Camino Primitivo, Days 7-8

At this point, we were about halfway into our journey and starting recognizing other pilgrims on the trail from the various albergues we've stayed. There's Juli from the US, a yoga instructor who is Catholic and attends daily Mass with me as often as we can.

There's Giancarlo from Italy, a guy who is always smiling and so cheery. He's fast on the trail, and one of the first ones to leave every morning. We only catch up to him when he stops to talk to people, and that's quite often. 

There's also Jose. Jose is from Portugal and super nice. He's using the Camino as a life reset to get healthy. 

It's wonderful to meet people who are on the journey with you because they become your Camino family. You start to look out for one another, share supplies, and hear their stories. It's really neat. Although we speak different languages, we find we can communicate just fine using charades, Google translate, or the limited knowledge we have in the other's native tongue.

As we left Grandas de Salime, it was a 6-mile climb up. This was our last day in the mountains of Asturias. We were looking forward to stopping at a village about 4 miles in for our morning coffee.

That little village did NOT have a cafe. With only 51 people in the town, they all seemed to still be asleep. We continued our climb upward, disappointed and eating our snack supply. The views made up for that disappointment, though. 

We continued our climb to the ridgeline, and of course alongside the windmills. I was so happy when I finally had those behind me. That meant the tough climb was over.

Soon, the trail crossed over into the region of Galacia which should be less mountainous but longer mileage. My favorite memories of Asturias were the small villages, the beautiful landscapes, and the thin chocolate cookies that tasted delicious. I'm looking forward to what this new region brings!

Galacia trails are much better maintained and the markers are so easy to find. They even include the distance remainig to Santiago at the bottom. It's fun to watch it decline at the end of each day, but it can be deflating if you feel you walked a long way and it only dropped 1 KM. 

The trail blessing today was a surprise lunch spot with gorgeous views! It truly made up for missing our coffee this morning. Halie and I arrived first and were more than happy to hang out a bit waiting for Sally and Eleanor to arrive. We also caught up with some Camino friends. The stop may have been longer than we planned, but it was worth it. Best sandwich ever!

It was tough to get moving again after such a relaxing break. The trail climbed up for two miles. Our reward was more spectacular views. 

As we approached the town of A Fonsagrada, this little church was there to greet us.

Inside, it's pretty simple. There isn't much room for an actual congregation. It was locked anyway.

Another fabulous dinner! First course was a bowl of spaghetti which I scarfed down. Second course was this steak, salad, and fries. Final course was flan. It all comes with wine, too. I ate so much and was stuffed! We have really been blessed by the food, the people, the weather, just all of it. I got to talk to the family as well to make it even better. 

I slept so good! It was either the cloth sheets (usually they are paper sheets), or maybe it was a food coma, but I slept from 7pm to 6am. My body needed that rest in preparation for another challenging day to O Cadavo. I kept thinking we'd have an easy day, but I don't think it exists on the Primitivo. Sally and I took a morning photo as we headed out.

The fog provided a pretty backdrop to our first milage marker. 

A few hours into the hike we turned a bend and saw a line of backpacks. That can only mean one thing!!!

Our Camino family found coffee! The stop provided a much needed rest break.

Back on the trail we approach this cute chapel just standing alone. Early pilgrims would stop to pray, but they are usually locked up now. See those windmills in the background? Yep,  the morning fog hid them from us earlier so we wouldn't know how high we had to climb.

At the top of today's elevation, we enjoyed seeing cattle and hearing their cowbells.

This is what it looks like walking into the villages. The old stone houses and barns are still used today. 

Our albergue was nice. I found this picture on their website that showed our exact beds (# 5,6,7,8). The four of us tried to switch top/bottom bunks every other night to keep it fair. This night I was on a top bunk #5. All eight beds shared the coed bathroom at the end of the hall.

Camino Primitivo, Days 4-6

I woke up in Tineo having the worst sleep so far on this journey. I maybe got 2 hours total. There was so much snoring! On the bright side, it was to be our shortest hiking day with only 10 miles.

As we continued to climb, we snacked on our nuts and granola bars from home along with as much water as we felt we needed. There were little vending machines along the way, which was nice. I had packed plenty and didn't ever stop, but I always enjoyed looking to see what they had. 

