Molinaseca, Spain

We awoke to rain but since the prediction was scattered showers, we set out as usual. Just made sure I had my down jacket, rain coat, and spare dry socks and shoes. Well, a scattered shower just parked itself in our neighborhood because it rained steady all day. We figured on a couple of tough climbs because we were going to visit Cruz de Ferro where everyone leaves a stone. I had brought my surrender stone from home. There was another hill to go up and over after that. Getting up to the Cruz de Ferro was easy. There was even a coffee shop with a roaring fire right below the Cruz. It was crowded with perigrinos however so it was hard to get a fireside seat. We did get a few moments at the hearth, then it was time to go. I left my rock, and my spirit lightened. We didn’t stay long with the rain pelting on us. Every once in a while, there was another rough shelter for us. Some with coffee set out, one with church music, but many were just rude roofs. By midday, I was soaked through both sweat and raindrops. No matter the wet, we kept going just faster to stay warm. It took a long time to find a good lunch. It was around one, we found an Alberque open with a hardworking woman making coffee and tortas. We each had a coffee but split the torta. So hard to leave the warmth and set out in the storm. We gave up following the Camino because of the mud and rocks. The Camino followed the road so we walked the road. That way we could move faster and it was safe enough because there were few cars. The flowers were gorgeous, poppies, lilac, heather and a few unknown species. It feels like an Elven kingdom out of the Hobbit. Even the pilgrims look otherworldly with their coverall ponchos and special rain gear. We were ever so happy to arrive here and find our hotel. We are drying out all of our gear and hoping for better weather tomorrow. We won’t go far, we made a reservation in Cascabela at the Santa Maria. That’s 15 miles from here. Luckily, the restaurant across the street was serving pilgrim meals so we had a sustaining dinner for ten euros each. Our hotel keeper, Matteu was there, and it seems I’ve got the air kiss status with him because I speak Spanish. It’s that old man phenomenon again!