After 2 days rest & repair I decided to try walking again. This stage is fairly remote with few accommodation options, the closest 25kms away. A bit too far for me. We analysed the route & decided to take a taxi to Montouto to make the day more manageable for me. Our Taxi driver, who I suspect we got out of bed early for a Sunday morning, spoke passionately to Manny about the Gallego taught in schools and dropped us not in the village we asked for but at the bottom of an enormous hill near a track that led to the Camino. At the top of the hill we were back in the low clouds again and visiting a derelict Pilgrim Hospital and some Dolmen and wind turbines. There are vast numbers of wind turbines in Asturias & Galicia. The rest of the morning in the cloud making our way downhill. I quite enjoy the calm and silence of fog but you do wonder what views you are missing sometimes. By afternoon the sun was out & it was warm again. We stopped at a bar and read about the afternoon's walk. We find the signage in Galicia less reliable than in Asturias & Cantabria. In fact the reassuring yellow arrows that we're so frequent in Cantabria are very few here in Galicia. In fact they seem to take some kind of sadistic pleasure in placing the markers just beyond your maximum point of anxiety wondering if you have missed a turn. So we find ourselves referring to the guide more frequently. The description said that the first hill after the bar was the most difficult of the entire Primitivo route. We wondered how!! The climb out of Pola de Allande was 5 hours of climbing? Off we went refuelled and found small sections really steep but mostly pretty 'doable'. Once over the top it was all level or downhill into O Càdavo (Cadabo) through pine forests. I found my ankle didn't like the downhills at all and I was forced to slow right down. This made what should have been a cruisey last 6kms endless and uncomfortable. We didn't get to town till 5.45pm and I gratefully lay on the bed to rest my ankle. Too long a day, the stats showed 18.3kms and we'd been walking from about 9am. Manny had booked our accommodation, in a Pension, the previous day. On the Primitivo we've fallen out of using Alburgues dormitories. We found that many Alburgues offer private rooms for not significantly more than the price of two beds in the dorm. We sleep better too. The Pensions have been cheap and good. Only struck one awful bed. Also there are far more people on this route than we expected and securing a bed in advance has made the end of the day easy when you are late in as we tend to be. We had an enjoyable evening with other Peregrinos staying in the Pension & from the Alburgue. Early Peregrino dinner at 7.30 is another thing done well on this route.
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We have developed a small cohort of acquaintances, fellow peregrinos who we met on the Way or staying at the same accommodation and who are travelling at a similar pace. Sadly we may lose touch because we are taking a rest day in A Fonsagrada. You may wonder what the significance of crossing into Galicia? It is still Spain. The significance for Manny (and me) is that we have walked all the way across the province of his birth (Asturias) which is an Autonomous Province within Spain. As soon as we crossed the border into the province of Galicia, the language changed, the signage on buildings, road signs etc, now much more difficult for me because they are in Galician (Gallego). Yesterday Manny walked the 28km stage to A Fonsagrada and I shared a taxi with 2 Belgians who are carrying more serious injuries than me. We arrived in a speedy 30 minutes and crossed over the range into Galicia popping through the cover of clouds into the sun temporarily back down to be dropped off, in a thick fog that cloaked town, at the accommodation place of one of the them, the other was dropped at the bus station. It really looked awful and I realised that I was the only one of the two of us who spoke any Spanish! Without my Director of Language and Cultural Sevices! So, the day was spent with me torturing local shop keepers using my best Spanglish. On the upside I realised that though I speak completely rubbishy Spanish, I at least have an idea of what they say to me, thanks to spending decades listening to Manny's parents & friends. I managed to gain early entry to our accommodation, my Belgian friend saw our accommodation and want to join us, so I got them a new room, went to the Chemist and got stuff for my ankle, got cake and coffee. We walked around town passing a Beautitian, my Belgian friend decided that she'd like a massage and could I find out the price & availability? That was pushing the friendship on my Spanish but proudly I managed to find out they were fully booked. Thank goodness. Luckily I happened upon an Austrian couple that we'd passed the time of day with a couple of days earlier & I told them why I arrived in a taxi. The woman (volunteered by her partner) is a Sports Physio and gave me a free consultation on my swollen ankle. She gave me fabulous advice on treatment of my ankle and though still in pain I know how to treat my problem. Only on the Camino. Today we chilled out, washed all our clothes (you have no idea what bliss it is to have machine washed clothes) and had a posh lunch to celebrate my birthday, early it's tomorrow. Health Issues
