Day 5: Canero to Navia

 

Our hotel from last night

Yesterday's hike brought us to a nothing little town that I remembered from last year.  I remembered it because there was this hotel/albergue/restaurant that looked pretty popular, and I had another 10 kilometers to go to get to Luarca.  It didn't seem fair, at the time.  When Tina suggested that we stay there, I jumped at the opportunity.

First off, look at the roof of the building in the photo.  What's that thing coming out of the top right?

It's the A8, of course, one of mankind's engineering marvels.

 

Our mantra this year is to take everything in stride, so we took a walk down a path from the hotel to our fourth beach of the day, Playa de Cueva.  It was stunning.  The Rio Esva passes by the hotel and empties into the Atlantic at the beach.

 

Playa de Cueva, wow.

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to get a drink at the bar before heading upstairs.  Well, let's just say that a really drunk Madrileño (seen standing in a previous photo) decided that we were very interesting (especially me apparently) and that we could not be permitted to buy our own drinks.  That was a trip.  Don't worry, all ended well.

We asked the restaurant about gluten free beer.  Sorry.  How about take out coffees?  Nope.  They lobbied that we stick around until seven AM when the restaurant would open to get hot coffee in the morning.  We mistakenly said yes.

Why was that a mistake?  In retrospect, it's obvious.  Getting coffee at seven means hitting the road closer to 7:30 AM.  That's an hour or more later than usual.  With the day's plan calling for 28 kilometers, that would mean arriving an hour later at our destination in the afternoon sun.  That's how you define a bad idea.  If it were a short day, no problem...

The plan was to walk two hours to the port city of Luarca, where I stayed last year.  From there, we'd walk another 20 kilometers to a town named Navia.  I liked this plan because it would be the third place I'd never stayed before on this trip. (Something new for each of us.)

Farmland, fog, and the ocean. The Camino is magical in the morning.

The first part of the hike was a climb of 200 meters, more than 600 feet through the woods on narrow, rocky paths.  At the top, we walked through farmland and forests with views like the photo above.

The stone marker says, "Stop staring at the sea, and walk left along this dirt path".

Then stop when you come face to face with some cows.

 

We also walked through burnt forest areas abutting the A8 highway, areas I didn't remember existing a year ago.  Lots of burnt trees and more that had been cut down.  After about an hour and a quarter, we came across this:

The Moorish Cemetery of Barcia

What's a Moorish cemetery doing in Asturias, a part of Spain that was never part of the Caliphate, pre-1492?  The explanation was fascinating.  In 1936, the Spanish Civil war started when General Franco invaded Spain with troops garrisoned in Spain's North African colonies.  This Nationalist army included a lot of Muslim troops from Spanish Morocco.  (Needless to say, foreign troops in a Civil War weren't very popular on the mainland.)

As they suffered losses, the Muslim troops spoke up.  They wanted an appropriate cemetery for their dead.  That's what we stumbled across in the forest--the final resting place of a few hundred of Franco's troops.  No headstones, no hoopla, one historical marker.  Fascinating.

About forty five minutes later, we walked down from the heights to the city of Luarca.
 

Luarca, as seen from above for the first time.

Descending to the city center.

We got to the center of town and decided to make a pit stop at a bakery cafe.  Sure enough, we saw the Six Spanish Girls from Day One, plus a girl from our albergue hotel yesterday that we called "Face Cream Girl". (She probably has a real name.)  A little while later, a couple we met at breakfast in Santa Marina yesterday, a Frenchman and his American girlfriend, showed up.  That's apparently, our cohort.

Our second breakfast.  Sorry! I ate most of the tortilla before snapping the photo.

Having a second breakfast was another mistake.  That added another half hour to our trip.  It's not the time that's the issue--it's the eventual temperature as we ended up walking in the afternoon sun.

For the next three hours, we walked to our next pit stop.

Down sunny roads.

Over a mountain overlooking the sea.

Through fields where the Camino was only a footpath.

And past every rural church, open or not.  What's it's name? No clue.

At one PM, after three hours, we reached the tiny town of Villapedre, the first place with an open restaurant.  Who was there having lunch?  The French couple and Face Cream girl... of course.  All we wanted was some cold cans of Coke and use of the rest rooms.  We left everyone behind and booked it through the afternoon sun towards the town of Navia, 7.5 kilometers down the road.  We got here at 3:10 PM, famished and soaked to the skin.

