Trepidatious traveller – camino blog

I slept barely at all last night. I got a couple of hours before 1 am and then pretty much nothing. Outside my window was a extremely noisy extractor fan which could not be disguised with talk radio, or music. Consequently I was up and out before seven this morning.

I was fortunate to have been allocated a room on my own, so I could spread my stuff around. I thought it wise to put my rucksack on the wide windowsill as I didn’t want any pesky creatures to find their way in. But annoyingly I discovered this morning that it was full of ants inside and out. So it got a pretty good shake up, shake down, and very hard bumps on the floor.

The exit from the city is very well marked. The walk out is very pleasant, firstly through the ancient quarter then moving towards an area with beautiful period buildings interspersed with less beautiful new buildings, and eventually the old buildings disappear altogether. After 4 km we are pretty much leaving city. I made a pace of 5.8 km/h which soon slowed alarmingly with the first incline.

The low morning cloud which was a constant feature of my last Camino Primitivo is already present on this one

What should be lovely tracks have sadly all been asphalted. Aah at last a dirt track at 7.5 km, though it doesn’t last long.

At around 10 km there is a truly lovely dirt track through woodland with a river running below. There are steep inclines and descents but it is so beautiful that they hardly matter – until the last climb, which was really hard.

I take my first break at 15km and sit on a stone wall to eat an apple.

A good proportion of today’s walk is on track – some very nice woodland track, some not so nice concrete track. The last section of track is alongside the wide and fast flowing river Nalón which is most pleasant

By the time I emerge from the shady woods I find the sun has put in an appearance but without the ferocity that it’s shown for the last few days, and there is also a wonderful cool light breeze.

Of course today, for many, is the start of their camino adventure. They are fresh as daisies and full of vigour. But although some have passed me en route I somehow have managed without trying to leave them all behind me. They must have stopped for a break along the way, whereas I have mostly ploughed on.

I arrived in Grado some time shortly before 13:00 and have opted to stay in the private albergue Quintana simply because of entry time. The donativo albergue does not open until 14:00 by which time many pilgrims will probably have arrived and there will be a bit of a scramble for the shower and washing machine, whereas by 13:30 I am freshly showered and my washing is in the machine. There are 12 places in bunkbeds, €14. The washing machine is a staggering €5 (normally €3.50) and if I were to use the tumble dryer they would charge an astronomical €7 (normally €3). Luckily it’s good drying weather so my smalls (and bigs) are happily dancing on the line.

What I particularly would not have liked (as anyone who has read this blog for a while would know) is the fact that the showers here (separate men’s and women’s) are communal. Three shower heads with no curtains or partitions. The shower was lovely and hot and powerful, and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be joined by anyone, so it was relaxing enough, but I hate this imposed intimacy. I hated it at school and I’ve hated it ever since. Everyone should have the right to privacy. Rant for the day over!

I thought I might be alone here but when I returned from my walk there were a group of four young men and a Dutch couple.

If I wasn’t such an old woman the donativo albergue here in Grado would have been a better option. I believe it is very nice. And it is a good opportunity to meet your fellow pilgrims.

The albergue Quintana is situated in an Indiano house, examples of which we have seen all along the Camino del Norte. There is an interesting backstory to this style of house – see here.

Last time I walked straight through Grado to the lovely isolated albergue at San Juan de Villapeñada that I can highly recommend if you are in the market for an additional 4.5 km.

Having taken a stroll around the town I can report that it seems a bit sad and grubby. There are plenty of restaurants and bars and maybe a Wednesday afternoon isn’t the best time to make a judgment.

I have discovered that Deutsche Bank is the only bank that operates in Spain that does not charge an ATM cash withdrawal fee.

Well, the rain got itself out of the way last night and it is now a beautiful bright sunny day. After exiting the albergue I took a route across the beach, whereas everyone else (other than Paul who was a long way behind me) took a path alongside. It was good to start the day alone with only my footsteps in the sand to show I was there.

There followed a variety of tracks until we reached the village of Berbes at around 2.5 km, where I came across a garden full of place names from around the world. I was invited by the owner to enter his workshop to paint a wooden plaque with the name of my home town. And no sooner was it done than he nailed it to a pole and placed it with the hundreds of others that pilgrims had painted for years past. And so I put Bristol on the camino map.

On previous caminos foxgloves have always been the prevalent flower. So far I have only seen one bunch of foxgloves growing, whereas the aquilegia is abundant everywhere – so pretty.

And as sod’s law would have it, immediately I finished dictating that sentence I came across some foxgloves. But the aquilegia is definitely queen of the wild flowers in this area.

I passed a field full of black ponies with several foals. One very recent newborn was still learning how to use its legs.

This is the sort of morning where you just have to keep stopping and looking around and thinking how lucky you are to be here, right now, with this beautiful weather – just perfect!

