Cross ways

One of the Camino's enduring traditions is the depositing of stones around the base of the Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross) atop the Montes de Leon mountain range between the towns of Foncebadón and Manjarín. Pilgrims often bring rocks from their homes, carrying them across Spain in backpacks or cycling panniers, and laying them beneath the cross as a symbolic shedding of weight or sin. The small cross, which sits atop a tall wooden pole, has become one of the pilgrimage’s most recognisable images. (