Ponferrada

I moved to smaller nicer albergue and as a consequence had a good night's sleep and was on the road by 7.  A beautiful walk in the early dawn up the mountain through masses of wildflowers, in particular a white broom, spectacular to look at but unfortunately it caused an alergic hay fever type reaction in me so I climbed while sneezing and coughing. The big highlight of the climb is the Cruz de Ferro. Traditionally each pilgrim adds a stone brought from home to the cairn, a gesture which symbolizes letting go of some aspect of one's past. That meaning has collided with the selfie generation appetite for having your own image recorded in iconic locations. To actually get onto the cairn today there was a long queue while perginas x, y and z posed, worked through all possible combinations of their group, to be replaced by the next lot who did exactly the same thing. By the time I got up there I am afraid I was burdened by some very uncharitable, unpilgrim like thoughts, and came away feeling rather worse, not better. Oh well.
The mountains are spectacular and the stone villages you pass through coming down very pretty. Looks like there is some rebuilding going on, rather than deterioration only. I stopped in a little bar a few kilometres outside Molinaseca. It felt like being in someone's home. Sitting on the terrace were three generations, granma, the senora running the show, and two teenage daughters,  plus a few generations of german shepherds and a beautiful blue eyed cat who sat on my knee while I ate my bocadillo.

I slogged on to Ponferrada through a very hot afternoon, feeling the heat from the road radiating up through my boots, checked in to the lovely municipal albergue, washed self and clothes, rehydrated with a few cervezas talking with some other peregrinos, including the lady paralyzed down one side who is completing the Camino with incredible patience and slowness.  Now to find some dinner.

Tomorrow Villafranca maybe. Tomorrow should pass the 200 kilometres to go mark.