We were close to the coast with views of the ocean until we reached La Isla at 9km where I stopped for an ice cream.

Throughout the day it gets hotter and hotter there are a lot of steep climbs and downhill walking with no shade and no facilities. Paul and I eventually find a shaded church porch to sit for a while. And thank goodness there are some stretches of shady woodland to walk through. But I get very low on water and save my last couple of mouthfuls for as long as possible. I wrap my scarf around my head and shoulders for protection, but I eventually give in and drain my water bottle when we have 4 km still to walk. And then a miracle happens – there is a house with a sign saying cold drinks are available, and I instantly remember this place from when we appreciated it equally in 2016. Such kindness that this family show to strangers, providing refreshments, fresh water and comfort to all who pass. Never did a Fanta naranja taste so good and when that was gone I doused my scarf in cold water and rewrapped it around my head. There are few better experiences on a hot day!

So folks who are planning this long stage – take plenty of water.

We are staying in hostel/albergue Congreso in Villaviciosa. It is surprisingly comfortable with rooms of two bunk beds and bathroom. I offered to take the short straw in view of Paul’s great age (greater than mine at any rate!) and took the upstairs bunk. Not done that for a long time, but I guess it had to happen sooner or later. The hostal offers use of a kitchen and dining areas and we can use the washer and dryer for a charge. Helpful staff and altogether a good experience.

We are sharing the room with a guy who, when I asked if he was Spanish, indignantly replied ‘no, Catalonian’ and there followed an extremely interesting political discussion.

Villaviciosa is famous for its cider. There are many apple orchards lining the way. It also has a very beautiful and extensive old quarter which I didn’t even notice when I walked straight through last time.

I think there must be several options by which to leave Nueva that all come together sooner or later. After about 2 km we divert from the quiet road onto dirt track. I have downloaded two coastal options for the start of today’s walk. One goes immediately to the coast and the other joins it further down the official route.

Because it has rained quite heavily in the night and I guess that the wet grass will soon make a soggy mess of my shoes, we decide to take the second option – marked green on the map. I think if the weather were more agreeable the pink option would have been far preferable.

Although there is almost no rain by the time we set off, the air is very damp and the mist is really low. But when we reach the coast it is nevertheless even more rugged and more beautiful than any of the other headland tracks, although they’ve all been dazzling. But there are so many rock formations on this stretch, including countless natural arches (but none that I would dare to attempt to walk over) – it is just stunning.

We switch between the route I downloaded and a blue marked coastal path that has been signposted since Nueves and hugs the headland religiously. The track is a little overgrown in places and as the year progresses I guess the brambles and the gorse might well cause a few scratched legs

Of course there were constant ups and downs on the rocky track and eventually we gave in and worked our way back to the official route and arrived in the large town of Ribadesella at 16 km.

The rest of the walk was largely on quiet roads and we reached the village of Vega after 23.5 km. It felt like a lot more!

This is the second time I have visited the albergue ‘Tu Casa’ in Vega. And the third time I have met the owner Marina. The first was when she was a hospitalera at the albergue in Fuenterroble on the Via de la Plata in 2015. The second when I walked this route in 2016 and we stopped here for a drink before it had opened as an albergue. It is a small donativo, seven places. Over 60’s can reserve +34984100746. We are two danish women, an Italian guy, one Irish, one Dutch and we two Brits. A communal supper will be cooked and breakfast is provided. There is a lovely atmosphere.

The communal four course dinner was really good, and we all helped clear up afterwards. Well done Marina, it’s been a wonderful experience.

We got caught in a heavy downpour just about 1 km from our stage end. My new cover up was within easy reach and I managed to stay pretty dry. It’s the first time we have been rained upon in 11 days. Pretty good going for the north of Spain.

Yet another grey day greets us this morning, and it doesn’t change all day, though the forecast rain doesn’t materialise.

Once again we are taking an alternate route (which I also walked last time) that follows the GR E9 – there are arrows along the way and it is through beautiful countryside almost entirely on track. This is a lovely way to start the day.

There are lots of animals to commune with this morning – cows, sheep, horses, goats and a friendly Mastin with her gorgeous pup.

There is a parting of the ways today. Sadly I have lost Renata on this stage – she doesn’t want to walk long stages and I don’t want to continually walk shorter stages of 20 km or thereabouts. We all have to walk within out comfort zones. We’ve had some fun times together and she has given a couple of extremely good foot massages! We were both sad, but that is how it goes on the camino.

Once I am closer to the coast I come to the area of the ‘Bufones de Arenillas’ Also known as blowholes. I go close to one and can hear the thunder of the sea as it enters and leaves the tunnels deep below. The sea is calm so there are no plumes of water but the sound alone is exciting. You can read more about the bufones here

I reach the small village of Andrin at 8.5 km then a steep zigzag has to he climbed in order to regain the track. Climbing, climbing, climbing on the quiet road for around 1.5 km finally takes me back on track and as I turn a bend a huge seascape vista opens up, taking a full 180 degrees.

