Cruz de Ferro

So the adventure begins! Today was the beginning of our Camino de Santiago journey as we wandered up the hills to the famous Cruz de Ferro. A ritual of the Camino pilgrimage, carrying your "burden" stone on The Way and then depositing it at the Cruz de Ferro, is humbling, emotional, and moving. Placing the stone at the foot of the cross symbolizes the release of that burden to invite the freedom to experience the true wonders of the Camino.

    I approached the Cruz with mixed emotions as my motivation for participating was as a support and walking partner to my wife who has had walking the Camino on her bucket list for years! Yet as I placed my stone on the pile, I too embraced the emotions of the action and deposited my burden next to many others. Later, as we gathered as a group, we shared, prayed, sang, cried, laughed, and generally reflected the embodied aspect of this activity. Memorable to be sure, we left with our spirits higher.

    It's a good thing too because little did we know the amount of hill climbing that lay in front of us! The downward trek was little better, not for lack of beautiful landscape or invigorating conversation, but the path was strewn with small stones that proved to be a walking challenge. In the end, it was all worth the effort as our lone stay in the "albergue" (pilgrim hostel) was incredible! Great food, great location, and even a swimming pool! The only challenge was that as the only male "peregrino" in our group of me and 7 females, the communal bunk arrangement made for a fun night.

    All-in-all, an incredible beginning to what went on to become a phenomenal adventure.

~Dean