Interesting things happen when you least expect them. Every day we are surprised to learn something new about Spain, about the culture, food and history here. A recent dining experience left us perplexed: on a menu a restaurant offered ”cocido maragato”, which I had read is a hearty stew, filled with several kinds of meats, garbanzo beans, cabbage and sausage. I was simply expecting big bowl of tasty stew. But the bowl of goodies they brought me was a huge platter, enough for the two of us! And once I had filled myself with the stew, the waiter brought out a terrine of broth with noodles. Of course, dessert followed all this. Because we don’t speak any Spanish and sometimes have trouble deciphering the menu, it’s always a challenge ordering food.
One night we walked to the tiny village of Rabanal, where we stayed the night at a quiet little hotel and hostal. We didn’t think there was anything to do in the town until we read that there is an ancient church, the Iglesia de San Jose, where monks perform vespers every evening at 7PM. We were treated to the soothing vocals of the monks singing gregorian chants in this old church. After the songs the monks gave a blessing to the packed congregation of pilgrims who attended.
There have been some great opportunities to get good photos here, especially in the early morning and late afternoons when the light is softer and colors are more pronounced. I was hoping for more chances as we climbed up to La Cruz de Ferro (4934 ft), and over, but there was heavy cloud cover that wouldn’t allow great vistas.
Bridge entering Molinaseca 
Acebo
Digital Postcards 