We've had really challenging last 4 days since we left Tineo with 1000 metre climbs. Manny has stood up to the difficulties better than me, apart from fatigue he is well. My blisters, the small one is healed and the other two are fine under Compeed dressings & coming along well, I haven't dared to look. My ankle developed a muscle strain, that caused it to swell up & become quite painful. I'm going to walk again tomorrow after 2 days rest and lots of stretching and massage. Our room smells like a football players changing room at the moment. No reception for the phone and the WIFI was too weak, so no post for yesterday's walk. It was the most challenging so far and incredible scenery. The ascent from Pola de Allande was aided by a 'Desayuno Ingles' (English breakfast) to start. Fried eggs, bacon and toast with orange juice & coffee. The Spanish breakfast doesn't prepare you for 8kms of climbing. We walked up & up for 4 hours with most of that in low cloud & fog finally breaking through about an hour before the peak. At the peak a group of supported walkers were enjoying picnic lunch and wine from a vehicle that met them there after a leisurely saunter up without backpacks, as we staggered past with another 5kms to go to the next village with a bar. Wisely we had phoned ahead and booked a private room in an Alburgue in Berducedo and it was the best room we have had on the trip so far. After a huge evening meal we slept really well. Another day, another hill. This time nearly all downhill. I had looked forward to this stage because it would be spent skirting around a large dam and would be very pretty. When we set off there was either a low cloud or thick fog. We rose up to the top of a ridge and walked along a quiet road. The visibility fell to 10 - 20 metres at times. The guide said that there were wind turbines all along the ridge and we were close enough to hear them. This answered a question that I'd pondered after listening to a program on Radio National about the residents near wind farms complaining about noise they make & the claims of effects on their health. They make a relatively loud swooshing noise though the sound of a TV would cover it. We approached the big downhill to the dam, I'm sure it was lovely but we actually passed through fog, then clouds and came out into clear air close to the dam wall which was constructed in 1954 and is a hydroelectric plant as well. A further kilometre up the road a convenient Hotel looked over the dam & served an excellent lunch which we enjoyed on the terrace in the sun that finally broke through. The final 5kms was all uphill initially on the road which was fairly tight at times fortunately not too many vehicles passed us but it was a bit scary when a big truck went past. Then into forest almost all the way into a delightful little town. As we entered the town we passed an Ethnographic Museum and after a quick shower spent an hour and a half looking around. If you ever find yourself in Grandas de Salime, spend €1.50 and do yourself a favour and make time to visit this Museum. We stayed in the Hotel Barra, highly recommended. Very clean, comfortable and excellent breakfast
Settled back into walking after an unsatisfactory breakfast. Glorious COOL weather with plenty of stops available for refreshment on the stage, I'd done some homework. After about 8kms we were ready for another coffee and a snack in a village called La Mortera. The bar was up a hill we almost gave it a miss but glad that we didn't. Manny charmed the elderly proprietor into cooking us some very satisfactory fried, free range eggs. They were enormous and better than any others I've ever tasted. The bar/shop hadn't changed in the last 50 years or so & she even still used scales with weights to measure flour. Very sweet old lady who, like many of the locals, were fascinated with Manny's story of being born in Asturias but now living in Australia. We really prefer to walk alone, slow travel is our specialty. Manny & I are simpatico on this. We can waste time looking at vistas, plants, construction of buildings, talking to people we come across, reading plaques, finding things of interest. Because of Manny's language skills we know that it is hunting season here. The hunters keep specific dogs for catching the scent of boar (pigs) and they are restricted to hunting on Sunday and can only take 2 animals. I've taken to wearing my Fluro Tshirt on Sunday. We've heard the gunshots & dogs baying but never been close by. Tomorrow we tackle the most challenging and apparently very beautiful peaks of the Camino Primitivo. We found a place in town that cooks English breakfast. That's the first stop.
