Day 23 - Molinaseca

When I arrived at the Cruz de Ferro this morning, it was beautifully shrouded in fog. It was also very busy there with about two dozen pilgrims taking pictures and acting like tourists. So I sat down at a picnic table and waited half an hour until they were all gone, so I could have a moment in peace.

Stopped by Manjarin, and it didn't look all that great, so I'm happy I stayed where I did. The manager was dressed in this t-shirt, I guess he only wears his Templar Knight uniform when performing the associated rituals.

After 13 miles I arrived at my next hostel in the town of Molinaseca, still in Castile & León, 6 miles from the city of Ponferrada ("Iron Bridge"), which I will likely see tomorrow and which is the last major city on the Camino Francés, and in this region of Spain, before reaching Santiago the Compostela.

I walked here with an elderly couple of Irish sisters, their husbands had moved ahead. As we approached Molinaseca we evidently took a wrong turn somewhere, as the road led us further up the mountain beyond the town. All this while we could see our destination down in the valley in front of us. We went quite a while back in search of the Camino, at which point I lost them as well. The road I took had a dead end. Several hours had passed, so decided to just leave the known road and make my way through the country on a 45-degree slope. Suffice it to stay, I was happy to be carrying my pilgrim's cane to keep me from landing on my face. I made it to the town with a few scratches from thorns, no big deal. Tried to find the two ladies or their husbands, but they were nowhere to be found.

I'm going to take a shower and then see if I can find them again. I just hope they've found their way.