July 8

July 8
Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca 29.5km
Went to really neat vespers service last night at a Benedictine monastery.  The priest and monks sang the service, and those in the community who could also sang.  Spoke with the priest after the mass and he gave me a special message to carry with me on the camino today.  Very cool.
The last few days we have been traveling through an area of Spain that belongs to the Maragato people.  Their Spanish is spoken amazingly fast with many of the word endings clipped off.  They have lots of local specialties in cuisine and are exceedingly gracious to the peregrinos.
This morning we were reminded of something we wanted to tell you about English.  English is the common language of the peregrinos.  If people speak different languages they will try and communicate in English.  But sometimes if they know you speak English they won´t say a word to you in English.  (kind of like some Spanish student when they have the chance to use their Spanish outside the classroom)  Today a German man we´ve visited with many times, who has spoken almost zero English to us, passed us on the path, just a little after that he ran into an Italian man who asked him a question. The two then began to speak English with each other - hmm hmm - go figure.
On the bunk next to us last night (have we told you that we generally sleep in bunk beds?) was an Italian man who said his reason to walk the camino is for history. (Are you paying attention history buffs?)  He said, as we have, that it is unfathomable to be walking in the steps, sitting on the same steps, crossing the same bridges as Charlegmagne, El Cid, etc.  Now those of you of Italian descent, can picture his hands flying as he  got more and more excited about the history he´s learned.  (Loomis´s are you reading this?)  Now  SPANISH STUDENTS PAY ATTENTION:  he said he learns the best stories and the most history by talking to the local people in Spanish.
Today the terrain really changed, picture climbing straight up only to go straight down a 5,000 foot mountain.
The up really was the easy part.  The whole day was incredibly beautiful with georgeous vistas, and the vegetation of our western (we are in western Spain now) mountain states and national parks.  And it smelled wonderful too.
Today is the day that many of you will remember seeing in the move, The Way.  Today we got to leave our stones along with whatever it is that weighs us down in life at the Cruz de Ferro - Iron Cross. (Remember Fe  
Chem students?)  This enormous cross stands near the top of the mt. and at it´s base lies hundreds of years worth of these stones and other mementos that people have carried here along the camino. It is incredibly emotional.  One Italian man showed us a red, white and green ribbon, and asked us to take his picture at the exact moment that he tied it to the cross.  When he came down crying he said, that is for every person whoever died in these stupid wars.  I´m getting choked up again as I write it.  There were many incredible stories there, some simple, like the empty pack of cigarettes, and some as monumental as the cross itself.
The next interesting point on todays trek was Manjarin, where a man who fashions himself the last Knight Templar lives.  He´s a bit out there to say the least.  He has a really neat environmentally friendly albergue, which recognizes the distances to places all over the world, and welcomes peregrinos with free food and beverages, but you never know whether he´ll behave normally or not.  Our french friend, Andre, said when he went by the guy was dressed in the white hood and gown, think KKK, with the red sword of the Knights Templar, and was standing performing some kind of ceremony with a midevil weapon (the big axe looking thing).  Sounds like a scene out of The DaVinci code.
Todays was treacherous to put it mildly.  For nearly 30 km you had to watch every step where you planted your foot or risk falling off the mt. or sliding down it.  Our trekking poles really came in handy.  Physically it wasn´t as difficult as mentally.  However, it was also over 100 degrees and very easy to become dehydrated, one young British girl we´ve been hiking with had a bloody nose, altitude, and also ran out of water and became dehydrated.  It´s so dangerous as you get light headed, and today that could mean falling off a mt.  But Lisa, from California, just sat down next to me and we were saying how we all pitched in to look out for one another today, and everyone made it in exhausted but grateful for the beautiful day and safe arrival.  Guess what, tomorrow not so much up and down, but extreme heat again.  But it will still be...
Buen Camino.