Day 23 - Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca

Today was one of those epic stages of El Camino, where not only does the beautiful scenery weigh heavily upon your emotions, but so does the significance of a cross: Cruz de Ferro. In itself, it's not a spectacular cross, rather a "plainish" one set upon a tall pillar with a tall pile of rocks strewn at the base. But it's those rocks that are so significant. For years and years, tradition has it that pilgrims bring a stone from their own home. As they walk El Camino, they "put" into the stone a burden upon their mind and heart. By casting away the stone at Cruz de Ferro, the pilgrim symbolically casts away their burden.

I brought a stone from Kansas City. I put great thought into what burdens I would cast away. But then about half way through my journey across Spain, I realized my burdens were maybe a bit insignificant relative to the burdens of others. I met a man from Austria named Markus. I never got his last name. I had heard through the pilgrim grapevine that he had left his home in Austria on foot, walked to Rome, then left Rome and headed towards Santiago de Compostela. I had picked up his pack at some point and knew it was heavy. It was about half way through my pilgrimage that he told me about how heavy his heart was and the reason for his journey.

Back home in Austria, there was a car accident that took the lives of his entire family: his father, his mother, his wife, his son, and his daughter. In his grief, he left his home and his job searching for peace in his heart. By the time I met him, he had long exhausted his money. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I realized how little money he had by realizing how little he's been eating: he was incredibly skinny and it couldn't be healthy. From that point on, every time I saw him, I gave him all the food in my pack (except nuts, his teeth were apparently bad) and took him to eat if we were near a town.

Standing now at Cruz de Ferro myself, I looked at the pile of stones, many with writing on them, many weighing down pictures, and I wondered what other burdens lay cast beneath my feet. I placed my stone, spent a moment pondering my own burdens, said a prayer for all the pilgrims before me, the pilgrims after me, and for Markus.

Peace be with you, Markus.