Day 3: Learning to Kick it Back a Notch

 

I'm picking this up where Tina left off.  Last night in this small albergue was a classic. The guy across from us didn't know how to close his eyes without snoring.  Our Spanish friend, whose name we learned is Pilar, can't sleep with cold outside air in the room--it makes her sneeze, so the only window got shut.  The people upstairs left the stairway lights on all night.  One more night in a noisy, brightly lit sauna.  Yet, we keep signing up for this.

We bought some refrigerated coffee drinks yesterday, so we could have some guaranteed coffee before hitting the road in the morning.  Yet, one thing leads to the next, and we didn't leave our albergue until well after seven.  When we got to the center of town, there was an open cafe at an albergue there.  Of course, we had to have coffee. Mmmmmmmm.  We didn't hit the road until the church bells were chiming eight AM.

These two cafe con leches mean everything in the morning.

(See that red rubber band on Tina's hiking pole?  That's the one I broke a year ago...)

There was a lot of debate yesterday, some of it acrimonious, leading up to today's walk.  Muros de Nalón to Soto de Luiña is under ten miles.  That's not enough... We did 14 mile practice walks... Do you want to hurt yourself again?... What's enough?... We're going to get there before noon!...  Yada yada yada... What if we make a stop at the beach?

Late as our exit was, the walk was beautiful.  First it went through forests of pine and eucalyptus trees.

Those are eucalyptus leaves by Tina's feet. Pardon my finger.

The bright blue/grey leaves are young eucalyptus.

Temperatures were delicious.  The day started in the 60's and the high would only be in the high 70's... unless you were standing in direct sunlight.  The walk was moving along really well with both of us remarking on how we had no soreness from the first two days.

At the same park bench where I connected last year with Gustavo (https://paco-tina-camino.blogspot.com/2023/07/day-20-aviles-to-soto-de-luina-37.html) we came across the six Spanish girls from day one, relaxing and having a snack.  Apparently, they survived.  We took a break to drink water and to put on sunscreen.  While we were there, Pilar showed up.  That's what the Camino is like.  Whether you know it or not, you're developing a cohort of people walking in proximity to you.

As we walked, we were keenly aware of the presence of the ocean to our right.

How can you miss it?

It's getting closer!

Forget the arguments, we're doing what we never did last year.  We're leaving the Camino and going to the beach. 

The blue dot is us. The yellow line is the Camino.

We descended a really long cement walk and found ourselves on a rocky beach, Playa Concha de Artedo.  At the end of the beach, there was a single restaurant where we had frosty cold Cokes with slices of lemon before heading down to the water.  We just wanted to soak our feet and enjoy the moment.

She doesn't look happy, does she?

It's probably a sandy beach at low tide.  The part at water's edge certainly was.

We relished the moment.  That "moment" added an hour and a half to our walk.  Now, who says the day was going to be too short?

Here's the problem.  We left the beach after noon.  It was still going to be at least another hour and forty minutes in the afternoon sun to get to our destination, with full backpacks in full sunlight.  

Before the heat got to her.  Note the cows in the background, to Tina's right.

We discovered years ago that the last mile or kilometer takes the longest.  Today, with the midday sun beating down on us, it was doubly true.  First, we had to climb up from sea level to cross the A8 superhighway, and then we had to descend to the inland valley where we'd reach our destination.  The climb took seemingly forever, and the sun really got to us. 

We got to our destination, the tiny town of Soto de Luiña by 1:40, about 20 minutes sooner than I'd expected.  We were bushed.  I walked in and made a reservation at a restaurant in town that I knew from last year.  Then, we checked into our hotel for a quick, but badly needed shower.

I may have discovered the best back country restaurant in Asturias.  There was only one other family eating while we were there.  Tina and I shared two salads and one entree.  Indulge me while I show you the food.

 

Mixed green salad with Bonito (Tuna belly). This could have been an entree.

Fabas (Asturian beans), essentially a white bean salad

Duck breast over roasted potatoes.  That's a piquillo pepper on top. (Look it up.)

This food was all amazing.  With wine and bottled water, lunch was only 86 euros.  It was well worth the walk.  (No, it's not pilgrim fare. I said "Indulge me," didn't I?)

We left the restaurant and went to the one supermarket in town to buy two more refrigerated lattes to get a head start on tomorrow morning.  Today's debates are going something like this: "Sure, let's go to the beach tomorrow, but let's do it after we reach our destination..."  The point is: this isn't a race. It's a journey. We've got to stop walking right past the cool parts. (Plus, I happen to like the beach.)

 

From left to right: a footsore pilgrim, me, and Santiago

Tina's taking a well deserved nap as I write this.  Our clothes have been washed and are hanging all over our hotel room.  The windows are open because there's no air conditioning, but it's all okay because the temperature outside is really wonderful.  When she gets up, we'll resume the debate about where we should walk tomorrow.  I'll let her tell you about it.