It started to rain on us by mid-morning. It was a gentle rain/mist, and actually not bad. We expected many rainy days on this route this time of year, and this was our first rainy day.

About 1pm, we found a coffee shop open and stopped to get our caffeine fix. The coffee shops were sparse throughout Asturias and the smaller villages, so we took advantage of it when we saw one.

The sun came out after that to guide us into Borres. There were still places of mud, and you just have no choice but to go through it sometimes. 

 

As we walked into our village where we were staying, I realized I never felt tired or aggitated from the lack of sleep. It's one of the Camino miracles, I suppose, or that the beautiful scenery made me forget how tired I was.

The albergue in Borres was my favorite so far! It only had 10 beds with 1 bathroom to share among all of us, so I thought it'd be my worst. But the hosts were super friendly and the beds comfortable and quiet. I didn't listen to any of my playlist songs because I preferred to hear the different languages of pilgrims, the birds singing, the church bells ringing, and again more cow bells. I loved it! 

That night was my first "pilgrim meal" where you pay one price ($15) and get an appetizer (soup & bread), a main course, dessert, and wine. It was the best!

The next morning was our big elevation hike. It started out fairly easy, but that wouldn't last. 

In addition, there were no water sources or villages until we reached our destination. We had to pace our steps and keep going.

At the top of each climb, the views behind us were spectacular!  

But up in front of us, we could see the inclines still to come. We stayed to the right of the split which took us up to the ridgeline. This area was neat because wild horses roamed freely. 

Once at the top, we stayed on the ridgeline for several hours. This was the optional "hospitales" route and is only recommended in good weather. We were lucky that day with clear skies. The ruins of old buildings show places that were used by pilgrimages from a thousand years ago.

The lunch spot offered great views, but we didn't want to stop too long. It got cold pretty quick.

Then it was back to hiking along the ridgeline. There wasn't a lot of shade and our hats came in handy. The wind would whip our hats off if we didn't have the straps on tight.

On one particular sunny stretch, my image cast a shadow on the path. I thought it looked cool.

Once we arrived at the highest point of the trail, the cold wind was brutal. It was the only time I wish I had brought gloves. 

The trail continued winding around the mountains with more descents than ascents until the flowers and trees became more abundant. Just look at that beautiful color!

We arrived in Berducedo completely exhausted. Total elevation gain was 3,375', and my legs and feet felt every step of that. The only church in town is only used during funerals, so I was out of luck on attending Mass. Instead, it was time to wash clothes, pack up for the next day, and call my family. 

This albergue was another rough night with little sleep. It was cold when we all went to bed, so we shut the windows. But then it got so stuffy, smelly, and hot. When someone woke up at 3am to crack the window open, I finally got a bit of sleep. We left early the next morning when a watch alarm went off and all the pilgrims decided to just get up. 

It was a cool, crisp morning. We found a great coffee shop about 3 miles in which had the best chocolate croissants and fresh OJ, as well as amazing coffee. It was just what we needed. The day's walk into Gradas de Saline would include a steep ascent up to the windmills and a small church that was used by the early pilgrims.

After that, it was a long descent into a valley before a final climb up to our town for the night.  

The further down we went into the valley, the warmer the air became. After stopping to shed my jacket, a friend took the picture below. I was worried the descent would be hard on my knees, but this ended up being my favorite day!

 

The weather that day and the views were gorgeous! 

The final climb up to Grandas de Salime was a bit tough after all that downhill. I was the first to arrive and was famished. I had the four of us checked in to the albergue and a table at a restaurant by the time the others arrived. 

After our big meal, we had some time to wander around the town. There was a musuem that displayed some of the area's farming history. It was similar to early America with their plows,  blacksmiths, and way of life, but I found it interesting to see these "stubs" on the bottom of their shoes. We actually saw people in previous villages wearing them to garden and thought it was something influenced by the Dutch. It turns out, these wooden shoes were designed specifically in the Asturias region of Spain for wearing outside in their yards due to all the mud.  

With the museum tour over, I quickly showered and headed to Mass. This town had a church that was open daily!