Returned to the Primitivo from where we left it a few days earlier. Before we started walking Manny wanted to find the church in which he had been baptised but it wasn't obvious despite it being a tiny village. Found an old lady & asked for directions. She & Manny chatted as she showed us the way and amazingly she knew Manny's mother well and had played together as children. Of course, Manny got his Mother on the phone & the two friends spoke for the first time in 60 years. Somewhat later than planned, we started our walk for the day, heading to Tineo where we stopped & had ate Empanadas then continued down to Turismo Tineo to get information about accommodation ahead. Armed with fresh maps & information about the next stages of the Camino Primitivo, we headed west out of familiar territory. The walk was very pleasantly wooded & scenic. We thought that a break in an hour or two at a bar would be nice after getting a few kilometres covered. We walked & walked & walked- there wasn't even a bench to sit on, no matter a bar. We had a small amount of emergency food; an apple, two wafers & 3 small rolls. After many kilometres we ended up sitting on an isolated road to get off our feet for a while. The walk provided wonderful views of the mountains towards Leon and Galicia. We notice that there are fewer Eucalyptus trees in the forests, beech, oaks and lots of mosses, lichens and herbs in the vegetation. We haven't seen a lot of wildlife but have seen a couple of moles, dead unfortunately. Still waiting for a bear! Despite snacks of blackberries, I was tired and pushed on looking forward to reaching our destination but it was a struggle. It's interesting how much better you suddenly feel when see the place you are stopping for the night. Our accommodation was a private room in the Albergue with peregrinos dinner & breakfast. We have been privileged to spend last couple of days with Manny's extended family in Tuña & Puente Castro. Once again we coincided with the Fiesta for the village. Many family members came to attend a gargantuan meal of food of Asturias We also kept up our walking by making a tour of the village and did one of the many walks you can do from Tuña. You could easily spend a week based in Tuña such is the wealth of walks available. Our choice was to go up to the Dolmen de Merillès, really spectacular walk that we started under the cover of fog. We picked up chaperones on our way through the village of Merillès in the form of 3 dogs who stayed with us for the entire walk & were great company. After a day & a half of rain, the family advised us that it would be dangerous to walk the first 6kms of today's walk and to catch the bus. We considered the local knowledge & got the 9.30 bus after a quick visit to Manny's Great Uncle to say goodbye. Today's walk commenced in Salas. I thought I'd recorded the walk on Strava but when I turned it off at the end of the day something went wrong & no data. I'll get it from Manny later. Salas looked to be a lovely place but with quite a few places for peregrinos to stay. I was a bit sad that we didn't have time to have a good look around but the morning was getting away & still had 18kms to walk. The walk today consisted of lots of time spent in forests with green & heavy foliage and the paths turned into streams and mud with all the rain. It made for slow progress & our boots caked in mud. Early in the afternoon we came across an Australian peregrino that we'd met in the Alburgue in Escamplero & we walked together for a couple of kilometres till he finished his day. There is a nice feeling of camaraderie on the Camino even if you don't speak the same language. Our destination for the day was to walk the 700 metres from the Camino to the village where a Manny was born & spend the night. Our progress was slow and it was nearly 6pm when we got to there. The place we'd planned to stay was closed, on holidays but we found a room down the road in a Sidreria and despite the weather being delightfully cool we gratefully fell into a shower & got into clean clothes. Only had a short walk to Grado to visit Manny's mother's Uncle. We started with our full kit of water proofs on & arrived with them on. The weather chucked it at us today. There was drizzle, rain in sheets, sideways rain and some strong winds. We came prepared for this and mostly our gear performed well. The umbrellas again proved to be invaluable & went up & down all day. We got to Grado & checked into the Hotel, the only one. The normal routine is that you provide ID & Manny handed over his passport. Once again they got chatting and found that they knew mutual people & what's more that Manny is distantly related to the owners via the Uncle we had come to visit. We had a fabulous lunch of locally grown meat and went to visit Manny's great uncle. Much to the disdain of 'some' of my readers we caught a bus from Gijon to Oviedo. I know it's a bit of a cheat but we needed to cover some kilometres and there was no great cultural advantage. And