Yesterday was spent in taking a leap forward via train from
Llanes to Ovideo, the first city on the Primitive Camino. It was raining quite
a lot in Llanes all morning, but the train seemed to brighten as we went on.
Oviedo was lovely and I spent the afternoon scouting about, doing a bit of
laundry, sampling the local sidre. (alcoholic cider) and the unique way of
serving, by pouring from a great distance to aerate the cider. The waiters pour
you one drink (taste) at a time; and they keep wandering around to give you
your next drink. Had a lovely dinner of large grilled shrinp and pulpo
(Octopus).
The weather forecast for today was initially rain later in
the day; but it rained constantly overnight; and as I awoke in the night, I
began to think that I would stay another day in Oviedo instead of leaving
earlier than usual as I had planned. But when I woke up at 5:30, the rain had
stopped, and the forecast, still had low percentage chance for rain during the
morning; and increasing after 1:00, so I decided to set out early.
Leaving the hotel at 6:00, it was still dark and mostly
deserted. Normally I hate walking out of cities; but walking so early and it
only took a few kilometers to get out of the city. I was walking into the
surrounding hills as it got lighter and the sun began to rise. It was a lovely
cool morning (in the 50’s) and the countryside/ views were awesome.
The walk today was split between roads and paths, but lovely
for most. A couple hours later I arrived in the first small town that had a
bar/ café listed as being there. But as I rounded the corner, I could see it
was closed as all the shutters were locked down. As I paused in front of the
bar and was googling café/ bar near me” the shutters began to rise, as the bar
was opening. QUELLE PROVIDENCE!
A nice coffee, croissant and orange juice and I was ready to
tackle the rest of this long, mildly challenging day. The difficulty was rated
3 out of 5. And that seems about right. There were frequent climbs and
descents, but not too steep or if so, only for a short while.
My guide indicated the alburgue I was staying in was out of
the way; and if I wanted to eat dinner, I needed to pick up some food in the
last town before the alburgue. There was a LIDL there, and I got a nice
packages Caesar chicken salad, some beers, some bread and was off.
Another 4k, and I was nestled in the best appointed alburgue
I have seen. There is a lot of food/ drinks/ wine/ beer/ candy in fridge and in
a vending machine here, in case pilgrims arrive empty handed. The entire set up
is donation, and quite lovely view over the city…with the exception of the less
than hot shower, but not a biggie.
It only began raining during the last mile or so; and about
20 minutes after I took the rain cover off my mochila! LOL. I actually felt
really good and strong today, and considered going further, but wasn’t sure if
the next town had an alburgue, and didn’t want to have to keep going beyond
that; and this place, as I said is lovely.
Tomorrow is a little more difficult day; but 4k/ 2 miles
shorter.
Buen Camino!
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