We left the hotel at 7:00 am, a little later than I'd hoped. We scoped out a 14 mile trip, with 1,800 feet in elevation, to the small coastal town of Muros de Nalón. Thankfully, we made coffee in our room before departing, because it took nearly 2 hours to find an open café. Paco was so excited about the lovely coffee—and tortilla—he had to take a photo. (What a surprise!)
Coffee and Spanish Tortilla
By the way, this is how we dry things on the Camino: by hanging them off our packs as we walk…
Drying Socks on the Camino
It was a lovely day of walking, filled with nature, shaded paths, lots of farm animals, and even fellow pilgrims. Early in the morning, we met a young Spanish lady who now lives in Florence, Italy. She passed us, and quickly proceeded on the road ahead of us…only to fail to see the turnoff for the Camino. We managed to get her attention and get her back on The Way. She turned out to be a fellow house-mate in our albergue tonight.
July 16th is the feast day of the Virgin del Carmen, patron saint of coastal areas and seamen. It’s a big holiday in Asturias, especially the coastal areas we’re visiting. That meant less traffic, less noise, fewer people. It felt like a private walk with nature.
Paco on the Camino
As Spain developed, rural roads were augmented with super-highways. The big one in this part of Spain is the A-8. It’s huge, and it dominates the countryside, obscuring once-bucolic views and bringing the drone of highway traffic into the countryside. The highway is above us in the photo below. Soon, we were walking high above the roadway, in the mountains.
The A8 Across the countryside
As we neared our destination, we passed a Castle, and beautiful harbor views, as you can see below.
The Castle in the Distance
Nearing Muros de Nalón
The downside of a holiday is that many stores are closed: markets (for buying fruit, soda, snacks), cafés for hanging out, even churches and museums. Instead, families crowd into the few open restaurants for large gatherings and meals. Read: it’s really hard to get a table, and service is very slow. We were lucky to enjoy a fantastic late afternoon lunch, despite glatial service.
We stayed in a lovely albergué at the near-edge of town, La Naranja Peregrina. We were welcomed by gracious hosts, a couple originlly from Berlin. We washed and dried our clothes in a washer and dryer, and enjoyed the company of 10 fellow pilgrims.
It’s amazing how tired one gets just walking all day. We’re going to bed around 10:00, hoping for an early start and some good beach time tomorrow.
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