only 30 minutes journey with a bus full of unimpressed commuters with us & our mochillas (backpacks), walking poles & unfashionable garb served the purpose. In Oviedo (the Capital of Asturias) we made our way the Catedral. The Camino commences from the Catedral and we went inside to have our Credencials stamped. We found they have an audio tour of the Catedral which holds amazing Christian artefacts. Including thorns taken from the Crown of Thorns worn by Christ. And the Crucifix that is the symbol on the flag of Asturias dated from the time of the first pilgrimage to Santiago. They are only on display for a short period of time each year. I felt privileged to see them and you could tell that many visitors were devout Christians wanting time of quiet contemplation. The happy snapping tourists were getting up my nose but it was an amazing experience to see them. We then started the next stage, following the brass shells embedded in the pavements. You have to be really observant as you walk so you don't miss a shell but do miss the dog shit as you go. Once you reach the suburbs the yellow arrows kick in & the shells embedded on the walls which makes it easier going. Happy to be out of the city we stopped for a lunch at a bar. As usual Manny chatted to the owners and discovered that the owner comes from the village we visit later this week & they have mutual friends. We are in Asturias! We spent the night at the Albergue in Escamplero with about 20 other pilgrims, so much for the Primitivo being less travelled than other routes. The rain started shortly before our arrival and the temperature about 13 degrees. What a contrast to last week. 20 degrees cooler. After a wonderful sleep in a gorgeous bed we were ready for a day of sightseeing and perhaps a bit of beach time. Of course rest day equals rain & cold weather but luckily Manny held an ace card. We met up with some family friends from Sydney who returned to Spain 40 years ago. We were blown away by their English. The parents, in their 80's spoke to me in passable English and their daughter who played with Manny as a child is now an English teacher. We spent a wonderful day with them & they showed us the city between visits to refresh ourselves with hot chocolate and lunch to get out of the rain. We also took advantage of being in a city and dealt with my blisters. I developed another on the outskirts of Gijon, on the outside of my right foot but I was beyond caring by then & ignored advice to NOT leave treatment till later. We found Compeed blister dressings, not cheap but once applied stay in place till they fall of of their own accord. They gave instant relief and importantly I could shower with them in place. I also decided to try wearing two pairs of socks and discard my wool inner soles. We spent the evening in a bar near our hotel and took the opportunity to tally up the distance we covered in the fortnight on the Camino del Norte. From Santander to Gijon we walked 193 kilometres. Slightly less than planned because Manny's illness meant a taxi journey to Ribadesella, plus the train out of Santander. The stats may only say 29.7kms but we actually did more and we kept thinking, we are almost there and don't take a food break in the afternoon. Not clever. The walk to Gijon has two distinguishing features, The first, a fork in the Camino in a village called Casquita. The left fork takes pilgrims to Oviedo leading to the Camino Primitivo & the right continues on the Camino de Norte following the north coast of Spain. The second, a 3km climb up Alto de la Cruz which was challenging but not insurmountable, certainly a feeling of achievement upon reaching the top. The view back towards the Picos de Europe was worthy of the effort but the photos didn't live up to reality. We descended with a high and looking forward to lunch at Casa Pepito. After the previous day of 'nowhere' to eat, I had done my homework and had a plan. The descent was long & hot and I approached Casa Pepito like a herd of cattle in those old black & white Western movies where the herd stampede as soon as they smell water. And Casa Pepito didn't disappoint, the menu includes 1kg Hamburgers and 1 metre of sliced fillets of meat & about 5 chips with a burner to cook your own. We opted for the Asturias option- photo attached. Having refilled on cholesterol & carbs we headed towards Gijon & another hill. With stomachs weighing us down. It is amazing how aware you become the change of air as you approach the coast. Sea breezes hit as you cross the crest of the hills. As we approached Gijon, a large ish regional town, it seemed to take forever to get to the city centre. I became "down the street from myself" & insisted on going straight to the hotel we booked. When Manny said that it would be 4.4kms further my survival instincts kicked in. I found a bus stop, found our location & the bus we needed, thank you Translink. The best 2.50 Euros ever spent. Watched our progress on Google maps & got off 700 metres from the hotel.
