Day 7 - Rainbows on the Rocks

Everything went downhill after visiting the Cruz de Ferro a second time. I saw it again at sunrise as I continued my pilgrimage walk and except for a couple small hills, I descended the several hundred meters to Ponferrada. So it was literally downhill.

Oh the rocks. So many rocks. Re-twisted my left ankle a bit only 3km into the 30km walk. I watched billy goat like agility among other walkers as they ran down the slopes. I've hiked too many miles on the mountains I live on over my decades to do that and prayed they didn't hurt themselves.

Rainbows littered the walk today. Huge, vibrant arcs spanned the sky in many directions. I along with a few others kept pausing to take photos of God's promise to humankind.

One fellow struck a nerve though during the walk today. He sat at the dinner table last night and spoke with his companions leaving me with no English speakers at all. He saw that I hiked with sandals (Keen Arroyo II to be exact) and said I needed boots. I let it go as maybe his English conversation was blunt. 

But I wondered about how we help someone who feels like their life is on the rocks, just as I was on the rocks coming down. Are we so blunt that we hurt them as we help them? I pray that I can notice myself doing that because I do try to care for others when I'm asked.

I had a relaxing cocoa in Acebo, mostly so that I could use their wifi to wake Stephen (at 1am PST) and let him know I was safe but without internet at the albergue. He of course won't remember the call but I hope he slept better because of that knowledge.

I did laundry at my Ponferrada hostal (Rio Selma) and then too a 8km walk around the city including the Templar Castle. Frankly, it was a great restoration job but the modern building inside was disruptive to the eye. The old book collection inside was quite good but that building left a bad taste. At least the wild lightning storm obscured the view of the odd structure. I walked to the outskirts of town to a Decathlon sporting goods store again (yay!) and got a better rain coat.

On the way back to the hotel, enjoyed a lovely stroll through Calle España and people watched. Such warm, friendly people in this region. Grabbed some groceries and had a late dinner before bed.

Lord, you made us so that we want to care for others. Please open our eyes so that we may see that some forms of caring are more painful than others. Open our ears so that we can hear the needs of others.