming out of the city, I rejoined the N-120 road which led me through some rather dull straggly suburbs, all of which had plenty of cafes, restaurants, hostels and hotels, all with an eye to the pilgrim tourist trade. Plenty of pilgrims on foot. Weather fairly cool this morning, as it has been the last couple of days, so ideal for cycling. I could see the parallel motorway as I moved along the N-120. The motorway had far less traffic than the N-120. The tolls must have something to do with this.

Our 6lb Camping Gaz cylinder is about to run out, and we hadn't managed to identify a stockist, so B called in at a hypermarket and bought a small camping stove plus some gas cylinders. Hope it's a kind that can be bought in the UK.

We met up at Hospital de Orbiga for my early sandwich. This is many charming small town on the Camino taking its name from an early religious foundation for pilgrims. There was a pharmacy nearby, so I bought some cream to help my cracked lip. The pharmacist blamed the sun, which was true, but the crusty bread didn't help. It's a Neutragena product and also has factor 30 sun block in it.

Second stop was at Astorga, a hilltop cathedral city of modest size. On entering the city, I saw the first moving train I'd seen since coming to Spain. There have been very few railway in the area we've been crossing, so railways are few and far between, and probably lowish traffic density. Next the cathedral is a Bishop's Palace, designed by the famous architect, Gaudi. Only €3 to get in. A splendid building if somewhat bizarre, and wholly impractical as a residence for a bishop, and not a patch on his Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona.

The last 20km today took me out into wilder countryside. The road climbed fairly steadily, passing a few very old, stone villages. The landscape changed. No cultivation any more, just miles of scrubby woodland of stunted oaks, some willow, and an undergrowth of some kind of heather. The pine, trees hereabouts seemed to have been planted rather than wild.

Rabanal, when I got there proved to be a substantial village with many places for pilgrims to eat, drink and sleep. There are a couple of food shops too. As the last place before the fierce ascent to the Cruz de Ferro, this looks a prosperous wee place. It would be a ghost town without the pilgrims. We're booked into the Hosteria el Refugio, which is basically a village inn. Going to have a shower, then a walk round the village, then a beer.