El Acebo, Saturday 21st May 2011
Today we reached the highest point on the Camino. We are in the mountains. The scenery is reminiscent of Wales or, maybe more so, of Scotland. The sky is blue and clear. The air is crisp and clean. The camino is a mountain trail edged with and surrounded by heaths, heathers, gorse and small spruce trees. The colours are wonderful - white, yellow, pink, mauve, lilac, purple and all variations thereof. The birds´songs are uplifting. The villages are close by and inviting (I´m drinking rather a lot of very good coffee!)
The highest geographic point on the Camino is the Cruz de Ferro (1500m). This comprises a simple and small iron cross atop a tall timber post. But the ground at the base of the post is gradually being built up by a growing pile of rocks and stones. It has become a modern tradition for pilgrims to bring a stone from their home environment and lay it at the Cruz de Ferro. For some, the Cruz de Ferro provides the spiritual high point of their camino. I saw this today as I watched the responses of pilgrims at the cross.
After the cross we started to descend. Frequent loose stones on the track did not make the way the most pleasant. After what seemed an extended time we arrived at the delightful mountain village of El Acebo. We have found suitable accommodation here and are pleasantly winding down in the afternoon sun.
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