Camino Primitivo, Days 1-3

After months of training, it was finally time for the Camino! Eleanor and I were on the same flight to Madrid. The flight was good, arriving at 5:30am. We then took a taxi to Sally's hotel for a bit of rest before our train ride to Oviedo, the beginning of the Primitivo path. 

The pilgrimage for me began and ended with Mass at the cathedrals. The church in Oviedo was beautiful! 

After Mass, I took my first photo with a shell. A shell is the traditional symbol of the Camino, and we'll use them as markers throughout our journey to make sure we stay on the correct path.

It's said that you must be humble on the Camino, or the Camino will humble you. All four of us experienced this personally. Halie's experience was first. We met up with her later that evening at the train station because her initial flight leg was cancelled and they re-routed her. Unfortunately, her bag didn't make the trip. It was still in Boston where she made a connection. Some wonderful locals helped Halie find the best stores to purchase a new backpack and all the basic essentials to get her through a few days of hiking. 

My humbling experience came later that night. I got sick. Really sick. I was up all night expelling any food or liquid every 30 minutes. By morning, I could barely move. The other 3 had to start hiking the Camino without me while I took a cab to Grado. The gracious hosts at the alburgue allowed me in early to sleep until the pilgrims arrived. I couldn't eat anything, but I was gradually feeling better. By the next morning, I felt 70% and wanted to hike. Halie and I changed packs so I could carry her smaller weight of minimal items while she carried my 23 lb pack.

Albergues are the Spanish term for hostels. It's a large room of bunk beds where you pay for a bed. The bathroom facilities are often coed and shared. Stalls are the only means of privacy, so you exit the shower fully clothed. As we left the albergue on our way to Salas, the path took us immediately uphill. For a weakened body, that was tough. I was grateful my friends slowed down to stay with me.

Our timing at the end of the rainy season meant we'd likely have several rain days. I expected that. What I didn't think about was all the mud we'd encounter. There was so much mud!

The terrain changed frequently from trail to gravel to asphalt which helped provide different pressure points to our feet throughout the day. Our uphill climbs were rewarded with breathtaking scenery! 

To follow our path, the shell markers were tpically on cement blocks with a yellow arrow. If there wasn't an arrow, the "bottom" of the shell (opposite the "fan") would face the direction of the path. 

Our Primitivo route included two regions of Spain: Asturias and Galacia. In Asturias, it's more mountainous with small villages. 

As we passed through these villages, the winding roads often had mirrors to warn cars about other motorists. We decided to take a reflective selfie.

After walking 16 miles, we were completely exhausted. It took every ounce out of me, but I made it the entire day. 

The albergue in Salas was such a welcome sight! At this hostel, we booked our first private room for just the 4 of us with our own private bath. It was the BEST! 

To make our evening even better, Halie's backpack finally arrived!

The next morning, it took us three attempts to leave. With our first attempt, we were 1.5 miles down the trail when Eleanor realized she left her necklace on the nightstand. We all walked back and it was still there! Our second attempt was only about a half mile away when Halie forgot her sunglasses on the table outside the building. Finally on our third attempt, we say a last goodbye to Salas and walk toward Tineo. Some of the hike reminded me of our Foothills Trail here in SC.

But then there are moments, like in this video below, that remind me we were NOT in SC. 

We emerged from the trail with a beautiful overlook of the valley. Another pilgrim was kind to take our photo. 

I forgot to mention that pilgrims are supposed to carry a "passport" or "credential" with them as they journey along the Camino. You pick one up at your starting point, which was Oviedo for us, and collect stamps from the albergues and cafes you visit. Sometimes, these little churches in the villages also have stamps. For me, it was another reason to stop in, pray, and give thanks.

We continued on our way and the views were simply spectacular! With the sights of goats, sounds of cowbells, and the smell of manure, I felt like I was finally on the Camino. I was also gaining an appetitle back and munched not only on my snacks, but also on some delicious cookies that Eleanor bought. 

Once we arrived in Tieno, I attended Mass with another pilgrim, Juli. The priest gave us a special blessing, too. We ended the day at a nice hotel that had an albergue in the basement. It was the worst sleep I've had so far. Surprisingly, though, it didn't deprive me of the engergy I needed to keep going the next day. One of the many miracles of the Camino.