Just when you think you are getting good routine going, a bad day comes along. Today was a tough one. Not so much the walk & the heat but we didn't sleep well. The hotel we stayed in Colunga was cheap & we got our money's worth. Mostly today the walk took us off road and through rural areas. On previous days we passed through villages & picked up a coffee and food when we needed it. Now that we moved away from the coast they seem to be more sparse. Luckily we had a little food to sustain us but we had no coffee and were low on water when we passed a Casita providing a rest area with a vending machine and water for pilgrims, we stopped exhausted to buy a drink. There was a notice on the wall AND for a donation they would cook food for you. Manny to the rescue again, he went and asked in the house and we got big fresh white rolls with freshly cooked eggs. Just what we needed. The other pilgrims, eyed our food jealously as it arrived. None of them spoke Spanish and didn't realise how it worked. Despite our cracking lunch after a short time Manny was struggling again, so we spotted some shade in an apple orchard and had a nap. We discovered it was on the land belonging to El Gaitero (a famous cider company) when we passed their factory further on. We decided to stop in Villaviciosa for the night, found the Alburgue really easily & discovered most have private rooms for little more than the cost of 2 beds in the dormitory and you have your own bathroom. The town was abuzz with activities because again our visit coincided with the Fiesta. The Plaza festooned with lights and decorations and many community activities from trail bike competitions to traditional music happening. Most of the townspeople out walking and talking. All was good but we were tired and headed to bed before it all really kicked off at 10pm. I last remember hearing the band still going at 2.45am. Much of today's walk followed the coast treating us to amazing views of the ocean and beautiful beaches for many kilometres. The parts with eucalyptus forests near the sea could have been mistaken for being in Australia. The weather though warm was less intense than last week and we felt well and made good progress. Not sure whether to attribute the good progress to having lighter packs, after Patricia took about 4kgs of detritus, we'd packed and ate a lot of food, feeling better after the food poisoning episode or the cooler weather. I recently replaced my thongs (flip flops/jandles) with a pair of plastic birkies. I wore them all day yesterday and when I got into bed I felt that I'd developed a large blister on my left foot. This morning I applied a blister bandaid but had to remove it to go swimming. It didn't seem to do much so tried using the hiking fleece I brought with me. Didn't really worry me whilst walking but it is huge now. Manny freaked out when I showed him. Russell your advice would be appreciated or anyone else? Our lunch break included a swim in the ocean which wasn't as cold as I had expected and even managed to catch a couple of waves. Bit of a drama getting the sand off our feet before putting them back into our boots but well worth the effort. While cleaning our feet we met an Australian couple, also walking the Camino & had a chat. The first Aussies we'd met.
