Cruz de Ferro and beyond

Russ
Hi everyone,
Yesterday we experienced the toughest weather of the trip.  It was cold, windy and rainy for most of the day.  We started out in the dark and reached Cruz de Ferro at dawn.  We were the first ones there and had a somber few moments when we place our rocks at the base of the cross.  The rock pile is about 15 feet high and is made up of thousands of rocks brought by pilgrims.  People leave rocks there for various reasons: some commemorate loved ones, some ask for blessings, some ask for forgiveness.  Linda and I placed our own rocks along with a few tears, and also two small stones on behalf of dear friends Mike and Beth.  This was a very special moment for us, in spite of the cold and rain.
As we walked on from the monument I almost stepped on the most beautiful amazing creature we have seen on the Camino.  It was a jet black salamander, about ¨6 inches long.  It had bright yellow markings on it.  I would have sworn it was a kid´s toy but when I gently touched it with my pole it moved!! It was a fire salamander - look it up in Wikipedia!!
We walked all the way to Ponferrada yesterday - we went the extra distance to try and visit the templar castle located in the town.  However, because it was Sunday, it turned out to be closed.  Nonetheless, we saw the castle from the outside - it is spectacular.  It was built in the 12th century and is one of the best preserved Templar artifacts in the world.   We stayed in a nice hostal (hotel, really - had our own bathroom and double bed! What luxury!), and our room had a perfect view of the castle across the road.  At dinner time we had read in the guide to try the local specialty - pork sausages.  Seems reasonable, right?
Nope - we ordered the three course meal, starting with blood sausage and egg appetizer - this was actually quite good but a very generous portion.  Next came the main course.  I blanched when I saw the huge size of the plates - in addition to several potatoes, half a cabbage and a pork sausage, there was this big ¨thing¨ in the middle of each plate.  It turned out to be something like a very large pig´s knuckle - called botillo in Spanish.  Look this up in Wikipedia too!  It wouldn´t have been so bad except the seasoning was not especially pleasant.  It seems the only thing Spaniards like more than large portions of meat for dinner is large portions of nitrite-laden cured meat!  Thank heavens the last course, dessert, was pleasant.  Add to this that you can´t eat a meal in Spain before 8 p.m., the time when Spanish restaurants open, and you need to get to bed by about 9 to get your body rested for the next long day.  Well, it doesn´t work so well.
By the way, we are in Villafranca del Bierzo at the moment, about 185 km from Santiago.  Tomorrow´s walk is to be a very long one with a big climb so we´ll see how that goes.  Bodies holding up well at the moment.
Bye for now.