I finally leave the track at around 13+ kilometres and make my way along country lanes into Llanes at almost 15 km. Paul has taken the official route and once I part from Renate I see no other pilgrims until I catch up with Paul at Llanes.

We take a wonderful headland walk out of Llanes and remain on the edge of the cliffs, completely bypassing the town of Poo. After crossing a beach we are now on a beautiful track in the middle of green pastureland. We stop for a drink at Celorio, 21.5 km. The rest of the walk is mostly on track with short stretches of road in between. Altogether a fabulous day’s walking.

We had planned to stop in the village of Villahormes but the albergue is a sort of self-service affair which is deserted, and the tiny village has very few facilities, so we decide to walk the 3km more into the larger town of Nueva. There is no albergue here so we have invested in a hotel room for the night. The power-shower alone makes it almost worth the investment! Paul eats out and I manage to scrape a healthy meal together from what’s in my bag plus some extras from a supermarket.

I forgot to start recording today’s walk, so have included the route I recorded in 2016 plus today’s version which varies slightly at the end.

I now have a matching pair of blisters at the lower edge of each heel. It takes five or 10 minutes of walking in discomfort before it’s almost possible to forget about them

It is still advised by the albergue hospitaleros to walk along the N634, it being the safer, more beautiful and shorter option to the official route. The two routes converge at Pesués after 9km of road walking (it feels safe with a wide shoulder). There follows a short woodland walk and the towns of Unquera and Colombres (very pretty with an attractive albergue) where I stopped to do some blister repair work.

Then a slog along some rough stony tracks towards La Franca. A loose stony track is one of the worst surfaces for a walker, especially if you have boots with thin soles and feet with soles that are becoming rather tender.

We stop for another rest in La Franca and then it isn’t long before we take the alternative route that involves crossing a railway line and a stile in order to reach the beautiful wild moorland that tops the high cliffs on the route to Pendueles.

I have so looked forward to this stretch along the rugged headland that I last walked with my camigo Günter. It was a lovely blue sky day back in 2016, whereas today there is a grey sky threatening rain. But the rain holds off and I take a path through the rough gorse covered moorland as close to the cliffs as possible. It is a very rugged, rocky walk passing in places very close to the edge of the towering cliffs. And then we reach the ‘Puente Salto de Caballo’ a rock formation that bridges an inlet. Last time Günter persuaded me that we should act our age and walk around it. But this year I decided to go for it and carefully made my way across the pointy deep rocks that form the bridge. I took it slowly and carefully and made it across in one piece. Yay, it was really exhilarating. So glad I did it.

There remained roughly 2 km to reach our stage end of Pendueles. We are staying in Casa Flor. A rather soulless accommodation that calls itself an albergue, but is actually a converted house with three rooms of bunks, a weird shared bathroom and no other facilities. It was badly reviewed on gronze.com and I have no reason to argue with that. The lovely place where I stayed last time no longer exists and of the other two albergues, one is closed and the other is full. At least we have a bed for the night.

All in all a very satisfying day.

Well, this isn’t what we’re used to! We leave the cabin under a misty sky and quite a strong wind.

This is the sort of weather when I would have thought it doesn’t make much sense to walk along the coast because the sky is grey – meaning the sea is also grey – and there isn’t so much to lift the spirits, except of course that you aren’t walking on the road which is always good.

But I am wrong and it is invigorating to march along the headland.

I found the track for this coastal variant on Wikiloc. It was posted by someone like me who likes to record their walk. There is no way of knowing what they encountered en route, or what their comfort zones are, or whether they are a young whipper-snapper who is up for any adventure. The route I downloaded has been very easy to follow but has missed a few loops that follow closely to the headland. I thought I would tackle a few of these missing loops today – maps.me shows lots of footpaths. They did take me out of my comfort zone rather, with some precipitous descents to small bays and challenging narrow overgrown tracks back up to the cliff top. But here I am, in one piece, telling the tale and feeling glad I chose the path less travelled.

The trek turns into a wild and windy walk and I unexpectedly find myself in the middle of a vast expanse of moorland. But after consulting the map I can negotiate my way back on track

At 9 km, more or less, I head away from the coast on a wide gravel and sandy track which soon leads to a paved cycle path lined with yellow and white cistus, and all kinds of other wildflowers.

Soon after I turn off onto a track through pine forest. The wind doesn’t penetrate here and so it’s suddenly very quiet apart from the birds – I can hear woodpeckers and blackbirds and possibly a song thrush

At around 11 km I am out of the forest, finished with this particular coastal adventure, and on to a main road leading to Boo de Piélagos.