We both had an awful 2nd night in the Albergue in Llanes, me because of being disturbed by non-peregrinos at 2am & 4am, Manny because he developed food poisoning. Manny said he was feeling OK & getting away from the Fiesta seemed like the best thing to do. The first 5kms passed quickly & the day dull, overcast with episodes of drizzle. Ideal walking weather. Before 10kms Manny started fading and I realised that we needed to get him into a bed. I'd noticed we'd crossed a train line earlier & found we were about 1.5kms from a station. I left Manny & all our gear sitting in a bus shelter to check out the train service. Bare in mind, I'd eaten a large nectarine & Manny only sipped water all day. A train was due in half an hour (too soon) and the next in 3 hours (we could make that). So I walked back luckily I found a plum tree and I picked a few to keep me going. When I got back to Manny he looked really unwell. Thank goodness for Google Maps and Manny's Spanish, he entered the word 'taxi' and up came a list of nearby taxi services. He phoned the closest who could pick us up in 5 minutes & drive us to Ribadesella, the nearest big town. What a relief! The taxi driver told us that the 2.30 train wouldn't have come because it is a public holiday and everything is on weekend service. Once in town we found a hotel fairly easily and Manny fell into bed. I had a kip, a shower and went out to get some sachets of electrolytes & water in a town in the middle of Asturias Day holiday. I found the open pharmacy and had a Spanglish encounter with an "unimpressed to be on duty", so I won't be happy to see my only customer for the afternoon pharmacist but he did sell me the right stuff. I made up fluids for Manny to sip & went to back to bed. We both slept for hours and hours and hours till morning waking up feeling a lot better but decided it would be a good idea to let Manny fully recover and spend another night. We spent the day exploring what turned out to be a charming town and arranged to meet Manny's Cousin's daughter and her boyfriend for lunch who drove 80kms to see us. She also took our excess gear and will take it back to Madrid. I'll be interested to see if my pared down load will mean an easier day tomorrow.
Arrived here on eve of a big Fiesta, canons being fired & fireworks to celebrate the 500th anniversary of a local Saint. The town is a buzz with visitors. Spent the day exploring the seaside fortifications, the harbour then enjoyed another substantial lunch. Menu del dia - 3 courses, bread, a bottle of wine & gaseosa (lemonade) all for the equivalent of A$36 for the two of us. The weather has definitely changed, on the East Coast of Australia, we'd say the southerly had arrived but here it seems to be from the west. A strong, cool breeze. Rain & 19 degrees expected tomorrow. What have we learned so far: That zebra crossings are respected, mostly.
That if you want to enjoy a meal without passive smoking, take a table inside the restaurant. The Alburgues are very good and people friendly. That we packed too much stuff. To heed advice about looking after our feet (thank you to the Barkers). To be patient, our progress had been slowed by extreme heat and have had to accept the limitations of our endurance. Marvellous what a good sleep does. Started feeling fresh & well rested. Today we had the choice of following the traditional Camino route or the GR E-9 (part of a 5000km European Coastal walk). The Camino takes the more direct route and the coastal route is more spectacular and longer but have the same destination. We opted for the spectacular. It did not disappoint. There was no cloud cover and the temperature climbed up over 30 degrees again, we did our best to get as many kilometres covered early. Apart from catching vistas of cliffs, down precipices and the every present backdrop of the mountain ranges, we crossed a river & despite objections I went in after taking off my shorts & shoes. Very cold it was but marvellously refreshing & I noticed lots of tiny fish & baby eels swimming among the rocks. The whole area is made of limestone and we frequently noticed sinkholes and small blowholes with cows grazing near them with only electric fences to prevent them falling in. In fact there is a great deal of electric fencing, I wonder sometimes if it is more for the peregrinos than the farm animals. We had a second breakfast at a bar next to a traditional communal laundry, where women would come and scrub their clothes etc. and the carry it home to hangout. Fortified we pushed onto Llanes, only 4kms but following the ridge of the hills, high up to the west & south of the town. It got closer very slowly & we were passed by some very frustrated peregrinos. Finally we got to town & temporarily entertained the thought of treating ourselves to two nights in a pension to find we coincided with a Fiesta & everything is booked out. Luckily the Alburgue, which is very nice, had beds for us. Taking a rest day tomorrow. There are nice beaches here and enjoy the heat for once.
