Start of Week 6 -Cruz de Ferro

6am Mon. In a cold, noisy, Municipal Albergue bunkroom with 34 of our closest friends in Rabinal, the traditional jump off for MT Iriago and the iron cross, Cruz de Ferro, that stands on its summit. Today we will climb and add our own stones, carried from the railway station in Lourdes, to the huge pile at its base, and pray the traditional prayer that was heard in the movie, asking that the stone as a symbol of our efforts during this pilgrimage, one day weigh the balance in favor of our good deeds when we render the final accounting of our lives. THAT is a sobering thought. An outlandish idea to some perhaps, but one that becomes very real if you look at the physical effort and discomfort out here as a spiritual undertaking rather than as a mere adventure.