Boo is approximately 13.5 km into today’s stage. When I arrive at the station I have missed the train by a few minutes, which means an hour’s wait on the chilly platform. The sun is still refusing to put in an appearance despite the forecast that it should be shining down on us by now.

It is necessary to catch a train at Boo de Piélagos in order to cross the river Mogro. Last time I walked, I crossed the railway bridge by foot but this is actually illegal and I am toeing the line this time. In fact under the influence of my camigos we are planning to stay onboard for a few stops to shorten the distance to the stage end. Sorry to disappoint any camino purists but I’m not feeling very pure on this camino. For a start I didn’t start at the beginning, and I am planning not to end at the end. So what I do in the middle is of little consequence! Maybe this is just a walking holiday and not a camino as I have always walked previously. And I don’t suppose it matters to anyone.

With regard to walking over the railway bridge, whilst waiting at the station there were at least four high speed trains that whizzed right through at great speed. I most definitely wouldn’t want to meet one of these if I was walking. I don’t recall there being any of these fast trains to take into account when crossing the bridge in 2016, but they would make walking over particularly dangerous.

So we regained the camino at Barreda having skipped around 13 km on the train (cost €2.45).

The remainder of the stage was entirely on road. Firstly on a horribly busy, fumey, industrial area, but soon enough onto quiet country roads with adequate walking shoulder. I found it particularly uncomfortable to walk on the busy road after such a remote and peaceful experience earlier in the day. There was another 7-8 km to walk after the train and I plugged into my camino playlist and powered on.

Our stage end of Santillana del Mar (which is not on the coast) is a most charming medieval town – postcard pretty, picture perfect. Last time I stayed in the Albergue at the beginning of town, but this year have opted for the Albergue de Peregrinos El Convente. It has 60 places in rooms with one bunk (€13, or €16 high season) with excellent bathroom facilities and they serve dinner and breakfast for a charge. The problem with a beautiful town like this (for a grumpy old woman like me) is that it is full of tourists – mainly old codgers or school children both of which take up all the space and make a lot of noise. Grumpy old lady I might be but I don’t class myself as an old codger (yet!). Also there is a huge array of tourist shops but no useful supermarket for supplies.

After wandering into the Plaza Mayor for a glass of wine, I returned to the albergue to sit in the huge sunny garden.

I saw my first stork today – always cause for great joy.

So today we start with the coastal option from Santander. The track that I have downloaded directs us along a busy road mostly right next to the coastline. However we opted to take a slightly more scenic route for a few hundred metres but it does involve walking on the beach and climbing up some steep steps to get back to the road. Being Monday morning at rush-hour the road is quite busy

The beaches are buzzing with activity. The council workers are cutting the grass, clearing up the rubbish, emptying the bins, smoothing the sand and sweeping the boardwalks – the beaches are left pristine

Once we leave the city behind we are on a path that has the sea to the right and a manicured golf course on the left. The sun is hitting the ripples of the sea and making star shapes as we walk alongside. If you have to spend time following a small white ball I’m guessing this might be one of the nicest places to do it

We leave the golf course and the neat paved path behind us and walk on a rough dirt track, stoney and rocky and it’s difficult to choose between looking where to place your feet and looking up to the breathtaking craggy coastline and stunning azure and turquoise sea.

It is another clear, blue sky day, very warm but with a delightful fresh soft breeze coming from the ocean

This really is a beautiful walk – there are bays, and coves, beaches and craggy outcrops. The track is used a little by local walkers and trail runners but not really very many – the only crowd so far has been when passing the Cabo Mayor lighthouse and a coach emptied its load of chattering tourists who took the easy way up. But they were soon behind us.

Right now I am sitting on the edge of a cliff, looking towards the snow capped Picos de Europa, eating a nectarine and thinking how good my world is.

At 14 km we pass through a small resort town called Maruca and I guess there must be accommodation available here. Then we continue, religiously following the coastline until we reach Soto de La Marina where we have booked a bungalow cabin at Camping Costa San Juan. It’s quite cute with two bedrooms, bathroom and kitchenette. Paul is delighted that he can finally cook up a tasty curry and I am over the moon that I can finally eat the food that I have been carrying on my back for the last three days! There is a bar and restaurant on the campsite but no supermarket. It is a 10-15 minute walk to the shop in town.

The distance stated today is from the ferry point, but we have walked an additional 1.5 kms from our accommodation. Although it has been a relatively short walk it has been quite demanding because of the rough ground. I felt quite depleted by the time we arrived.

As we entered the bar of the campsite this afternoon I heard a very familiar West Country accent. The guy (who grew up very close to where I live, but now resides on the other side of Bristol) has been travelling throughout Spain and Portugal for a month on an off road bike using TET (Trans Europe Trails) off road trails – “A 51,000km GPX route from the edge of Africa to the Arctic Circle”. Very interesting.