Challenging day. Headed off early @ 7.30 with the light but some peregrinos left an hour earlier. I have no idea how they would see the yellow arrows, many of them hand painted on walls, fence posts & power poles in addition to the official concrete signage. The hand painted arrows are very reassuring and it is like a fun game of where's Wally finding them. The first couple of hours we passed through forests, some with a lot of eucalyptus trees and the path rocky and dusty, felt very familiar with the Nerang National Park where we did a lot of our training, especially when we passed a working quarry. Missing of our training buddy Craig. After about 8kms we entered Unquera and stopped for a breakfast of Chocolate & Corbatas. Crossing the bridge from Unquera took us from Cantabria into Asturias - the Province of Manny's birth. Appropriate photos were taken & we headed up a ridiculously steep hill. Asturias is known for its rugged mountains but this was a baptism of fire. The heat had really kicked in too. We continued to walk for a couple of hours then stopped for lunch feeling hot & tired. After a very nice lunch, headed back into the heat and finally rose over a crest and felt the cooling sea breeze again. We missed a sign that would have taken us into shade and arrived at the Alburgue in Buelna very hot & bothered. Showers and a siesta saw us feeling refreshed. We headed to the bar & I had a restorative cup of tea (BYO teabag). Later we wandered down to the beach & found it to be very beautiful. Photos attached. Tomorrow is forecast to be hot again, it was 31 today, so we are planning to only do a short distance hugging the coastline and try to keep cool. Only just 20km, the heat got the better of us today. We had the alarm on this morning (jetlag must be passing) for 6.30am! Here, that's an hour before sunrise. Out following yellow arrows with the light @ 7.30. Thought we were early birds but soon met up with plenty of peregrinos. This route has a few more people on it than we expected but certainly not over crowded. Mostly Spainiards & French but have spoken to Czechs & even an American. No adventures today but some whopping uphills in the heat and spectacular views. Approaching the Picos de Europe, a famous mountain range that span across Cantabria & Asturias. We don't have to cross them but they provide a backdrop to the villages & ocean. Stopped for lunch at a place well out of the way and had a fabulous home cooked meal of the region with homemade wine. This being the main meal of the day we left feeling more like having a food coma rather than walking in the hottest part of the day. We only managed another 5kms and stopped at the first Alburgue we came to in a village called Serdio. Very lovely Alburgue with very nice facilities. Some lovely people at the Alburge tonight, particularly a young Spanish couple who gave us all a yoga session.
We cross into Asturias tomorrow. Headed out earlier this morning to try to get some distance before the heat. In the end we made the planned distance of 26.4kms but weren't in accommodation until 6pm. We took lots of breaks & every time we came upon a water fountain, made sure we drank deeply. Passed through enchanting villages and countryside with fabulous views to the ocean which is continues to look more like the Mediterranean than the Bay of Biscay. The path takes us away from busy roads and we spend long periods walking through what Australians would call the bush. This afternoon we had a bit of a scare. We'd stopped for a call of nature & could hear an animal scratching around in some thick undergrowth nearby. It came closer & closer. We could see the foliage moving & we got closer to see what it could be. All of a sudden we could see a large pair of brown eyes & ears sticking up. Manny said to me "I think it's a bear", actually that's not verbatim! I was so excited and asked is it going to attack us? We have no experience with bears. So we decided to walk on a bit to where the undergrowth thinned out and it followed us and out came a brown horse. We laughed and laughed. I have our first medical issues. I developed a small blister on the 4th toe of my right foot. As soon as I felt it, wrapped a layer of micropore tape around the toe & it prevented it from getting any worse. Then just before lunch my right knee start to hurt. Manny dosed me up with anti inflammatory pills and once they took effect was ok but it stiffens up every time we stop. |
AuthorMy interests are photography and family history research. And I like to cycle and travel. We are walking the Archives
May 2019
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