Day 25, Rabanal to Molinaseca

The river at Molinaseca was a very welcome ending to a very tough day

June 29, 2019

Starting out in the early morning. Even up here in the mountains, there’s a contract between the wildness of the terrain and the intrusions of civilisation – the horse troughs and the power pylons – they all have to do with providing power in some way.

One thing that’s been apparent from the start is the number of houses for sale – some in good shape, but mostly run down or falling down – how much would you pay for this one, which I spotted at 5km and just over an hour after my 7.12am start from Rabanal?

But to rewind a bit. My hotel at Rabanal was very nice – I can’t blame them for the dogs that set up a barking competition every hour or so during the night. I was packed and ready for breakfast by 7am. Although it’s hard to zip up my suitcase when I put my pack in there as well, it’s worth it for the freedom of just having a little bag slung over one shoulder – I hate the wet sweaty back that a pack brings (and I haven’t long got over the itchy heat rash of the early days).

I seemed to have lost one of my two 500ml drink bottles along the way, so I only had one, as well as a half full 1.5l bottle I planned to carry – seemed like a long hot day ahead. Unfortunately, I left the larger bottle behind, so only had the small bottle when I left.

Breakfast was good – a little bowl of fruit salad, some yoghurt, fresh orange juice and a stainless steel jug each of coffee and hot milk. I scoffed all that. As well – two huge pieces of toast, some cheese and ham, which I made into two sandwiches for the day ahead. I was ready and waiting for the 7am breakfast and hit the road at 7.12am.

There’s something nice about being out there before the sun is up. I felt very virtuous, but I knew that dozens of people were ahead of me – it’s a bit of a tradition to reach the Cruz de Ferro (iron cross) to see the dawn. 

That took me an hour and 40min, so I was way behind the action. If you check the photo album at the bottom of the page, it’s in order of time, from start to finish.

Here’s how the geography of the day panned out: Rabanal was at 1150m. At about 7km I reached the Cruz de Ferro at 1504m (where I drank water and ate my first breakfast sandwich). 

I have to say that I was underwhelmed. At this point you’re supposed to leave a pebble or other sign of your past life, as a sign that you’ve shed your cares and woes and are ready for a new phase in your life. Sadly, in the rush to get packed this morning I’d left my Cable Bay pebble in my suitcase. 

Besides, the sacred spot was just a messy lump by the side of the road – no majestic views at the crest of a mountain, so I resolved to save my stone for a more propitious spot later on.

At about 14km I hit the highest point of the entire Camino – Alto Alter, at 1515m. After that, it was a long downhill slide to Molinaseca, at 610m – a descent on treacherous surfaces of 900m (think walking down the Takaka Hill towards Riwaka on a half-formed track). 

They say that day one, from St Jean Pied de Port is the hardest, but I think today’s is the one – not quite as far, and your body is more conditioned by now, but hard all the same. The surface is diabolical.

I caught the Irish girls at just past 16km as I came down the hill, at the village of El Acebo. Turns out they are sisters, Bernie and Agnes and I enjoyed a gossip with them over coffee (and my second breakfast sandwich). They’d started at 5.45am.  All day I’d been bothered by flies and so had they – in fact Agnes had been stung by a wasp (through her gloves). Bernie was getting over her terrible blister, but Agnes was bothered by pain in her arch – such is the way of conversation on the Camino.

I’ve been taking advantage of the Nelson Public Library app Libby, which allows for five loans of either digital books or audio books. As well as the weight advantage of not having to carry books, audio books are great on long stages, to help you forget about pain and time passing. Today I was listening to a version of The Hobbit I’d never heard before. It didn’t last me all the way, but was great company.

I noticed along the way many poles alongside the trail or the road. I suspect they are to make the Way more prominent in snow conditions – I would hate to tackle that day in winter.

Sometime towards 2pm – after more than 6 hours – I reached Molinaseca. I couldn’t believe what I saw – the river dammed and turned into a giant swimming pool, with paved entry surfaces – every town should have one.

I found my hotel, had a quick beer and headed for the river. The banks were lined with pilgrims swimming in their underwear – or anything. I met Nancy from the US and Martin from Germany, had two dips, then headed to my hotel via the supermarket, where I stocked up with cold beer and some water for tomorrow.

It’s only 5pm now, but I’m not inclined to wait around for a night out. I think I’ll head out and try to find an early pizza, followed by an early night.  Another long day tomorrow – it’s supposed to be 30km, but it’s more flat than today. On the other hand – breakfast here isn’t until 7.30am, so that’s a bit of a handbrake.

The wifi connection has fizzled out, so I still can't post this (just got it online late at night and inseerted the photos 24 hours later).

It's 11.30pm and right outside my window a band is playing at maximum volume (Saturday night out). There's no air conditioning, so I can choose to suffocate or be deafened. Either way there's not a lot of sleep going on. The music didn't stop until 12.30am, so I was highly pissed off.

Here's today's many photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rEy7RBT5EFvfBKAr9