We checked into a decent hotel (without air conditioning...), changed out of our wet clothing, and headed down the street to the first restaurant that would take us!  Lunch was potato salad, fish, and Albariño, the crisp white wine from Galicia, the province where we're going next. On the way back from lunch, we stopped in a market and bought fruit for the road tomorrow and cold coffee drinks so we can get an early start.

Back at the hotel, Tina did the laundry while I've been writing this, and now she's taking a nap.  The room, as usual, is draped with drying socks.  Tonight, the town is all done up for a Medieval fair of some sort.  We're hopefully going to check it out later.

As the plan now stands, we're going to walk 32 kilometers (20 miles) to the first city in Galicia, Ribadeo.  We'll then take a day of rest, after six days of walking.  (Sounds biblical, but it's just a coincidence.)  The day of rest is a way of making sure nobody gets hurt.  The 32 kilometers?  That's a throwback... what can I say?

Tina will pick up the story in our next installment.

Day 4: Beach Day!

 

We had a spectacular—but very difficult—day hiking today…

But first, starting last night, we took an early evening (Spain-style) walk around Soto de Luińa to get a sense of our surroundings.  It’s an ancient pilgrimage town, part of the Camino since at least the 16^th century.  The parish church of Santa Maria was a pilgrim’s hospital (Hospital of the Rosary) from 1713 to 1811.  

Church of Santa Maria

 Note the time on the clock: 9:45 pm, with very bright skies in the background.  Spain is on the “wrong” clock.  It should be on GMT + 1, the same time zone as London.  Back in the 1930’s, Franco declared that Spain will be on the same time zone as Berlin, their fascist allies—or GMT + 2.  So the sun rises and sets unusually late—hence the clear skies at 10:00 pm.

Nevertheless, we went to bed shortly thereafter and planned to leave the hotel at 6:30 am for our long slog to Canero.  The windows and picture window were wide open to the elements.  It was 62° outside at night.  Luscious!

Lo and behold, we were awakened at 5:45 am by the loud and boisterous group of 6 Spanish girls leaving the Albergue to start their camino.  Really!  We, too, were on the road shortly.  Left the hotel by 6:15 am after a quick coffee and pack-up.

We decided to compress the next 4 days of recommended hiking into 3, making each day a bit more challenging than planned.  Today’s first stage covered a lot of difficult terrain: 727 meters of elevation (2,385 feet) of upward gain, and similar downward track.  Better yet were the “alternate” trails: on this Camino, there's no single “Way”, you get to pick!  Worse than that, the trail on the Camino App often diverges from the marked trail.  You can end up in territory you never expected.  That’s what happened to us.  That’s why this blog entry is entitled “Beach Day”.  All good!

Sunrise

 

Early Morning Views

 Our coffee break was at 9:30. Perfect timing.  And who should we see at the café but the 6 Spanish girls!  After a short break, we set out for what should have been the next 2 to 2 ½ hour mountainous trek—but was so much more!

We followed to trail markers closely.  There were constant assurances that we were on the right path.  But we kept discovering additional “gems”, and our destination was always farther away than planned.

The trail was generally rural, shady, bucolic—and steep!  

Tina Climbing

 

Paco in the countryside

Not to mention wet.  We passed at least 8 very large streams that required some level of ingenuity to cross.  Paco, the former boy scout, had no problem with that. As for me, the prior weeks of training hiking in the mountains in California paid off in spades! I figured out my way around them without missing a beat!

Streams to Cross

 

Paco Crossing Yet Another Stream

In the end, we visited three beaches.  That wasn’t the plan.  Somehow, the path got augmented and we happened to stumble upon them.  The first few were expected and beautiful.

Tina At Ballota Beach

Tablizo Beach

Enjoying the Beach!

But sometimes, what’s unexpected makes you gasp.  Here’s where the road took us: many kilometers out of the way, but the most breathtaking view and beach experience: Cadavedo Beach.

Cadavedo Beach from the Camino

 

Enjoying a Break at Cadavedo Beach

Consequently, what should have been a noon rest break in the town of Cadavedo, ended up being a 12:30 pm break at the beach.  While that was great, it meant that we didn’t arrive at our destination until 3:00 pm, a solid hour (and many kilometers) later than planned.

On arriving at our Albergue/Hotel, we saw many familiar faces.  The German girl from the 1^st Albergue, another traveler we met along the way.  It’s starting to feel like a traveling tribe.  That’s the Camino life.

Today's walk was 28 kilometers (17.4 miles).  Tomorrow is supposed to be the same, but with less challenging conditions.   Paco will pick it up from here.

 

 

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.

 

Day 2: Avilès to Muros de Nalón

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 16^th 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.