El Ganso, where we stayed last night is not the centre of the universe. It is small and isolated. It is described in the guide book as, “a hauntingly crumbling village”. Enough said. To find some action, we took ourselves down to “The Cowboy Bar”. After all, it was public holiday Friday. Party time. When we got there, there were two ladies sitting in the bar. They left shortly afterwards. There was, however, a western on the television ….. dubbed into Spanish. We didn’t stay long.

It is early morning. It is raining. We are wrapped in our 21st century gortex wet gear. It matters not. We are wet through and through. We continue to walk. We continue to climb.

Today was a significant day. We crossed the mountains, (Montes de Leon). We passed the highest point on the Camino. We finished our third week of hiking. And, we reached the Cruz de Ferro. This is a special place for pilgrims. Having hiked for three weeks, having spent many hours counting steps, having had this time to clear my mind, I finally get to leave behind what burdens I have carried across these last few weeks. There are many more miles to hike but they are for looking to the future. They are for settling with the past, accepting it’s bounty and thanking it, for the strength it has given me, to go on.

We cross the mountain and descend. We meet friends. We eat, drink and talk our fill, until it is time to sleep. Tomorrow will be different. But still, we will go on?