Stage 1, 25 km

The 6 1/2 hour coach journey sadly didn’t bring me any slumber at all although Mikey managed a few hours.

We’ve been walking for something around an hour before we leave the city in drizzle that’s making the tiled pavements extremely slippery. I was not long off the bus before I slipped on a slope and went smack down onto my elbow. Luckily Mikey was on hand to pull me back onto my feet otherwise it might have taken me quite some time to regain my composure. 

Once the city is behind us we’re walking alongside a quiet road with sizeable hills in most directions. We decide to put our rain gear on which has the immediate effect of causing the rain to stop. 

And we’re walking through stunning countryside with beautiful long views and the wonderful sound of cowbell’s jangling.

Thousands of acorns litter the rough track, followed my mounds of sweet chestnuts. The views are entirely green and lush and the sun has decided to put on a show. 

After a while the rain comes back, but there is no great downpour and after a very steep climb we reach the town of Escamplero which is approximately halfway to Grado. Our hopes of finding a bar are dashed as only the small shop is open on a Wednesday. Mikey buys supplies for lunch and we continue. 

We have an interesting interaction with a rather boisterous goat who is free to roam on the track. He thinks of us as intruders and deals with us accordingly – rearing up and charging at us with his alarmingly long and pointy horns. But he’s no match for us and we eventually persuade him go back home and leave us alone. 

We meet up with Nick from the US and walk with him until we reach Grado where he walks on whilst we stop at the municipal albergue. It is almost full but luckily for this old lady a bottom bunk is kept in reserve for deserving old dears who don’t fancy scaling a ladder to reach their bed. 

During the walk Mikey’s boots (purchased for last year’s camino and worn throughout the year for his vigorous outdoor activities) have unsurprisingly started to disintegrate and by the time we arrive at our destination the soles are flapping and it’s obvious that they need to be replaced. Unfortunately the shops in Grado don’t open on Wednesday afternoons and so we are forced to make a very late start tomorrow after they open at 10 in the morning.   Kids, eh!