Kip Redick

We leave La Cruz de Ferro just after Brother Sun breaks the horizon. Sister Moon is still visible a few days past her fullness. The western horizon soon appears, a sea of clouds with islands protruding. Mountain heather brightens, colors answer the morning light, contrasting the long dark shadows. We walk into the albergue in Manjarin, so many memories of past Caminos flood my consciousness. Here is where Kelly Moody​ received rest and much of the class slept in the grass behind the rustic stone habitation. Here is where Michael Shuman​ encountered Bruno of shape shifting fame. Here is where we participated in a Knights Templar ceremony. Just down the way from here at a make-shift camping, Michael Shuman, Andrew Deitrick, Claus Dahl Kærgaard​ and I spent the night under the stars and were assailed by a flying demonic creature, awakening us with screams of fuego or some derivation thereof. I heard that screaming creature the next Camino as I walked by this same area. The way drops steeply off from here and we descend with knee throbbing protests into the valley de Bierzo. As we move into the cloud, it begins to evaporate and the cities of the valley appear, the largest being Ponferrada, which we will walk through on the morrow. After passing through the villages of Riego de Ambros, where we take a refreshment, and Acebo, we visit a small grove of ancient chestnut trees. The grove is slowly disappearing as the trees die. At last we walk into Molinaseca and see many of our friends lounging near the river. We are home for the day.