I thought we'd never get to Villa Franca del Bierzo!

Yesterday's post was short, partly due to poor internet connection and a larger part to fatigue.  Yesterday's hike was like Heaven and Hell.  It was one of the most beautiful hikes we've had yet on the Camino.  The weather was perfect and the scenery from on top of the mountain was spectacular!  Looking down on all the trees that had their autumn leaves reminded me of a patchwork quilt.

I have a confession to make:  I have a fear of heights, and I worked myself into a frenzy all worried about how I was going to get up and over the mountain without having a panic attack.  As we hiked higher and higher I just kept looking out over the beauty of the landscape and my anxiety slowly went away.  The top was nothing like I had imaged as usual and I had no problem whatsoever being up there.  On the very top is a monument called "Cruz de Ferro" marking this gateway on the Camino. It's a tall weathered pole with a cross on top.  It is customary to leave a token behind at the foot of the cross.  Lee spread some of Peggy's ashes there and also left a San Diego AA token and I left two white rocks, one for each of my daughters and a "believe" token given to me from my friend Sheena for this trip. See pictures below.

We stayed in Molinaseca the following night after coming down off the mountain.  Our hotel room was right next to a river and we could hear it rushing by.  I can say one thing about Spain...they seem to have plenty of water and it isn't even rainy season yet!  We have crossed rivers every day on the Camino and it's very refreshing for us Southern California girls to see as we are experiencing a drought back home.

We left town early this morning, and it as cold for the first hour or so.  There was a blanket of fog rolling over Ponferrada as we approached.  We stopped in the center of town at a cafe right across the street from the Castillo de Los Templarios.  This 12th century Templar castle was amazing to look out and see from the cafe!  We continued on and walked through the villages of Componaraya and Cacabelos.  We walked a long 19 miles today to Villafranca del Bierzo, I thought we'd never get there! We arrived finally right before 6pm and we had dinner reservations for Lee's birthday dinner at 8pm.  A couple we met in Leon from Alberta, Canada (Yvonne & Terry) made reservations to stay in our same hotel just so that they could join us in the celebration.  They are such a sweet couple and we are so glad that got to get to know them this past week.  See pictures below of today's walk.  Tomorrow is our second and last rest day for this trip.  We just did 16 straight days of walking and we really deserve this break!