Day 22 : encounter with the Knights Templar

Day 22 : encounter with the Knights Templar, originally uploaded by raoul_dewinne.

As soon as we left Astorga we climbed continuously for the next 25 km till Rabanal del Camino at an altitude of 1200 m - time for a coffee break and to buy lunch since it will be our last chance to do so before we'll hit the real stuff. The sun was pleasant and not too hot. On the Camino you only meet like-minded people with one and the same goal. It makes contact between all those different nationalities easy, immediate and wholeheartedly. We had a fun coffee gathering with a German couple, two Spanish people, a Dutchman, another Belgian, an American and an Italian. The latter was kind of complaining that nowadays too many pilgrims are "cheating" since they have cars and vans following them to carry their luggage all along and even take them on board to skip some of the tougher parts of the route. Sure, he said, you can cheat your fellow pilgrims or the people at home, but upon arrival at Santiago how can you cheat Saint James, he has been watching you all the time! :-)

Tenuous as the old St. James stories may be to the modern skeptic, people at the time certainly believed them. By the 11th century, hordes of pilgrims were walking from their homes all over Europe to pay homage to the saint. Santiago de Compostela became one of Christianity's three Holy Cities at around this time. Santiago soon became more popular than Rome and Jerusalem since it was seen as a relatively safe pilgrimage, especially when the Knights Templar started building defensive bastions along the way. Those Knights Templar in white cape emblazoned with the blood-red cross were a secretive order of medieval warrior monks who protected Christian pilgrims. The Templars disappeared after they were denounced and burned at the stake in 1307. A few of their castles still remain, most notably the enchanting fortress at Ponferrada and the enormous castle-palace at Villafranca del Bierzo - cultural-historical highlights on today's trip.

But before we could enjoy the sight of these mesmerizing medieval castles we first had to get across the Iron Cross on the Montes de Leon. A steep climb of roughly 9% for the next 4 km. On the top is the Cruz del Ferro (iron cross), one of the most mythical and emblematic places of the Camino. For the past 2000 years pilgrims have taken stones, representing their burdens and sins, from their hometown or pilgrimage starting point and left them at this spot. In doing so they freed themselves of their problems, sins and burdens. The Romans, on their way to Finisterra, started this and offered them to Mercury (the Roman god of travelers). In the Middle Ages, the catholic church put a cross on the mountain and it became a Christian symbol.

A few kilometers further is another special place to be found, Manjarin. This town is totally ruined and abandoned for many years, with one exception: Tomas, Manjarín's most prominent (and only) permanent resident and a modern legend on the ancient trail. A straight descendent of the last Knight Templar, as he says himself... A stack of direction signs - Santiago, 222 km; Rome, 2475 km; Machu Picchu, 9453 km; Mere, 2000 km - provides you with the comfortable but irrelevant feeling of knowing precisely where you are in the middle of nowhere :-)

At our final destination of the day, Villafranca del Bierzo, there is another noteworthy monument besides the Knights Templar castle. The small Romanesque Church of Santiago has its own 'Puerta del Perdon' (Door of Pardon). Pilgrims who were too ill, elderly or injured to cross the upcoming mountains could claim spiritual benefits just as if they had made it all the way to Santiago by presenting themselves here. From the cemetery next door it was clear how often this was necessary. This right was eventually enshrined in a Papal decree. Unfortunately, when we visited the church this door was closed and we were unable to ask the parish priest whether a sore and aching butt would qualify for the above-mentioned benefit :-)

We were indeed 'well done' at the end of this 79 km long day through the mountains with a total ascent of 892 m and passing the highest point of our entire trip: 1516 m.