Day 19: Rabanal – Molinaseca 24.8 km

Today I crest the hill I started climbing up yesterday. It might not seem like much of a climb, 400m, but when I start walking up it at just after 6am, the conditions are hard going. 7 degrees, and some extra from the wind chill. My head torch guides me up the hill. I’m not prepared for these conditions, so every layer I have is on me, including my rain jacket. My hands are in my pockets to keep them from freezing, when I take them out, they’re red as cherries.

After an hour, the path flattens out, and I’m greeted with a spectacular sunrise. Up in the clouds, there’s a break between the horizon where the sun is poking through, and the thick misty blanket that surrounds me. The effect is magical, otherworldly, apocalyptic.

I tumble into the first bar I get to on the way. It’s so warm and cosy, my hands tingle as the bloody flows back in. Coffee and tortilla refuels me after this extreme experience. Later in the morning, we pass the Cruz de Ferro, where pilgrims are supposed to leave a stone they’ve carried the whole way, leaving behind their bad Juju on top of the mountain. I’m sure I’ve got my share of bad vibes to cast onto the rock pile, but I’m afraid I didn’t get the memo. I later learn one of my Italian friends walking up here with his hands in his pocket tripped on a root and fell face first on the ground. Better an actual piece of you than a stone, I guess?

The descent is beautiful, but long. We drop 1 km down from the mountain top. The path is rocky and uneven, into Molinaseca, a cute tourist town on a river. My Italian friends happen to be in the same hostel, we cook pasta together, it’s a relaxed and sociable evening.