Is this my year of the mountains? Hey, wait a moment! I see in June I gaily announced it was my year of open spaces. Make up your mind Julia!
But both were inspired by my springtime adventure. The open spaces of the Aragon Camino where I could see in the distance the snow-capped Pyrenees. I was walking the trail in reverse, so the mountains were in front of me all the way.
For most of our traditional Camino experiences, say along the Camino Francès, we start at the Pyrenees with that challenging first day to Roncevalles, up and over the pass. After that, the Pyrenees mountains are behind us, but not that far away. As when we catch our breath after climbing the Alto del Perdon just after Pamplona and stop to look at the view al around us, here, we clearly see those snowy Pyrenees behind us from where we have come.
Across the Meseta, which is a high plateau but more or less flat, I could not see mountains but I understood they were there. It was March when I was walking and a cold cold wind was blowing. It was coming at me from the right, from the north, straight off the Picos de Europa mountains. They say these mountains can be seen from the Camino, but I could not see them, too cloudy, I had just missed a snow storm, but I could sure feel that cold mountain air! It was cold enough that in the Albergue at Calzadilla de los Hermanillos (got to love those Camino names!) we all wore our outdoor clothes – in fact, all the clothes we had along, as the wind whistled through the building. (I had even bought an extra sweater in Sahagun.)
Further on, as I approached Astorga, I could see the Montes de Leon before me (even though the city of Leon was well behind me), and a further ring of mountains surrounding me in the distance.
And then comes the Cruz de Ferro at 1,505 metres, the highest point on the Camino Francés. This place does not appear to be a mountain as such, and how can it be higher than the pass of our first day over the Pyrenees? Well apparently, it is, which just shows how steadily we are climbing all the way along. The high point on that trail to Roncevalles is the col de Lepoeder and it is a modest 1,450 metres. But when we started from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, we are only at 170 metres, hence that great strenuous climb!
And after the Cruz de Ferro, it is not that long before we are doing that magical climb into Galacia, which is all magic itself!
But this spring, with my two week-stay as a volunteer at the Albergue Elias Valina in the village of Canfranc on the Aragon trail, my relationship with the Camino mountains was different. Here I had time to explore the trails, see the wonderful spring mountains flowers, visit communities, and get to know local residents. I loved it all.
And now I am just back from a week in the Canadian Rockies, and along with my February ski-week maybe I can call this my year of mountains – along with the open spaces.