Cruz de Ferro

Between the towns of  Foncebadón and Manjarín lies the Cruz de Ferro (Iron cross) marking the highest point on the Camino Frances. The cross itself in atop a telephone pole and is surrounded by a pile of stones that Pilgrims leave there. these stones are either brought from home or collected along the Camino and traditionally represent the lightening of the Pilgrim's own emotional burdens (as a metaphor perhaps of uniting the suffering of the Pilgrim with that of Jesus on the Cross).

Nowadays stones are also often carried to be prayers for family or friends of the Pilgrim and the telephone pole itself is covered with photos, ribbons and other things left by pilgrims for this purpose.

The current cross is one of many that have been placed at this high point to guide Pilgrims over the mountain and a visit to the Bishop's Palace in Astorga will reveal an earlier Cross on display.

An alternative explanation for the pile of stones at this point are that it was originally called Montes de Mercurio and was placed there in Celtic times to mark a stragetic location before being later Christianised in the early 11th century by Gaucelmo (who was Abbot of the Pilgrim Hospital in Foncebadon and Manjarin) with a cross.

In 1982 a small Chapel dedicated to Saint James was built at this point.

In the film 'The Way' the below prayer is said at the Iron Cross - I can't find any information about whether this is a traditional prayer or one that was written just for the film, I hadn't heard it before the film came out but that doesn't mean that it didn't exist:
 

Lord, may this stone,
a symbol of my efforts on the pilgrimage
that I lay at the foot of the cross of the Saviour,
one day weigh the balance in favour of my good deeds
when the deeds of my life are judged.

Amen.