Archives for April 2016

Well the only way to describe today was a total ass kicker. We walked from El Pito which is a beautiful little pueblo that was founded by a very wealthy family to Villademouros. I have 50,902 steps on my fit bit and just over 24 miles.

The terrain starting out this morning was up steep muddy hills and then down steep muddy hills. This continued in the rain for about 3.5 hours. We started the morning with no breakfast nor coffee. It was a little ugly I must admit and finally at 11:30 we found a place to stop and have a big glass of fresh orange juice, coffee con leche and a Bocadillo.

As we left town after brunch a couple of older gentleman smiled and said for all intents and purposes up the mountains you go. That is exactly what we did. We climbed up another mountain and then were able to walk along the road for a bit until we headed back down again. My motto in Spain is what goes down must go up again.

On the bright side we are close to the ocean most of the time and some of the views are beautiful. We are staying at a little albergue with only 2 rooms and 3 beds. It is really nice. It is just Paul and I are here with a really nice German couple. Since it is raining the albergue supplied us with 6 eggs, 2 cans of tuna, pasta sauce and pasta. We made spaghetti with tuna tomato sauce and hard boiled eggs. An interesting dinner to say the least but tasty nun the less. We had a great conversation around dinner talking about history, as Paul was a history teacher and Manfred seems to also be a history buff. Really interesting to hear all of the stories. Fortunately we were able to wash our clothes as there is mud everywhere.

Tomorrow is a short day. Only 15k maybe. I know that the rest will do me good but we will see. The next day is another 30k day so it might be smart for us to get a head start on that leg by walking a few more k’s tomorrow. It is going to be raining so…

Cheers for now.

Location:Vichamouros,Spain

First of all and most importantly I want to wish a very Happy Birthday and safe travels to Dana. Buen Camino and see you soon.

Today we walked from Avilés to El Pito. About 18 miles. We are staying at a very nice albergue with only 8 beds. The great news is that so far at 5pm local time Paul and I are the only two pilgrims here. It is a bit pricy at 15 euros but wow what a place. The show alone is worth 15 euros.

The walk today was mostly in Eucalyptus forests along logging roads. While beautiful there are many ups and downs and a lot of water and mud. We moved a bit slowly as we needed to navigate the mud on the trail. It is a bit treacherous going down these paths in mud but we made it ok. We are very near the sea and every now and then get a glimpse of the ocean. We were very fortunate to day to have a beautiful day for waking. Some sun and some clouds, not too hot either.

So far I would say that this is a bit tougher then the French route and about the same as the VLDP. It is really beautiful country and of course the Spanish people are so friendly. This morning we stopped in a bar and ordered two Café con leches the lady brings our drinks and then a few minutes later brings us each a glass of apple juice and hot churros. The bill was 2.40 euros. The people in be bar were very friendly and we struck up a conversation with a few of them. Apparently from 1930 to 1960 there was a factory in Virginia that made something for this town.

Location:CU-2,Cudillero,Spain

Before I talk about today I need to finish the story of last night.

So my trains worked out great, Train from Burgos to Leon and a quick nap and then change of trains in Leon to Oviedo. No problem I arrived at around 10:50pm. I grabbed a taxi because there is no way I would have found the place at night. The taxi drops me off in front of the hostel and it is locked. I start ringing the bell to get in but no answer, and there is a sign on the bell saying that the Hostel is full and no one is around to answer. I am slightly panicked at this point it is 11pm I cannot get into the building and have no where to sleep. I start hitting buttons trying to get someone to let me in. Finally, I here the buzzer on the door and I am in. I think finally things are working out. I head upstairs to another locked door. I ring the bell and now answer. I think great I am sleeping here on the cold floor in the hall. So I sit down and try to sleep. Not much luck there. Finally at 3:15 the manager shows up and I beg to get in. He wants to know why I don’t have a key. I explain in Spanish that I don’t have a key because I have not been able to check in and show him my app that says I have a reservation through booking.com. He finally opens the door and let’s me in only to continue to interrogate me. I finally get him to understand that Paul is in my room and that I should be there too sleeping. He goes down the hall and wakes Paul up I get into the room tell him thank you and go to bed.

Today I was up by 8:30 and we were off to catch a train to Gijion. From there we walked 25k to Avilés. It was a very long walk as I am not used to waking right now. One big hill and the rest was nice. It is a very industrial area with lots of steel mills and manufacturing facilities.

Tonight we grabbed a quick bit and did our laundry and now at 8:30 I am off to bed.

Cheers

Location:Calle de Gutiérrez Herrero,Aviles,Spain